AMD updates its FX processors: 8-core chip has 4GHz base clock, ’15 percent’ more oomph, $195 price tag

If you get the impression that AMD is diverting its energy away from traditional CPUs and towards APUs and fresher PC form factors such as all-in-ones, then you’re certainly right — but you’re also slightly ahead of the game. The company promises there’s a still a good few years of life left in its CPU-only chips and the AM3+ socket, and it’s putting today’s announcement forward as evidence. As of now, last year’s eight-core FX-8150 has been superseded on retailers’ shelves by the FX-8350, which notches the stock clock speed up to 4GHz, or 4.2GHz on turbo (alas with no obvious sign of that resonant mesh we once heard about). The full stack (codenamed ‘Vishera’) includes eight-, six- and four-core options, all based on the new Piledriver architecture which — when combined with these higher clock speeds — promises an overall performance uplift of around 15 percent versus the old Bulldozer cores. To be fair though, those Bulldozers weren’t so snappy to begin with, and besides, the most significant performance claims with this upgrade relate to multi-threaded applications and a few gaming titles like Skyrim and Civ 5. Judging from the slide deck below, gains in other areas of performance may be lower — perhaps in the region of seven percent — so as usual we’re going to roundup a bunch of reviews later today before we jump to any conclusions.

If it turns out that stock performance alone isn’t enough to sell these chips, then potential buyers still ought to check out FX’s pricing relative to Intel — not least because, as is typical, AMD sells overclockable chips at no extra charge. The top-end FX-8350 will hit the market at $195, which is not only cheaper than some earlier leaks suggested, but also $40 cheaper than an unlocked Core i5-3570K that has a lower clock speed and a smaller L3 cache — although the relative performance of these two chips remains to be independently tested. Meanwhile, the entry-level quad-core FX-4300 will virtually match the price of a locked i3-2120 at $122, but can be readily overclocked to 5GHz with water-cooling. AMD is also making a few claims based on the cost of multiple components in a rig: for example, that you can spend $372 on an FX-8350 and Radeon HD 7850 combo that delivers a 25 to 70 percent gaming advantage over a similarly priced Core i5 3570K with a GeForce GTX 650 Ti. Again, stay tuned for our roundup and we’ll figure out just how compelling this really is.

AMD FX ‘Vishera’ slide deck

Intel prepara le CPU Atom Avoton a 8 Core con USb 3.0 e LAN Integrata

Nonostante si attenda il debutto dei Processori Atom Centerton, attesi per la fine dell’anno, Intel pensa già al futuro e alla piattaforma a basso consumo del 2013. L’ormai collaudata famiglia Atom si arricchirà con i nuovi Avoton, un SoC a tutti gli effetti che dovrebbe comunque riprendere alcune delle caratteristiche di Centertone.

Quello che stupisce è l’elevato numero di Core che costituisce queste CPU; il colosso di Santa Clara infatti, grazie sicuramente al processo produttivo a 22 nanometri, proporrà soluzioni da 2 a 8 Core (non sappiamo se con Hype Threading, ma non sarebbe male!) con frequenze fino a 2,7 GHz in modalità Turbo e TDP da 5 a 20 Watt. Avoton integrerà inoltre il controller USB 3.0 e quello LAN direttamente nella CPU. Questi processori faranno parte della piattaforma Edisonville che prevede schede madri equipaggiate con quattro porte Gigabit Ethernet, quattro porte USB 2.0, quattro porte SATA II (3 Gbps) e due SATA III (6 Gbps); manca il supporto PCI-E 3.0 ma Intel assicura la presenza di 16 linee PCI-E 2.0. Ovviamente è presto per parlare di performance e disponibilità, vi terremo aggiornati.

via

TI demos Windows RT on OMAP 4470, we go hands-on (video)

It seems like every ARM chip manufacturer wants a piece of Windows 8 here at Computex 2012 — and for good reason. Hot on the heels of Asus’ Tegra 3-equipped Tablet 600 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4-based development tablet, Texas Instruments is showing Windows RT on its very own OMAP 4470-based system. The 1.5GHz dual-core SoC features a PowerVR SGX544 GPU and leads the competition with a dual-channel memory interface. We chatted with Bill Crean, Product Manager of the OMAP Processor Business Unit who showed us Microsoft’s latest OS running on TI’s development tablet. The demo looked snappy enough, providing some insight about what to expect from some of Toshiba’s upcoming devices. No word yet on a quad-core version. Enjoy our hands-on gallery below and take a peek after the break for our demo video.

Thermaltake Water 2.0 All-in-one LCS Series Launches

Looking for a water cooled system to keep your PC processor cool, but worried your skills might not be up to the installation job? Thermaltake might have just the solution for you in the form of their new Water 2.0 All-in-one LCS Series.

The Thermaltake Water 2.0 All-in-one LCS Series comprises of three different water cooling systems the Water 2.0 Performer, Water 2.0 Pro and Water 2.0 Extreme.

The Water 2.0 Extreme has been created to provide a large 240mm surface radiator and two 12cm fans for additional heat dissipation. It comes supplied with Windows software to monitor your CPU temperatures, pump speed, coolant temperature and fan speeds.

The Water 2.0 Pro is equipped with a standard radiator, which is twice as thick as the Performer version, together with a single fan. More information on all three enclosed water cooling systems can be found over on the Thermaltake website. No information on pricing or worldwide availability has been released as yet.

Source: Toms Hardware

Intel releases Core i7-3820 CPU, proves Sandy Bridge E isn’t entirely elitist

The cost of entry to the LGA-2011 party just tumbled by around $250 thanks to Chipzilla’s Core i7-3820 processor. It’s a proper Sandy Bridge E processor with PCIe 3.0 support and more PCIe lanes, more memory bandwidth and room for more RAM compared to older platforms, but of course it’s also lower specced than the pricey 3960X and 3930K. It ‘only’ has four cores (and eight threads), 10MB of L3 cache and it isn’t fully unlocked — as denoted by the lack of a K or an X in its title. Priced at around $300, it looks like a steal when stacked up against an LGA-1155 cousin like the $332 Core i7-2700K, which has the same 3.9GHz base clock speed, 8MB of L3 cache and none of the added benefits of Sandy Bridge E. However, once you factor in the cost of an X79 motherboard and perhaps also a new cooling solution, Intel’s pricing starts to make more sense. AnandTech reviewed and benchmarked this chip a while back and reached a glowing conclusion — check it out at the More Coverage link below.

The Inquirer

Texas Instruments demos first OMAP 5, Android 4.0-based reference design, promises it in laptops next year (video)

Texas Instruments promised us a new helping of OMAP right around a year ago, and sure enough, OMAP 5 processors will be sampling to partners as early as next week. Texas Instruments’ Remi El-Ouazzane (VP of OMAP) just debuted an OMAP 5-based reference design (or “development platform,” if you will) on our CES stage, a solid four years after OMAP 3 debuted on a nondescript Archos tablet. OMAP 5 brings along a pair of cores and plenty of power savings, a dual-GPU architecture and more raw horsepower than the average simpleton is used to handling in a single palm. We saw quite a bit of swiping through Android 4.0.1, and as you’d expect, everything looked decidedly snappy. 720p video at 30 frames per second is no real chore, with the platform capable of pushing 1080p material at 64 frames per second (130 frames per second without screen refresh limitations). Of course, with everything being hardware accelerated, we can’t feign surprise about its future on netbooks and laptops. To quote Remi:

Texas Instruments first-ever OMAP 5 reference design demo at CES 2012

Dell unveils Alienware Aurora gaming rig, will serenade you for $2,200

Dell has just taken the wraps off a brand new addition to the Alienware family, hailing it, rather poetically, as “a serenade to raw gaming power.” It’s called the Alienware Aurora, and it’s staring at you with a Cylon-like grin in the image above. Beneath its menacing veneer lurks Intel’s six-core, 3000 series Core i7CPU, an X79 Express chipset and quad-channel DDR3 memory, all of which are kept in check by Dell’s liquid cooling and active venting technologies. The gaming rig also supports both multi-display and 3D configurations, with GDDR5 memory-laced graphics cards. In case you’re not satisfied, you can always get under the hood and tinker with it yourself, without even busting out your tool belt. The Alienware Aurora is available now for prices starting at $2,200, so hit up the source link for more details.

Dell

Leaked Intel roadmap hints at Ivy Bridge’s future

Considering how frequently Intel roadmaps leak out, you have to wonder which super-spy is smuggling all those diplomatic bags out of Santa Clara. The latest seems to contain detailed plans for 2012′s Ivy Bridge desktop chips (and the sad news that the release has been pushed back to Q2). There are no big surprises in the documents, since the company just shrunk some Sandy Bridge CPUs in the wash. Going down from a 32nm to 22nm microarchitecture has managed to wring 19 percent better power usage, which enabled Chipzilla to concentrate on beefing up the range’s integrated graphics performance, making it (reportedly) 60 percent faster than its bigger brother. The chipset will sit neatly atop your current Sandy Bridge motherboards, (You’ll just need to flash your BIOS), which is good because we’re stuck with the asthmatic, geriatric processor for at least another few months.

Anandtech

Xbit Labs

Maingear brings Intel i7-3960X Extreme Edition chip, Epic Audio Engine to desktops, extreme gamers

Looking to add a dash of extremity to your gaming existence? Maingear’s got you covered, now that it’s added a second generation Intel Core i7 CPU to a handful of its desktop offerings. Today, the company announced yet another upgrade to its SHIFT, Quantum SHIFT and F131 desktops, with the addition of the Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor. According to Maingear, this extra horsepower will provide gamers with a 34 percent improvement in performance at normal speeds, while offering similar enhancements in video editing and 3D rendering capabilities. That’s all thanks to the fact that the i7-3960X can be overclocked at a handsome 5.2GHz, with a quad-channel memory structure that brings even more bandwidth to the table. On top of that, the company has also added its own EPIC Audio Engine to this troika of rigs, using Aphex’s processing technology to offer audio that, according to Maingear, is “more balanced, more articulated, and simply put, better sounding.” The revamped desktops are on sale now, so hit up the source link for more information, or check out the full PR, after the break.

Maingear

NVIDIA says Tegra 3 is a ‘PC-class CPU,’ has screenshots to prove it

Asus can’t be absorbing all those limelight photons today. Not when its freshly detailed Transformer Prime depends so heavily on NVIDIA’s special sauce. Admittedly, we already know a lot about Tegra 3 from its Kal-El days, but we haven’t seen much in the way of real-world performance claims. Until now, that is. Below you’ll see newly released screenshots of Android games that have been souped-up to capitalize on the imminent Asus Eee Pad as well as other Tegra 3-powered devices — including smartphones — that are expected early next year. NVIDIA has also put out slides containing in-house benchmarks and head-to-head comparisons with the Tegra 2, which you’ll find right after the break.

AMD to cut workforce by 10 percent, invest savings in emerging markets and the cloud

After hitting a speed bump Q2 and making a modest bounce back in Q3, AMD doesn’t seem to want to take any chanceswith Q4: the CPU firm just announced it’s optimizing its cost structure to “enhance competitiveness and accelerate growth.” In a press release, the outfit stated that it expects to save $10 million in the fourth quarter by cutting its global workforce by 10 percent and killing off a few contractual commitments. AMD says that the workforce reduction is global, and reaches all divisions of the company — giving employees everywhere an excuse to rattle their boots. Combined with an efficiency heavy restructuring plan, the outfit predicts that the employee reduction will save more than $200 million in operational savings in 2012. AMD says it plans to reinvest a significant helping of the savings in projects targeting lower power, emerging markets and the cloud. Hit the press release after the break for official numbers and restructuring riffraff.

AMD

Shuttle launches XPC H7 5820S mini PC for your collection of 16 monitors

Wondering what do with those 16 monitors you’ve got lying around your house? Well, the folks over at Shuttle have just come out with a mouthful of a solution, known as the XPC H7 5820S. Shuttle’s latest mini-PC is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor with up to six cores, boasts 16GB of RAM and features a pair of 1TB hard disks. The workstation, compatible with Windows 7, also ships with a Blu-ray burner and packs Matrox’s M-Series multi-display graphics cards, allowing users to work across 16 different displays at once, at resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600 per screen. All this goodness is nestled within a box that’s just 7.5 inches tall, though it won’t come for cheap. According to SlashGear, the XPC H7 5820S is now available for a cool €1,446, or about $1,983. Find out more at the source link below, or in the full PR, waiting for you after the break.

SlashGear

Shuttle

ARM unveils Cortex-A7 processor, ‘big.LITTLE’ computing

Fancy a glimpse of the future? That little psychedelic beauty on the right is ARM’s brand new Cortex-A7 processor. Its spec sheet might not seem so colorful at first glance, because it doesn’t really do things any faster than existing high-end smartphone processors. However, this UK-based manufacturer isn’t known for bumping its gums, so it pays to look a little deeper. For a start, the Cortex-A7 is built using a 28nm process that makes it five times smaller and more efficient than the current-gen Cortex-A8. It’s also cheap enough to power sub-$100 handsets, so we could be pulling GSII-like tricks on budget phones within a couple of years.

Is that it? Nope, there’s more: perhaps the most important feature of the A7 is that it can be combined with much higher-power cores like the Cortex-A15 side-by-side on the same chip. This allows a super-phone or tablet to switch between two totally different processing units depending on how much power is needed at the time. ARM calls this “Big.LITTLE” computing,” and a similar concept is already in use on NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 (aka Kal-El) SoC, which we’ll see imminently in the next Asus Transformer. However, the Tegra 3 uses five identical Cortex-A9 cores, whereas a device that mix-and-matches the A15 and A7 could potentially deliver higher highs and lower lows, giving you speed when you need it and amazing battery life when you don’t. How cute is that? Full PR after the break.

AnandTech

Benchmarks clock iPhone 4S’ A5 CPU at 800MHz, show major GPU upgrade over iPhone 4

Pre-orders for the iPhone 4S only began shipping this week, but a handful of early owners have already taken Apple’s first A5-based smartphone for a test run, and they’ve got the benchmarks to prove it. The results, obtained by AnandTech, are hardly what we’d call shocking. In terms of Javascript performance (pictured above), the 4S measures up rather nicely against the Tegra 2-based Honeycomb competition, while out-dueling the iPhone 4 in overall CPU muscle. Geekbench results, meanwhile, clock the 4S at around 800MHz, with a score of 623. That’s about 25 percent lower than the A5-based iPad 2, but notably higher than the iPhone 4 (see graphic, after the break). When it comes to GPU performance, GLBenchmark 2.1 tests in 1280 x 720, off-screen render mode place Apple’s new handset well above the Galaxy S II, with scores of 122.7 and 67.1, respectively. It still trails the iPad 2, not surprisingly, but the 4S’ scores show a major advantage over the iPhone 4, which registered a score of 15.3. For more statistics and graphics, check out the source link below.

AnandTech

This is what Intel’s Haswell microarchitecture looks like (video from IDF)

Intel already showcased the future of solar-powered computing, but if you’re wondering what silicon from 2013 looks like today… well, have a gander! The chip shown above (and in the gallery / videos below) is Intel’s Haswell microarchitecture, a platform that is destined to slip into slimmer-than-slim laptops and Ultrabooks of the future. As mentioned yesterday, it’s built on 22nm process technology, relies on the company’s 3D Tri-gate transistors and should lead to over ten full days of connected standby battery life in mobile devices. So, now you know what it feels like to be in The Twilight Zone.

 

HTC Sensation XE gets official, packing 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and Beats Audio

The rumors can be laid to rest, because HTC has officially announced its Sensation XE handset, replete with some upgraded specs and Beats Audio. Powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, this Android device features a 4.3-inch touchscreen with qHD (540 X 960) resolution and boasts a larger 1730mAh battery that promises prolonged run times. As the first smartphone produced under HTC’s partnership with Beats Audio, this special edition Sensation also ships with a special pair of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, along with an 8GB or 16GB microSD card and remote control that allows users to flip through tracks of take calls without ever reaching inside their pockets. Once these headphones are plugged in, the phone will automatically activate a Beats-optimized sound profile that, according to HTC, will deliver fuller bass, sharper vocals and broader range. The Sensation XE is slated to launch in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East sometime this month, though price and a possible North America launch date remain unclear. Scurry past the break for more details in the full press release, along with an extra shot of Dre’s in-ear headphones.

HTC

Nuove CPU Intel Sandy Bridge-E per i prossimi Mac Pro?

Secondo quanto riportato da VR-Zone.com ed altri siti attendibili, il rilascio delle nuove CPU Intel Sandy Bridge-E (di cui potete trovare dei benchmark in anteprima nel nostro blog Hardware), è prossimo, e la data più probabile è il 15 Novembre. Proprio per questo, circolano alcune voci riguardo un imminente aggiornamento della linea Mac Pro con tali CPU.

Precedenti rumor avevano scommesso sul rilascio di nuovi Mac Pro per Agosto, ma probabilmente Apple ha deciso di posticipare di qualche mese l’uscita per montare direttamente i nuovi Intel E5-2620, E5-2650 ed E5-267. Infatti i computer di punta dell’azienda di Cupertino non vengono aggiornati dallo scorso Luglio 2010, e da allora sono passate già 2 generazioni di processori.

E’ quindi questo il momento buono per l’azienda per aggiornare i propri Mac; ricordiamo che di solito Apple riceve in anteprima le CPU dalla stessa Intel ed è quindi probabile che sia già tutto pronto per il lancio sul mercato.

VIA

Intel SandyBridge-E Core i7 3930K: ecco i primi benchmark

Sul forum Coolaler.com sono comparsi i primi benchmark reali (si spera) del nuovo Intel SandyBridge-E Core i7 3930K confrontati puntualmente con la generazione precedente di Core i7 su piattaforma X58. Ricordiamo che il 3930K (socket LGA 2011) è un ESA-Core con HT e ben 12MB di cache L3, frequenza di 3,2 GHz e controller DDR3 Quad-Channel.

Il nuovo processore è stato confrontato con il Core i7 Extreme 980X downcloccato a 3,2 GHz e con configurazione Triple-Channel; nei test il 3930K ha la meglio ma non si sono registrati incrementi notevoli rispetto alla collaudata piattaforma X58. Ci sarebbe da considerare l’aspetto software in quanto soprattutto per la memoria gli attuali benchmark non sono ottimizzati per il Quad-Channel (ecc..).

 

CPU Intel SandyBridge-E in commercio già ad ottobre?

Secondo alcuni rumors comparsi sul web, Intel potrebbe rilasciare i primi processori SandyBridge-E con socket LGA 2011 già ad Ottobre. Il primo processore a vedere la luce sarebbe il Core i7 3930K, un Quad-Core con frequenza di 3,6 GHz, tecnologia Turbo (a 3,9 GHz) e cache L3 di 10 MB. Come avevamo già annunciato in questa news però il 3930K avrà probabilmente moltiplicatore bloccato per l’overclock; quindi dovremo vedere le caratteristiche della piattaforma per appurare se sarà possibile effettuare un qualche overclock.

Sembra che il prezzo per il Core i7 3930 sarà di circa 560 Dollari (inferiore all’attuale i7 980X), mentre non si hanno “notizie” sugli altri modelli SandyBridge-E. Se la notizia fosse confermata dobbiamo aspettarci anche novità relative ai primi prodotti X79 che probabilmente saranno proposti da Intel stessa e dai suoi partner.

AMD resurrects its 'FX' brand for speed freaks, lexicon lovers

We saw AMD’s old “FX” moniker repeated on a leaked price sheet recently, but we couldn’t be sure of its significance. Now AMD has confirmed that it is indeed bringing back the FX brand to denote hardware aimed at gamers and graphics enthusiasts. In keeping with its penchant for complicated taxonomy, the chipmaker will use the resurrected badge not on individual products, but rather on desktop platforms that combine top-of-the-range components — including the forthcoming Scorpius platform that will consist of a 9-series chipset, HD 6000 Series discrete graphics and an unlocked eight-core Zambezi CPU. This is all part of AMD’s efforts to square up to Intel and present itself as the PC gamers’ choice, and to that end the company also revealed it is partnering with more games developers to encourage use of its HD3D, Eyefinity and Dual Graphics technologies. Full PR (excessive nomenclature and all) is after the break.

AMD