AMD not competing with Intel anymore. CPU prices soar as a result.

The inevitable has occurred. AMD spokesperson Mike Silverman asks poeple to let go of the "AMD vs Intel mindset" because of the company's new change in strategy. Instead, the silicon giant will focus its efforts on the mobile and tablet markets. AMD however confirmed that they are still committed to x86 computing, but I'm guessing not as much as they used to be.

The company blames this on bad management, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bulldozer played a large role in this. Since expectations for the new architecture was extremely strong although as we all know, it failed to deliver. Its important to mention that their Bulldozer based Opteron processors have been very well received though, mainly because of their price-performance ratio.

So, what does this mean for you gamers and PC enthusiasts out there? Is the battle now AMD vs ARM? Will Intel take a different approach to innovation now that their only real competitor has given up? Unfortunately the answers to those questions remain unclear for the time being, we'll just have to wait and see.

source TechPowerUp

AMD releases flagship new processor. Intel responds by raising prices

You know something is terribly wrong when you release an all new, high-end flagship processor and your competition responds by raising the prices of their current-gen processors by almost 10%.

Last week, AMD launched their first FX-branded processors based on the Bulldozer architecture, a product that should have, or at least was expected to thwart Intel out of the performance lead that they held for a very long time. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The top-end FX-8150 lagged behind Intels mid range i5-2500K and in some cases, AMDs last-gen X6 1100T.

Bright Side of News noticed the price changes that affected the i5-2400K, 2500K and 2600K before and after the FX launch.

source BSN 

AMD releases Bulldozer FX

Its finally here. AMD releases their highly anticipated, next-gen Bulldozer based processors after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting. While Intel was busy endlessly releasing new variants of their Sandy Bridge processors and teasing us with a little Ivy, AMD was taking their time perfecting the Bulldozer core that should be available at a retail store near you in a few days. The high-end FX-8150 (8-Core, 3.6GHz, $245) will be one of the 3 FX processors available at launch along with the FX-8120 (8-core, 3.1GHz, $205) and the FX-6100 (6-Core, 3.3GHz, $175), all unlocked and easily overclockable.

AMD to showcase their FX Processors at Gamescom Cologne

Great news for those who have waited so long for AMD's FX branded processors:

The silicon giant will be showcasing working systems at the Gamescom in Cologne, you find them at the alternate both there.

GamesCom is currently only open for VIPs but will be open for everyone else tomorrow.

Alternate's Livestream can be found here (German)

AMD Bulldozer benchmarked again

Exactly a week ago, we got a peek at AMD Bulldozers performance against an Intel Core i7-990X, today, latest leaked benchmarks reveal a little more. Courtesy of DonanimHaber, the AMD FX 8-core engineering sample running at a default clock speed of 3.2GHz is quite a performer, here are the compiled results:

Benchmark	Score
3DMark11	P6265
Fritz Chess	29.58, 14197 kn/sec
PCMark 7	3045
Cinebench R10	24434
X264	45.39 fps (P2), 136.29 (P1)

(credit VR-Zone)

The test system used a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 motherboard, a single GeForce GTX 580 and 2GB of DDR3 RAM.


source DonanimHaber

Intels next-gen Ivy Bridge processors pitched against Sandy Bridge

The benchmarks just keep coming in these days, we cant complain they're great! Yesterday, we saw how AMD's Bulldozer FX performed against the Core i7-990X, today, the spotlight is on Intels upcoming Ivy Bridge architecture. The processor in question is a dual-core LGA1155 engineering sample, has 4 threads, a base clock speed of 1.8GHz, features 256KB and 4MB of L2 and shared L3 cache respectively. See the benchmarks below.

(click to enlarge. credit: TechPowerUp)

source Coolaler

AMDs Bulldozer FX pitched against Intels Core i7-990X

(click to enlarge)

Czech based website PCTuning has recently published an AMD 990FX chipset review in which they test SLI performance using 2 GTX 580's. Nice, but the really interesting bit is that they used an engineering sample Bulldozer FX CPU for the testing, and they've also compared that with none other than Intels current flagship, the Core i7 990X (although its based on last-gen architecture, its still the fastest they've got). As a result, although not very accurate, they've given us an estimate of how Bulldozer performs against the competition.

Unfortunately, probably due to NDAs, almost no info was shared about the CPUs specifications, so no core count, no cache sizes and no default clock speeds were stated.

source PCTuning

Intels Ivy Bridge launch pushed back to March 2012

Word from DigiTimes is that Intel has decided to postpone to arrival of its 22nm Ivy Bridge processors to March 2012. These chips were originally expected by the end of this year, but the chip giant has decided to give vendors more time to sell their Sandy Bridge notebook models.

Due to Intel Sandy Bridge's 6 series chipset design flaw, Intel recalled the products in January and launched a fixed chipset in April, leaving notebook players suffering from two months of lower demand. With the notebook market also experiencing an impact from the tablet PCs, Intel has decided to slow down its pace and re-organize its lineup by delaying the launch.

via Guru3D

source DigiTimes

Intel unveils "Knights Corner". A 22nm Tri-Gate 50-core x86 beast

Intel officially took the wraps off its next generation ‘Knights Corner’ processor last night; a dedicated 50-core maths co-processor chip based on the technology from Intel’s abandoned Larrabee graphics project.

Intel confirmed that the 50 x86 cores used in Knights Corner will be fabricated using the same 22nm Tri-Gate process as next year’s Ivy Bridge processors, meaning the processors will use the very latest transistor technology.Intel also explained that Knights Corner is only the first product in what will eventually be a range of Many Integrated Core (MIC) processors. Indeed, another iteration of the MIC family - dubbed Knights Ferry - is already being trialled at several supercomputing laboratories across the globe.The processors will also be packaged on a traditional 16x PCI-E card, so they'll potentially provide an easy upgrade for any workstation that requires a little extra processing grunt.

Continue reading the rest via Bit-Tech

Intel to take backward compatibility seriously with upcoming high end chipsets?

Intel Corp.'s next-generation high-end core-logic known as X79 may support both current enthusiast-class chips in LGA1366 form-factor as well as next-generation microprocessors in LGA2011 packaging. In fact, according to a document seen by X-bit labs, Intel itself prepares to release two mainboards based on X79 chipset for both its present and future chips.

At present Intel X58 chipset supports only microprocessors in LGA1366 form-factor and it is unlikely that the core-logic will support future Sandy Bridge E central processing units (CPUs). The yet-to-be announced X79 chipset (Waimea Bay enthusiast platform) will support both types of "extreme" chips: code-named Bloomfield in LGA1366 form-factor as well as code-named Sandy Bridge-E in LGA2011 packaging, a document seen by us claims.

Continue reading via Xbit Labs

Desktop AMD Llano A8-3800 Series APU pictured

Chip-maker AMD is putting considerable store in the qualities of its upcoming Llano Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). In case you've been living under a large rock, Llano is the codename for AMD's mainstream notebook and desktop chips for the second half of 2011. Llano processors are important because they bring together (up-to) a quad-core CPU and a DX11 Radeon graphics core on to one piece of 32nn-transistor silicon.

It's no secret that AMD is launching a range of mobile chips first, to go up against Intel's second-generation Core processors, and we'll doubtless see Llano laptops invading the retail market in the next two months.

But little is being talked about the desktop variant. Piecing together what we know from rumour and snatched conversations at the industry trade show COMPUTEX, desktop Llano will feature significantly higher speeds than its mobile counterpart, though the underlying architecture is said to be identical.

Continue reading via Hexus.net

AMD Bulldozer FX at E3 2011

AMD and Intel have fought for the dollars of the computer enthusiast and gamers for a long time. It used to be years ago that the gamer leaned towards the AMD processors because AMD had faster and more overclockable hardware. Intel didn’t let that sit long and today AMD has nice parts and lower prices than Intel frequently, but Intel wins out in the high-end with processors that offer higher performance than AMD in many instances.

AMD has reintroduced one of its high-end lines of processors specifically aimed at the enthusiast and gamer. The line of processors have been unveiled at E3 and is called the FX series. The first of the new FX platforms is called Scorpius and will use the currently shipping 9-series chipset mainboards and AMD Radeon HD 6000 series graphics cards along with the upcoming Zambezi unlocked 8-core processor. One more image after the break.

Continue reading via SlashGear

AMD needs to boost Bulldozer clock speeds before release

Advanced Micro Devices needs to improve performance of its FX-series "Zambezi" microprocessors for desktops featuring the Bulldozer micro-architecture before launching them, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Performance can be improved with a new stepping, which will be production ready only by August.

The long-awaited central processing units (CPUs) featuring the code-named Bulldozer micro-architecture are now fully-functional and work without flaws, according to a person who wished to remain anonymous. The problem with the delay of the AMD FX family of chips is that they currently cannot operate at truly high-speeds and thus cannot achieve performance levels that AMD wanted them to. As result, AMD will need to design a new stepping of the processor and therefore delay the commercial launch to September.

Continue reading the rest of the article over at Xbit Labs

Top-end AMD Bulldozer FX 8-core processor will be priced at $320

Even though Advanced Micro Devices' next-generation FX-series microprocessors code-named Zambezi and powered by Bulldozer micro-architecture are projected to bring the company back onto the market of high-performance desktop microprocessors, the new chips will be relatively affordable. For example, the highest-performing model will cost $320, according to a media report.

As reported previously, the initial family of FX chips will include four models: two eight-core flavours, one six-core version as well as one quad-core chip. The top-of-the-line FX-8130P and FX-8110 will cost $320 and $290, respectively, six-core FX-6110 central processing unit will be priced at $240, whereas quad-core FX-4110 microprocessor will cost $190, according to a news-story by Donanim Haber web-site.

Continue reading the rest of the article over at Xbit Labs

AMD Bulldozer FX clock speeds and benchmarks leaked

As the launch of the AMD FX-series microprocessors code-named "Zambezi" gets nearer, more information about the chips powered by Bulldozer micro-architecture emerge on the web. Based on a recent leak, one of AMD's premium eight-core FX chip will operate at 2.80GHz in default mode and will be able to almost match Intel Corp.'s six-core Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor in terms of performance.

A major maker of mainboards has reportedly released some of the technical specs and benchmark results of AMD FX 8110 microprocessor for internal use. The information somehow leaked to general public and was republished by a number of web sites (1, 2). Although the specifications of the chip as well as its benchmark results come from strictly unofficial sources, there are indirect evidences that confirm that the information published is at least partially correct. Furthermore, certain specifications revealed by the screenshot are confirmed by AMD's internal documents seen by X-bit labs.

Read the rest of the article over at Xbit Labs

VIA announces its first Quad-core processor

VIA Technologies revealed its upcoming 4-core processor, simply called "QuadCore". The chip comes in BGA packages, and is simply a multi-chip module (MCM) of two Nano X2 dies built on the 40 nm process. One of the first models is the QuadCore L4700, which is clocked at 1.20 GHz with a BClk of 266 MHz. Using the Adaptive Overclocking feature, the processor can bump clock speeds up to 1.46 GHz provided the thermal solution by the manufacturer can keep up, while keeping the chip within its thermal constraint of 27.5W TDP. Each of the two dies can independently up speeds based on their individual loads and temperatures. 

Continue reading the rest of the article at TechPowerUp.com

Apple sees ARM processors in iMacs and MacBooks by 2013

Word has reached SemiAccurate that Apple is going to show Intel the door, at least as far as laptops are concerned. It won’t be really soon, but we are told it is a done deal.

The short story is that Apple is moving the laptop line, and presumably desktops too, to ARM based chips as soon as possible. With A15/Eagle allowing more than 32-bit memory access, things look up, but it seems silly to do so before the full 64 bit cores come in the following generation. Nvidia is directly telling certain favored analysts that they will have Denver out in Q4 of 2012, maybe Q1/2013, and that uses the full on 64-bit ARM instruction set. It won’t be out by then, but that gives you a good estimation of when that ISA will break cover from one vendor or other. Think mid-2013.

Read the rest of the article at SemiAccurate

Intel revolutionizes the processor. Ivy Bridge will sport 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors

Intel has announced its 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors, the world’s first on a production technology, and with the potential to create not only smaller chips for smartphones, tablets and other ultraportables, but to make more powerful servers and desktop PCs. The 3D Tri-Gate transistors will be first used in Intel Ivy Bridge processors, demonstrated today and set to be the first high-volume CPUs based on the new technology. Intel isn’t holding back on the hyperbole, saying Ivy Bridge will bring “an unprecedented combination of power savings and performance gains” – up to 37-percent more performance, in fact – and the company even managed to get Gordon E. Moore – who coined “Moore’s Law” – to speak up on how important the 22nm evolution is to tech.

Read more about Intels latest revolution at SlashGear.com

AMD Bulldozer and Llano performance numbers revealed in leaked slides

AMD has leaked some in-house performance projections for its upcoming FX-series processors and Llano A4, A6 and A8 APUs. (No relation to Audi)

The slides were posted by DonanimHaber and they reveal that the Llano should be able to match Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors in terms of overall performance. However, as expected it is somewhat weaker on the CPU side of things, but it manages to make up the difference in graphics performance.

Here is an example. In combined PCMark and 3DMark Vantage tests the most powerful A8 series Llano outpaces the Core i5 2300 and comes close to the Core i7 2600k. However, in terms of CPU power alone, it is still behind the Core i3 2100. In the graphics department, no Intel part is a match for any Llano core.

The 8-core FX series CPU matches the Core i7 2600k in CPU performance and it is about 25 percent faster than the current Phenom II X6 1100T. This is still not enough to threaten Intel’s lead in the high-end, but we are talking about an entirely new architecture, with a lot of room for further evolution and improvement.

See more slides after the break.

via Fudzilla
source DonanimHaber

A review of the AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition processor

In an attempt to put AMD's fastest quad-core processor on the market, they release the Phenom II X4 980, which comes with a very high 3.7 GHz clock frequency, that's right 3700 MHz (!) as a default peak clock frequency.

Explaining Phenom II X4 processors can be best done by looking at what the first generation Phenom really was. First there was the transition from 65nm to 45nm, if you look at this from a distance it pretty much means that they were able to make this processor smaller compared to the last generation Phenom (I) products. And that had advantages, often to be found in lower voltages and higher clock frequencies. The Phenom II X4 980 BE that runs at 3.6 GHz and has a voltage range of 0.875 to 1.5V.

Read the full review over at Guru3D