dual core

Intel Atom Dual Core processor debuts

Paul Mah — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:27:41 -0400

The first dual-core Atom processor from Intel has made its debut as an engineering sample that the Guru of 3D somehow got from ECS. Clocking in at 1.6GHz, the Atom 330 has two cores with independent caches, yet it draws just 8W in power consumption. The FSB remains the same at 533MHz. Intel earlier confirmed that the first dual-core Atom processor would be shipping in September. The verdict on the performance of the Atom 330 is that while it is not particularly stellar, it "should" do the job better than alternatives by Via. Windows Vista ran perfectly, with Windows XP running "pretty fast." Surfing, listening to music, and even watching a DVD are all in a day's work for this nifty processor.

For more information on the Atom Dual Core:
- check out this article from The Register

AMD unveils enterprise PCs

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:40:09 -0400

So, you're a microprocessor vendor that's struggling to catch up to the competition: What are you to do? I can't say that "release enterprise-class machines" is the first thing that comes to mind, but you've got to give AMD points for originality. The company has just announced a wholly unexpected hardware line of a different sort, starting with the descriptively-named "Business Class desktop." Inside you'll find--what else?--an AMD CPU of your choosing, be it a dual-core Athlon X2, a triple-core Phenom X3 or a quad-core Phenom X4. The company will be selling the machines, which are aimed squarely at small and medium-sized businesses, via a troupe of enterprise vendors, including Acer, HP, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens and Lenovo. If that's not enough for the AMD fan in you, you'll be pleased to hear that the company plans to launch a similar AMD-branded laptop during the second half of the year.

For more on the new PCs:
- see this Engadget story

AMD tri-core Phenom gets reviewed

Mehan Jayasuriya — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:34:47 -0400

AMD's 2.4Ghz, triple-core Phenom X3 is a bit of an odd-bird: it's got more core than a dual-core CPU but it's not quite a quad-core chip. So, how does it perform? Well, according to the hardware heads at Maximum PC, exactly as you would expect: it's faster than AMD's dual-core offerings but not quite as fast as the quad-core parts. While that might strike a performance sweet spot for some, the chip's retail price--$195--makes it a tough sell, when quad-core CPUs from both AMD and Intel can be had for just a pittance more. "If performance is king, you should avoid tri core and go straight to a quad," Maximum PC writes. "If you’re on the fence between a dual and a tri, we would take a tri-core Phenom over a dual-core Athlon 64 any day of the week, but up against an Intel Core 2 Duo, it gets a little trickier."

For more on the Phenom X3:
- see this Maximum PC article

The ultraportable laptop: form vs. function

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0500

In the world of ultraportable laptops, there's no more fundamental dichotomy than that of form vs. function. After all, a good subnotebook is only expected to be two things at the end of the day: portable and usable enough to get the job done. The question is, however, how much portability are you willing to sacrifice for power? Or conversely, how many features are you willing to go without for the sake of a featherweight machine?

Two new ultraportable laptops--the Apple MacBook Air and the Lenovo ThinkPad X300--rekindled that age old ultraportable debate this past week. Both laptops can fit in a manila mailing envelope. Both sport dual-core Intel chips and can run Windows. Both offer WiFi, Bluetooth, a full-size keyboard, a 13.3" LED-backlit display and a respectable amount of battery life. And both machines are being drooled over by mobile professionals as we speak.

Here's where they diverge: the X300 is a bit fatter but offers a whole lot more in the built-in hardware department (optical drive, 3G, more ports). Meanwhile, the MacBook Air sacrifices a lot of features in order to squeeze into a jaw-droppingly svelte case. In this light, many have pointed to the X300 as the business answer to the more consumer-oriented MacBook Air.

I, however, am not buying this argument. I think that there are a lot of consumers out there who will find the X300 appealing. And I think there are just as many road warriors who would love to tuck a MacBook Air into their briefcase and forget that it's there. Ultimately, it comes down to a question of how you work and what you value in a portable machine. Do you need multiple USB ports and an Ethernet jack or are you wireless 99 percent of the time? Do you like to watch DVDs while waiting at the airport on business trips? Would that extra inch of thickness be just enough to make your bag feel too cramped? Does the idea of a major data transfer over WiFi fill you with dread?

At the end of the day, the MacBook Air and the ThinkPad X300 are both powerful machines in impressively small packages. And it can be said that both offer a lot of function with a focus on form. The real question, as with any laptop, is which offers the right balance for the way that you work? I don't think I need to tell you that there's only one person who knows the answer to that question. -Mehan

Intel launches dual-core Celerons

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Call it a sign of the times: Intel's budget-minded Celeron line has just entered the dual-core age. The new high-end Celeron, the 1.6Ghz E1200, sports 512K bytes of cache and an 800Mhz front-side bus; it's available now for $53 in quantities of 1000. While it's not quite cutting-edge (the E1200 is manufactured using a 65nm process, as opposed to the 45nm process used for Intel's high-end chips), it's definitely a big step up for the Celeron and brings all of Intel's chip lines into the multi-core era. No word yet on what the future holds for the rest of the Celeron line, though more dual-core CPUs seems like a safe bet at this point.

For more on the Celeron E1200:
- see this PC World article

Intel: 2008 Penryn details emerge

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Yesterday, we told you that Intel was launching 16 new 45nm CPUs, essentially doubling the size of its bleeding-edge Penryn lineup. Today, we've got the full scoop, with details on all the newly-confirmed parts. Without further ado:

Mobile Penryns (800Mhz FSB)

Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8 GHz, 44W, 6MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo T9500 2.6 GHz, 35W, 6MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5 GHz, 35W, 6MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4 GHz, 35W, 3MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo T8100 2.1 GHz, 35W, 3MB L2 cache

Desktop Penryns (1333Mhz FSB)

Core 2 Quad Q9550, 2.83Ghz, 12MB L2 cache
Core 2 Quad Q9450, 2.66Ghz, 12MB L2 cache
Core 2 Quad Q9300, 2.50Ghz, 6MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo E8500, 3.16Ghz, 6MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo E8400, 3Ghz, 6MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo E8200, 2.66Ghz, 6MB L2 cache
Core 2 Duo E8190, 2.66Ghz, 6MB L2 cache

Server-class Xeons (1333Mhz FSB)

Quad-core Xeon, X3360 2.83Ghz, 12MB L2 cache
Quad-core Xeon X3350, 2.66Ghz, 12MB L2 cache
Quad-core Xeon X3320, 2.5Ghz, 6MB L2 cache
Dual-core Xeon E3110, 3.0Ghz, 6MB L2 cache

Holy cow, that's a whole lot of CPUs. While we've been expecting most of these parts for a while, thanks to leaked roadmaps and other info, its still quite exciting to see them all in the flesh. While the Core 2 Quad and Quad-core Xeon parts are delayed until later in the quarter (it seems that someone is hogging them all), the rest of these CPUs should be available later this month. Also, on the mobile side, Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced during his CES keynote that the company's Menlow UMPC platform will be available in Q1 of this year and that devices using the platform will start showing up during the second quarter.

For the full details on the new chips:
- see this Ars Technica article

Dual-core Intel Celerons due in January?

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:59:59 -0500

Remember those dual-core Celerons that Intel was scheduled to pump out sometime during the first quarter of 2008? If the Digitimes has it right, we could be seeing those budget-minded CPUs on January 20th, not too long after the rumored January 6th launch of the mobile Penryn lineup. The fist dual-core Celeron, the E1000, is set to run at 1.2Ghz, with a 800Mhz bus and 512K of cache. It'll retail for $53 in quantities of 1000 or more.

But that's not all, folks. According to the report, the 20th will also bring those Yorkfield and Wolfdale chips we've all been looking forward to. The second wave of 45nm chips will come in two varieties: the quad-core Yorkfield and the dual-core Wolfdale. The Yorkfields (QX9000-series) are said to range from 2.5 to 2.83Ghz while the Wolfdales (E8000-series) look to clock in at speeds from 2.66 to 3.16Ghz.

For more on Intel's 2008 roadmap:
- see this Digitimes article

ALSO NOTED: Next version of IE will be IE8; 20 percent of French iPhones sold unlocked;

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> Next version of IE will be IE8. Article
> Samsung to reveal world's first 1.3-inch hard drive at CES. Article
> 20 percent of iPhones sold in France are unlocked. Article
> Adobe PDF becomes ISO standard. Article
> IBM develops photonic supercomputer on a chip. Article
> Dell and Best Buy partner for retail sales. Article
> Rumor: Dual-core Celerons in January. Article

And Finally... Vista bug presents a paradox. Article

AMD: Tri-core soon, bye bye Quad FX

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Remember those wacky tri-core CPUs that AMD was said to be preparing for early next year? Well, you had better get ready for them: word on the street is that the tri-core CPUs (code-named "Toliman"), are all set to hit retail in February. According to Digitimes, AMD will launch with two 89W versions of the chip, with clock speeds of 2.5Ghz and 2.3Ghz. Meanwhile, on the dual-core front, the company will also unleash two new Barcelona-based chips, the 6050 and 6250. While both chips are said to be dual-core, 65W models, their clock speeds are currently unknown.

Sure, AMD might giveth but they also know how to taketh away. Case in point: AMD's Suzy Pruitt revealed to Tech Report that the company has decided to phase out its Quad FX enthusiast platform. The company will not offer a Quad FX solution based on future processors though they will offer an upgrade path to the few unlucky souls who purchased Quad FX systems. Given AMD's recent financial woes and Quad FX's disappointing performance, it's hard to fault them for sending the platform out to pasture.

For more on AMD's roadmap:
- see this Ars Technica article

Two sub-$400 alternatives to the Eee PC

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:53 -0500

So, you fancy the idea of a sub-$400 laptop, eh? Well, we can't say that we blame you, with all of the excitement surrounding the Eee PC and all. While Asus' sub-notebook is a neat little piece of kit, it's definitely not for everyone. That's why we're happy to report that there will be at least two full-size alternatives this holiday season and both seem to address the Eee's shortcomings--namely the small display, cramped keyboard and limiting software.

First up is the Dell Vostro 1000 laptop. While this SMB-focused machine initially retailed for $700, Dell has seen fit to drop the price to $400, ostensibly in order to spur holiday sales. Here's what your four Benjamins buys you: a 15.4 inch display, a 1.7Ghz dual-core Athlon64 X2, 1GB of RAM, an integrated ATI graphics card, 802.11g WiFi, a 8x DVD burner and a pre-installed copy of Windows XP Home. Sure, these Vostro machines haven't exactly bowled over the critics but you know what they say: you get what you pay for.

If that's not your thing, you might want to start lining up outside of your local Best Buy soon. The big box retailer will offer a Toshiba Satellite A135-S7403 notebook and a Canon PIXMA 3-in-1 printer together as a bundle, for the low, low price of only $229. Yep, you read that right. Here's what you get in the laptop: a 1.73Ghz Celeron M 530 processor, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB SATA drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, Windows Vista Home Basic, a dual-layer DVD burner, Intel GMA950 integrated graphics and a 15.4 inch WXGA display. That's not too shabby for less than 300 bucks. Best Buy says that they'll have a minimum of 20 of these bundles per store this Friday but you might want to show up extra early, in order to beat the Black Friday crowds.

For more on the shockingly cheap laptops:
- see this Vallewag article on the Dell Vostro 1000
- and this Engadget article on the Toshiba Satellite A135-S7403