Surprise Bulldozer; a sneak peek at the unreleased AMD processors

Subject: Processors | March 22, 2011 - 06:25 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Phoronix noticed something very interesting on their OpenBenchmarking.org project.  One submitter seems to be benchmarking a "AMD Eng Sample ZS182045TGG43_28" which appears to be one of the unreleased 16-core Interlagos Opterons.  The 32 core, 1.8GHz beats Intel's newest on the Ray Tracing benchmark that was used to test performance and it shows great promise on two other benchmarks that were verified as valid.  Some techies will also be very pleased that the new chips obviously have no problems with Linux.

"Lately we have been talking a lot about Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors under Linux due to their very competitive performance and interesting graphics abilities, but on the AMD side there has not been too much to talk about. On the low-end there is the intriguing Fusion APUs, but on the high-end they don't have an answer to Sandy Bridge until delivering their new "Bulldozer" products closer to the summer. Fortunately, we have the first Linux scoop and performance benchmarks from engineering samples of their 16-core Interlagos server chip."

Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:

  Processors

• Intel Sandy Bridge VA- API Video Acceleration Performance @ Phoronix
• Intel Core i3-2100 vs. AMD Phenom II X2 565 @ SPCR
• Desktop CPU Comparison Guide @ TechARP
• Mobile CPU Comparison Guide @ TechARP

The Core i7 990X Extreme would like a word with you

Subject: Processors | March 4, 2011 - 01:06 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Core i7-990X is a little upset that no one is paying attention to it.  Instead everyone is focused on what is a mid-range series of processors named SandyBridge that hangs out with a friend that doesn't like storage devices.  It is after all the fastest that Intel offers and has support for a lot of features that SB won't have until the high end series is finally released. 

Check out The Tech Report to see Intel's new flagship CPU in action.

"I hate to brag, but with six cores at 3.46GHz, a Turbo peak of 3.73GHz, 12MB of L3 cache, and three channels of DDR3 memory, I'm kind of a big deal. Add in the fact that my upper multipliers are unlocked so that I can be overclocked, and you can see why my asking price is one dollar short of a grand. If you still don't get it, just know that the valedictorian at your high school would probably have a nerdgasm over me. That's the sort of response I tend to provoke among dudes who know what I am. And ladies, of course. Both of them are pretty excited, too."

Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:

Processors

• Intel Core i7 990X Hexcore 1366 @ OC3D
• Intel I7 -2600K Sandybridge Review @ Tweaknews
• Intel Celeron Dual Core E3300 CPU Review @ BayReviews
• Workstation & Server CPU Comparison Guide @ TechARP
• CPU Performance Comparison Guide @ TechARP
• Mobile CPU Comparison Guide Rev 6.7 @ TechARP
• Foxconn AHD1S "AMD APU Onboard" Motherboard Review @ Madshrimps
• AMD E-350 Accelerated Processor @ X-bit Labs

More Bulldozer information, from ISSCC

Subject: Processors | February 22, 2011 - 02:32 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Some news came out of the International Solid State Circuits Conference
about AMD's architecture refresh, which we all know as Bulldozer.  Processor diagrams reveal information about the out of order (OoO) instruction capabilities as well as information about the L3 cache, something that caused problems in previous generations.  Overclockers.com has linked to various posts detailing the new processor as well as adding information they've gleaned themselves.

Sandy Bridge CPUs back on sale at Newegg

Subject: Processors | February 17, 2011 - 07:39 PM | Ryan Shrout
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Well that's interesting, I got a tip from twitter (thanks john_blanton!) that Sandy Bridge processors were back on sale over at Newegg.com.  Sure enough, that is indeed the case:

AMD wants APUs and Llano to be our Valentine

Subject: Processors | February 14, 2011 - 09:08 AM | Ryan Shrout
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I have to admit that sometimes AMD doesn't come off as the most modern and hip company when it comes to advertising, but today they did something quite "fresh" and humorous.  When the door bell rang at 8am this morning and I found a small cubed package on the step, I honestly wasn't expecting anything.  Inside I found a coffee mug with the label "I (heart) APU" on it filled with small chocolates. 

Unfortunately my mug was in about a dozen pieces, but hey, the candy was still good!

Gauging the performance of SandyBridge

Subject: Processors | February 10, 2011 - 11:52 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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You could choose to find the delay of P67/H67 boards a major source of frustration, since you know they exist but not only hard to find but guaranteed to need an RMA.  Or you could decide that this is a great way to ensure that hardware reviewers do all the heavy lifting for you in determining the best ways to overclock SandyBridge parts, leaving you to do fine tuning once you get your hands on a system.  For those choosing the second option, you should drop by The Tech Report where they've just finished an investig

Intel shipping dual-core Sandy Bridge and current chipset

Subject: Processors | February 8, 2011 - 06:00 PM | Ryan Shrout
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An interesting twist in the continuing saga of Intel's "broken chipset" occurred over the last couple of days.  First, Intel published a press release basically saying that they were going to allow shipments of their current chipset, still with the flaw, to certain manufacturers that agreed to implement certain work-arounds. 

Newegg pulls Sandy Bridge CPUs and P67 MBs while NVIDIA snickers quietly

Subject: Processors | January 31, 2011 - 09:51 PM | Ryan Shrout
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We have already begun fielding questions on twitter and in the forums about what to do with existing systems and plans that readers had to build a Sandy Bridge system in the near future.  In a sense, we were given our answer when a user pointed out that Newegg has pulled both the 2nd Gen Core i5/i7 processors and motherboards based on the P67/H67 chipsets.

Linux and SandyBridge, the CPU portion is certainly working well

Subject: Processors | January 28, 2011 - 11:12 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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A caller left a voicemail asking if Linux will support SandyBridge's GPU on PC Perspective Podcast #138 and we directed him to a certain Intel blog post.  Over at Phoronix they are still trying to get the GPU acceleration to work perfectly, so far with mixed results.  That has not stopped them from benchmarki

The other locked members of the SandyBridge family

Subject: Processors | January 18, 2011 - 12:58 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Many of the reviews we have seen of SandyBridge processors have focused on the pair of unlocked processors, for quite obvious reasons.  There are other members of the SB family that were released as well the Core-i5 2300, 2400 and 2500, all over 3GHz and around $200 in price.  X-bit Labs pitted them against previous generation Intel CPUs as well as a pair of Phenom IIs, take a look at the results here.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Unveils Industry's First 28nm Signoff-Ready Digital Design Flows

Subject: Processors | January 13, 2011 - 11:16 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Milpitas, Calif.

AMD fires CEO Dirk Meyer and begins hunt for new fall-man

Subject: Processors | January 10, 2011 - 06:00 PM | Ryan Shrout
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In a move that is stunning to just about everyone, the Board of Directors at AMD has decided to part ways with CEO Dirk Meyer.  Even after having...

NVIDIA settles with Intel for $1.5 billion and cross-licensing

Subject: Processors | January 10, 2011 - 05:37 PM | Ryan Shrout
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It has been an interesting evening in the world of high tech business as the post-CES silence was broken by two news-worthy stories.  AMD's CEO gets kicked to the curb and now this: NVIDIA is settling its legal issues with Intel for $1.5 billion paid over five annual payments in exchange for a cross-licensing deal during that time.  For all the talk from each company's respective CEOs over the years of this dispute, it all comes down to some simple payments and we'll likely not hear of it again until the renewal season is met. 

The patents are really going one way here - Intel gets access to NVIDIA's portfolio of goodies in exchange for this payment.  Does NVIDIA get access to Intel information?  Likely, but it doesn't look like the green team has any plans to use it:

Well there you go - NVIDIA doesn't plan on to work on a processor compatible with x86 technology and instead is going to push forward with its Project Denver that will attempt to bring the ARM architecture to larger platforms like tablets, notebooks and even desktops.  That much I have always believed - x86 is big, complex and not the best tool for the job in terms of mobile devices. 

What we might have expected was a return of NVIDIA to the world of Intel platform core logic design, but that sounds like its out as well.  I am guessing that restarting the division inside the company would take longer than it is worth and with the continued rise of Intel's desktop-class processor graphics, going down that road is less and less profitable.

Intel to Pay NVIDIA Technology Licensing Fees of $1.5 Billion

New Six-Year Cross-License Renews Previous Agreement

SANTA CLARA, CA, Jan 10, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --

NVIDIA announced today that it has signed a new six-year cross-licensing agreement with Intel.

For the future use of NVIDIA's technology, Intel will pay NVIDIA an aggregate of $1.5 billion in licensing fees payable in five annual installments, beginning Jan. 18, 2011.

NVIDIA and Intel have also agreed to drop all outstanding legal disputes between them.

"This agreement signals a new era for NVIDIA," said Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA's president and chief executive officer. "Our cross license with Intel reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies. It also underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing."

Under the new agreement, Intel will have continued access to NVIDIA's full range of patents. In return, NVIDIA will receive an aggregate of $1.5 billion in licensing fees, to be paid in annual installments, and retain use of Intel's patents, consistent with its existing six-year agreement with Intel. This excludes Intel's proprietary processors, flash memory and certain chipsets for the Intel platform.

The existing agreement is to expire March 31, 2011.

Pursuant to U.S. GAAP, a portion of the proceeds will be accounted for and attributed to the settlement of prior legal claims. This amount, which NVIDIA anticipates to be less than $100 million, will be included in the company's fourth-quarter results.

The balance of the licensing fees will be accounted for on a straight-line basis over the six-year term of the agreement. Accordingly it is anticipated that this would amount annually to approximately $233 million of operating income and an increase in net income of $0.29 per diluted share, on a full year basis.

AMD's CPU refresh

Subject: Processors | January 7, 2011 - 10:31 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Amongst the excitement of CES 2011, AMD's refreshing of their processor lineup has been overshadowed somewhat.  You can get a look at the various models as well as the speed bumps that they represent by dropping by Legit Reviews. 

CES 2011: AMD Fusion powers Rabbit Butt Projector

Subject: Processors | January 5, 2011 - 03:52 PM | Ryan Shrout
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At first you might think this is just a normal rabbit smoking a cigarette...

CES 2011 Video: AMD Showcases Fusion Processors

Subject: Processors | January 5, 2011 - 03:06 AM | Ryan Shrout
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During the opening festivities for CES tonight, AMD was on hand demonstrating a handful of design wins based on the new AMD E-series APUs.  Previously called the Brazos platform, we spent some hands on time with the combined CPU/GPU back in November 2010 and came away very impressed.  

CES 2011: VIA Releases Nano X2

Subject: Processors | January 4, 2011 - 02:02 PM | Josh Walrath
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Some months back I was able to lay hands on the latest dual core VIA Nano processor, albeit an engineering sample made on the older 65 nm process from TSMC.  Now VIA has announced that their latest VIA Nano X2 chips are available at 40 nm.  This should have a very positive effect on the power consumption of systems based on these chips.

CES 2011: GIGABYTE Unveils Its First AMD Fusion Mini-ITX Motherboard

Subject: Processors | January 4, 2011 - 03:08 AM | Ryan Shrout
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