AMD Athlon 64 X2 to be the name for Desktop Dual Core?

Subject: Processors | April 13, 2005 - 04:56 PM | Ryan Shrout
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Might we already know the name of the new, upcoming Athlon 64 dual core desktop parts?

The flagship AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ will have both its cores operating at 2.4GHz, the same frequency as the AMD Athlon 64 4000+, and we'll be surprised if this doesn't obliterate the already impressive Pentium Extreme Edition 840 we reviewed here.

Intel Moves up Release of Dual Core Extreme Edition

Subject: Processors | April 12, 2005 - 10:10 AM | Ryan Shrout
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In a move that will definitely confuse many, Intel has decided to move UP the release of the dual core Extreme Edition processors and the corresponding 955 chipset.  Being as I don't even have a sample of the product yet, its really hard for me to even tell you if this is good or bad, but weighing in the difficultly Intel had getting parts out to the press, I can't imagine this being a very wide release at all...

Intel will move up the launch date of its dual-core series Pentium Extreme Edition 840 CPU

Anandtech Looks into Dual Core: Part II

Subject: Processors | April 7, 2005 - 10:24 AM | Ryan Shrout
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In this second installment from Anand, he is looking at the less expensive 2.8 GHz dual core Pentium D processor.

Dual Core Opterons Closing in on the 21st

Subject: Processors | April 7, 2005 - 10:13 AM | Ryan Shrout
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It looks like the Inquirer believes that AMD is going to release their dual core Opteron parts on the 2nd anniversary of the original Opteron release.  That would be ideal, wouldn't it?

CHIP FIRM Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will likely ship two members of its four/eight way dual core family on the 21st of April, bang in time for the second anniversary of its Opteron launch.

Another Intel Dual Core Preview

Subject: Processors | April 4, 2005 - 03:19 PM | Ryan Shrout
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Just caught another Intel dual core processor preview, this time at Anandtech. 

- When it comes to dual core vs. single core with Hyper Threading, there's a huge difference.  While both improve system response time, dual core improves it more while also guaranteeing better overall system performance.  Hyper Threading lets you multitask, dual core lets you actually get work done while multitasking. 

Intel Extreme Edition Dual Core Processor Previews

Subject: Processors | April 4, 2005 - 03:08 PM | Ryan Shrout
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All the rage on the Internet today is the supposed "release" of the Intel Extreme Edition 840 processor.  The reviews are few and far between, pointing to either a very rushed release or difficulty getting the amount of parts ready. 

HardOCP gives you the quick and important information on the new XE 840 processor, without a lot of techy-fluff.  They sum it up pretty nicely.

There are also articles from such sites as He

Overclocking the Athlon 64 3500+

Subject: Processors | March 31, 2005 - 10:30 AM | Ryan Shrout
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Want to read about one sites experiences overclocking the 3500+ Newcastle core processor?  They say that buying a CPU is luck of the draw on whether you get Newcastle or Winchester, or any core, but if you look around at most online sites like Newegg, they specify for you.

There's little doubt that the AMD Athlon64 3500+ is the processor that most enthusiasts will go with as it offers a higher multiplier than lower end models but does not break the bank either.

Interview with AMD's Fred Weber

Subject: Processors | March 31, 2005 - 10:28 AM | Ryan Shrout
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I was some how left out of this endeavor to AMD this week, but no matter.  Anandtech has a good quality article up on what comments they got from Fred Weber, who was the lead architect on the K8 core.

We also asked Weber about his thoughts on wafer and die stacking; he sounded particularly interested in them, but added that for a microprocessor it's far too early to count on die stacking because of yield concerns.  He said that the time for the technology to be used on microprocessors would only exis

Asus CT-479 Pentium M Upgrade Kit

Subject: Processors | March 25, 2005 - 10:09 PM | Ryan Shrout
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Legit Reviews has another look (with actual benchmarks this time) of the Asus CT-479 Pentium M upgrade kit. 

The idea to put Intel Pentium M — the chip originally designed for mobile computers — into desktops has been around for a quite while, and Legit Reviews sees the trend staying around in the future.  With Intel seeing companies selling Pentium-M adapters and desktop boards it may be only time till Intel jumps on board and designs a mobile desktop solution.  If corporate buyers pic

Might Pressler and the 65nm Intel CPUs Be Early?

Subject: Processors | March 23, 2005 - 12:24 PM | Ryan Shrout
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In my IDF coverage, I mentioned how healthy the 65nm technology from Intel looked, but I didn't think they would be bumping up time tables, but it looks like that may happen. 

The interesting bit is that Intel is now telling people that it may pull the 65 nanometre launch forward by a few months, maybe as early as late Q3. This would mean Cedar Mill, Presler, and possibly Yonah wukk arrive much earlier than anyone thinks.

64-bit Computing Put to the Test

Subject: Processors | March 23, 2005 - 12:15 PM | Ryan Shrout
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Scott over at The Tech Report has taken a good, detailed look at the current state of the 64-bit world by comparing the Athlon 64 and the new Intel EM64T processors against each other in several series of benchmarks.

For PC enthusiasts and gamers, moving to 64 bits may not present as many obvious advantages in the near term, but there's also very little apparent penalty in going with Windows XP Pro x64, even if it's only to run 32-bit applications.

Asus CT-479 CPU Adaptor

Subject: Processors | March 21, 2005 - 11:57 PM | Ryan Shrout
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If you think you might want to change that old 478-pin motherboard over to a 479-pin Pentium M platform, then you may want to look at the Asus CT-479 that will do just that.  This article does little more than give you a vague look at the product, but more a more complete look is coming soon here at PCP.

The CT-479 seen above actually has a quite a bit more to it than one might expect.  Since the adapter will not allow a standard socket 478 heat sink to be used ASUS provides one with the kit.

Understanding the Cell Microprocessor

Subject: Processors | March 17, 2005 - 02:47 PM | Ryan Shrout
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If you have heard anything about the recent announcements of the PS3 and the development of something called a "cell processor", then you'll want to read Anandtech's article on the architecture.  Anand finds out some damn detailed info on the new processing sytle, and what it might mean to you, very soon.

Cell's architecture is similar to the next version of Microsoft's Xbox and upcoming PC microprocessors in that it is heavily multithreaded.

Intel to Cut Pentium M Prices

Subject: Processors | March 15, 2005 - 12:36 PM | Ryan Shrout
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It looks like Intel is going to dropping prices on the current Pentium M processors, but not until July 24th.  The price drop comes with the launch of a new processor, the 780, but the 765 price will drop by 50% to $423!  This is good news, but I wish the price drop would occur sooner as I am actually working on a P-M desktop article.

Intel plans to cut the prices of its 700-series Pentium M processors on July 24, to take on Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) newly launched Turion 64 mobile CPUs, according

VIA C7 Processor Coming this Summer

Subject: Processors | March 15, 2005 - 12:34 PM | Ryan Shrout
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According to the French folks at X86-secret.com, VIA is going to be launching a new processor at this summer's Computex show in Taipei.  The new C7 processor is going to be based on the current 478-pin package.  You'll need to take the Babelfish with you to read it though, heh.

C'est étrangement au CeBIT que nous avons obtenu confirmation du lancement des CPUs VIA C7 et C7-M lors du Computex de Taiwan.

Multi-core and multi-threaded Gaming Editorial

Subject: Processors | March 15, 2005 - 01:12 AM | Ryan Shrout
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Anandtech has posted an editorial on the theories and ideas behind multi-threaded gaming, and the difficulties associated with it.  This is worth the read, especially with the interview with Tim Sweeney of Epic Games on support for multiple threads in the Unreal Engine 3.

Tim Sweeney: Yes! These are hard problems, certainly not the kind of problems every game industry programmer is going to want to tackle.

Dual Core Athlon 64 Benchmarked

Subject: Processors | March 13, 2005 - 02:52 AM | Ryan Shrout
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An Italian site called HWUpgrade.it has apparently benchmarked a 2.4 GHz Athlon 64 dual core processor in the Cinebench test, with some interesting results.  The site is in Italian, but the images are universal, so give it a look.

VIA Brings Dual Processing to Mini-ITX with the New VIA EPIA DP-310 Mainboard

Subject: Processors | March 11, 2005 - 12:24 PM | Ryan Shrout
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If you remember, we brought you the very first pictures of this board from our VIA meeting in January.  But now, the launch is official:

The VIA EPIA DP-310 Mini-ITX mainboard is powered by two power-efficient 1GHz VIA Eden-N(TM) processors featuring advanced in-built hardware security, while the acclaimed VIA CN400 digital media chipset, Gigabit Ethernet and an extensive array of high bandwidth I/O, high-speed storage and connectivity options afford an unprecedented level of integration for server and em