The binary code

Intel cancels Larrabee GPGPU-chip

2009-12-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

Intel has spent several years developing the Larrabee GPGPU-chip that was initially set for release in 2008. The multifunctional chip based on the x86 instruction set was to serve both as a parallel computing processor as well as a graphics card. Earlier this year, it already became known that the performance of the chip as GPU are to be compared to nVidia's GTX 285 card. During the last IDF, two demonstrations of the Larrabee chip were also given.

The last launch date of the chip was officially planned for the first quarter of 2010, but several rumors already mentioned the permanent cancellation of the Larrabee chip. Intel has since officially confirmed this. Though the graphics card is cancelled, the Larrabee project will remain in existence. It will continue the development of software and the SDK package.

Though the exact reason for cancellation remains unknown, it's likely that Intel was falling behind schedule with the development of the chip and matching software. If Intel were to continue the launch of the Larrabee, the card was to compete with nVidia's Fermi GTX 300 and AMD's Radeon HD5000 series, both significantly faster than the GTX 285 that the Larrabee was to be on par with.

The disappointing performance of the chip is not just caused by the delay of the chip itself, but also by the problematic development of the matching software. Though Intel has a lot of experience when it comes to developing x86 software to program the chip, the company isn't very used to graphics drivers. The multifunctional chip was also to retain backwards-compatibility with older drivers such as DirectX 9.0, while also being prepared for the future DirectX 12 version, making drivers difficult to program.

Intel initially planned to release the Larrabee as one of the fastest graphics cards at launch that could also be used for GPGPU applications. Since this won't be achieved in 2010, the graphics card was cancelled altogether. Though the first Larrabee chip will not see the daylight, the project will still continue, making it possible that Intel will release a more powreful Larrabee graphics card at a later point in time

Intel's 32nm Core i3/i5 in pre-order

2009-12-04T13:29:00.001-08:00

Over a month before Intel will officially launch its new Core i3/5 dualcore processors, a German webshop has already added the new models as pre-orders. The online catalog shows two Core i3 models, the 530 and 540. These two models feature a clock frequency of respectively 2,93 and 3,06 GHz, which is locked due to the absence of Turbo boost. The CPUs do support Hyperthreading, allowing an operating system to work with four virtual cores. The integrated DirectX 10 GPU in these Core i3 chips is clocked at 733 MHz.

At the moment, these entry-level 32nm dualcores with integrated videochip cost 103,90 and 120,90 for respectively the i3 530 and i3 540. In the Core i5 series, the existing i5 750 quadcore will be joined by four 32nm dualcore 'Clarkdale' chips. These new models are branded Core i5 650, 660, 661 and 670, clocked at 3,2 GHz for the cheapest and 3,46 GHz for the most expensive model. Apart from these higher clock frequencies, the Core i5 models of Intel's new 32nm dualcores also support TUrbo Boost, allowing the frequencies to be increased when adequate cooling is present.

A remarkable processor is the Core i5 661: it is the only chip in the entire Clarkdale family to feature a higher GPU clock frequency, 900 MHz rather than the conventional 733 MHz. This does affect the TDP, which rises to 83 Watt. All other chips have an estimated TDP of 73 Watt. The pricetags of the Core i5 6xx models range from 160,90 for the 3,2 GHz model to 252,90 for the 3,46 GHz chip. The Core i5 660 and 661 can both be pre-ordered at a price of 175,90.

HD5950 to be released in early 2010?

2009-12-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

HKEPC reports that AMD is working on a second dual-GPU graphics card in its DirectX 11 line-up. This new model is to be positioned below the HD5970 and will also be equipped with two Cypress chips. The difference is that each core will not feature 1600 but only 1440 active shader units, making it look more like a double HD5850 solution. The clock frequencies of this HD5950 card will be lower than those of the HD5970, otherwise the performance gap between the two would be too small.

Heat production can also be an issue when the original HD5850 clock frequencies are retained; the high-end HD5970 already uses specially selected GPUs which will run at a lower voltage. The Radeon HD5950 is to be equipped with two times 1GB of GDDR5 memory. It's still unclear how fast the HD5950 will be in comparison to an HD5970 or Crossfire HD5850 configuration, given the uncertainties in regards to the final clock frequencies.

Because AMD is already troubled by the huge demand, it seems unlikely that a second dual-GPU card will be released soon. HKEPC expects that the new model will new be introduced until early 2010.

Intel demonstrates processor with 48 cores

2009-12-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

Chip manufacter Intel has recently demonstrated a new processor consisting of 48 seperate cores. Intel calls this chip the Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC). This processor is derived from the Tera design, which was introduced in 2006. Initially, processors based on the Tera architecture were to feature 80 cores, though these have never been produced for industrial applications. The Tera design was a so-called 'proof-of-concept' design. This resulted in the creation of the Single-chip Cloud Computer, codenamed Bangalore.

While the Tera architecture consisted of 80 'simple' floating point processors, the SCC features 48 x86 chips, created using a 45nm process. The surface is specified at 567 mm². The 48 cores are divided in 24 ' tiles'. Intel calls these dual-core tiles. Each of these tiles is capable of running at a different clock frequency to limit power consumption. These tiles communicate with one another by means of a 6x4 2D mesh network, featuring a total bandwidth of 256 GB/s.

The design also integrates four DDR3 memory controllers, capable of adressing up to 64 GB of memory. Despite the specifications, the chip uses no more power than a modern quad-core processor. The usage of this SCC ranges from 25 to 125W, dependant on the required performance.

The name Single-chip Cloud Computing can be explained because the design of the Bangalore is similar to the method datacenters are used for cloud computping. Everything is connected to eachother to gather more computing power. Intel claims that the new chip will also reduce the space required for servers, as well as significantly drop their power consumption.

It's still unclear when Intel will release its new SCC processor. The company does report that it won't take much longer, given the fact presentations have already been given. An SCC chip already rendered a JavaScript-based 3D model. The motherboard used in combination with this chip is branded Copper Ridge and sports an LGA 1248 socket.

USB 3.0 to Deliver a Tenfold Speed Increase

2009-08-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

Fasten your seat belts — data transfer is going into overdrive.

The ubiquitous Universal Serial Bus, better known as USB, is on track to make its first major upgrade in eight years — a tenfold speed increase over the current USB 2.0 standard. That means we’ll be able to rip music, video, photos from the vast array of peripherals we connect to our computers much more quickly, and it makes such up-and-coming devices as HD video cameras that much more practical.

USB 3.0 will also deliver greater power efficiency and the ability to recharge a wider variety of gadgets — and it will most likely mean the death of the competing standard known as FireWire.

To get a sense of the speed increase, consider this: Under USB 2.0 it takes about 10 minutes to transfer a high-def video from a Blu-ray disc. With USB 3.0, it will take just about a minute.

"What the user will see is really a much faster response time, less waiting, more productivity," says Patrick Moorhead, vice president of advanced marketing at AMD, one of the supporters of the USB 3.0
standard.

But none of this will happen tomorrow. The first USB 3.0 devices probably won’t show up until the end of
2009 or early 2010, say analysts. Users can get a glimpse into future devices sporting SuperSpeed USB as early as the annual Consumer
Electronics Show in January, and Wired.com will be there.

"The first places that you will see this show up is where you get the biggest benefits — HD video cameras and hard drives," says Moorhead.

The USB Implementers Forum, a nonprofit group founded by companies to promote the standard, will announce Monday the final set of specs that will clear the way for the adoption of USB 3.0 by device and component manufacturers.

"USB 3.0 will take USB 2.0 to the next level and take away performance as an issue for data transfer in many devices," says Brian O’Rourke, an analyst with research firm In-Stat. "USB 3.0 will make it even more pervasive across devices than it is today."

Since the USB specification was first introduced in 1996, it has changed the way we interact with our computers. USB has allowed everything from keyboards, mouse, PDAs, printers, digital cameras and personal media players — pretty much the entire spectrum of consumer electronics — to be connected to a host PC using a single standardized socket.

It has also made the process truly plug-and-play. Devices can be connected and disconnected without having to reboot the host computer and the technology offered perks such as allowing for many devices to be charged using the USB socket with no need for individual device drivers to be installed first.

Not surprisingly, USB’s ease of use and capabilities has meant it has become nearly ubiquitous. More than 2.6 billion USB-enabled devices were shipped in 2007, estimates research firm In-Stat.

And USB’s star will continue to rise, says the firm. Nearly four billion USB-enabled devices are expected to ship by 2012. Its ubiquity has meant that some manufacturers use USB ports and plugs for recharging devices such as Bluetooth headsets and phones without utilizing its data-transfer capabilities.

But USB 2.0 is getting a bit long in the tooth, with its slow speed, inefficient power usage and relatively small wattage. The new standard takes aim at all of those shortcomings.

Pour on the Speed

At a glance:USB 3.0
Faster: 10 times faster than USB 2.0 and six times faster than FireWire 800

Greater power efficiency: New interrupt driven protocol optimizes power management.

Better Power Output: Power output bump to 900 milliamps from 100 milliamps allows more devices to be charged faster via USB.

Backward Compatible: New connectors and cables will work with work with devices running the older USB 2.0
The new spec will support data transfers at 4.8 gigabits per second, or Gbps, nearly 10 times faster than the current standard’s 480 megabits per second and six times faster than FireWire 800. It’s also 400 times faster than the 12 Mbps offered by the original spec, USB 1.0.

USB 2.0 is also known as "Hi-Speed USB," while USB 3.0 will have the confusingly similar moniker "SuperSpeed USB."

The new USB 3.0 connectors and devices will be compatible with older USB ports (on devices using USB 2.0 and 1.0) but they will be limited to the older ports’ slower speeds.

Power and Efficiency

USB 2.0 uses a polling-based architecture, which means the host computer has to constantly check the bus to see if any devices are attached and if so, whether they are doing anything. As a result, that keeps the host computer busy, drawing power even when it’s not needed.

"It’s a problem when you attach a USB device to a laptop running on battery," says Steve Kleynhans, vice president, client computing for research firm Gartner.

USB 3.0 offers better specifications for power management. "We will move to an interrupt-driven architecture where your PC can ignore the connected device till the latter actually does something," says Kleynhans. "That can really lower the power consumption."

It also has better power output, 900 milliamps compared to 100 milliamps with USB 2.0. That means up to four devices can be charged from a single USB port and charged faster.

Standardizing the specifications for USB 3.0 hasn’t been easy. Two months ago, Intel released part of the draft specifications for USB 3.0
to developers resolving a dispute between itself, Nvidia and AMD over it.

Nvidia and AMD claimed that Intel was not sharing the specifications that potentially compete with it. Intel denied it.

"There was some debate between us," says Moorhead, "but we have buried the hatchet and we are all in the same boat now."

USB Implementers Forum chairman Jeff Ravencraft declined to be available for comment.

While
USB 3.0 devices are coming soon, consumers won’t immediately see all the benefits. "You can get the USB 3.0 speeds only when one 3.0 device connects to another," says Gartner’s Kleynhans. So the latest SuperSpeed USB-enabled devices connecting to older PCs running USB 2.0 or lower will experience data transfer rates that are much slower.

Killing FireWire

USB 3.0 is likely to signal the death of FireWire/IEEE 1394, a competing interface standard also known as i.Link and Lynx. Today, the industry is bifurcated between IEEE 1394 and USB 2.0. Many devices support both, though a single standard would be optimal.

"If we are all aligned, we are saving money and development time for the industry," says Moorhead.

With
Apple seemingly taking step away from FireWire, it seems like USB could gain the upper hand. Apple’s newly introduced MacBook computers lack a
FireWire port and instead has USB. MacBook Pro still sports FireWire
800.

That leaves Sony as one of the few remaining proponents of the standard.

"FireWire stably declining in most markets and USB 3.0 will continue that trend,"
says O’Rourke. "We could see USB emerge as the standardization of a high-speed interconnect."

Monday’s first USB 3.0 developer conference will be a big step towards that, say experts. "It’s for everyone in the USB value chain, from chipmakers to software makers to learn the new USB standard and get on it," says O’Rourke.

Wired.com

Micron places 16 GB DDR3 on a single module

2009-08-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

Micron recently announced that the company has developed a new technology which allows them to place 16 gigabyte of DDR3-memory on a single module. It should also become possible to equip a server with up to nine of these modules, accounting for a total of 144 GB of memory. The so called load-reduced dual-inline memory modules (LRDIMM's) use Micron's 50 nm DDR3-memory chips with a capacity of 2 gigabit a piece. These chips operate at 1,35 V.

Micron reports that the term 'load reduced' means that the server memory will not stress the memory bus as much, allowing for higher data frequencies and capacities. This decreased load is achieved by using an Inphi iMB chip, or isolation memory buffer chip. Compared to the current registered DIMM's, Micron claims a stress-decrease of 50% for dual-rank LRDIMM's and even 75%^for quad-rank modules. Micron also mentions than an LRDIMM has 57% more bandwidth than an RDIMM.

At the moment, Micron is shipping samples of 8 GB LRDIMM-memory to its partners. It's expected that the mass production of 16 GB modules will start in 2010.

Overclocking AMD PhenomTM II Processors to the Limit

2009-08-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Overclocking AMD PhenomTM II Processors to the Limit

PC speed-freaks from across Europe will be pushing their processors to the limit in a series of extreme overclocking trials over the next month. The trials, which have been organised by AMD (NYSE:AMD), will see forum users from 19 leading technology forums from across the continent compete in a series of pedal-to-the-metal contests where they will attempt to push AMD platform technology, codenamed “Dragon,” to the fastest speed possible. During the trials, the contestants will try to clock up the highest scores in categories such as 3D Mark performance, calculation speed and highest CPU clock speed.(i)

The first of these events was held in London on Thursday 23rd April 2009, where sparks flew, literally! In this special event,eight teams of daredevil journalists went head to head in an attempt to break through the sonic wall in 3D Mark05 and CPU clock speeds. Things got so fast and so furious that sparks actually flew from one of the team’s “Dragon” rigs!(i)

It was a closely fought battle, but two winners emerged victorious. Clive Webster from Custom PC won the 3D Mark05 competition with a score of 24,689, while Tim Smally & Rich Swinburne from Bit-Tech won the CPU clock frequency competition with a speed of 4,211MHz. For this special opening event, both winning teams won a prize of $1000 each. The Custom PC donated their winnings to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and the Bit-Tech team gave their winnings to the Myton Hamlet Hospice.
Video to the overclocking event in London

Intel introduces the new Intel I3

2009-08-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

1) The new brand is Intel Core. There will be three derivatives: Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3.

2) The Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad branding will eventually disappear.

3) Pentium, Celeron and Atom will remain.

4) Centrino will also go away and Intel's WiFi and WiMAX products will inherit the name starting in 2010.

But what separates a Core i7 from a Core i5 and Core i3? I may have some insight. Let's start with desktop processors:

Desktop Processor
Intel Core i7 Cores: 4 Threads: 8 Turbo: Yes
Intel Core i5 Cores: 2 or 4 Threads: 4 Turbo: Yes
Intel Core i3 Cores: 2 or 4 Threads: 4 Turbo: No

Only the Core i7 is allowed to run in a LGA-1366 socket, however there will be LGA-1156 i7, i5 and i3CPUs . The number of memory channels and the presence of a QPI link does not determine branding. In other words, Lynnfield will be both a Core i7 and a Core i5 depending on the SKU.

The LGA-1156 Core i7s will be the 8xx series, while the LGA-1366 i7s will be the 9xx series. The i5s will be the 6xx series and the i3s will be the 5xx series.

Four cores and HT enabled with turbo mode yields you a Core i7 on the desktop. If you only have support for up to 4 threads then you've got a Core i5; take away turbo and you have a Core i3.

In mobile, things are a little different:

Mobile Processor
Intel Core i7 Cores 2 or 4 Threads 4 or 8 Turbo Yes
Intel Core i5 Cores 2 or 4 Threads 4 Turbo Yes
Intel Core i3 Cores 2 or 4 Threads 4 Turbo No

The mobile i7 can be 2 or 4 cores and support 4 or 8 threads, which makes sense since there will be more dual-core than quad-core mobile processors. The rest of the lineup follows the desktop rules; i5 and i3 are capped at 4 threads and i3 doesn't have Turbo.

Anandtech

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Quad CPU coming in August 2009

2009-08-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

AMD is set to launch its fastest quad-core processor around August 2009, the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is a new high performance 45 nanometer chip by AMD for desktops.

The Phenom II X965 is made on the AM3 socket clocked at 3.4 GigaHertz and will be the fastest clocked Quad-core processor till date. Intel's fastest quad-core is the Core i7-975 clocked at 3.33 GigaHertz. The chip will contain 2 MegaBytes of L2 cache and 6 MegaBytes of L3 cache.

AMD released its Phenom II X4 chips early this year, click here to view the previous releases.

Phenom II X4 965 Specifications:
Speed: 3.4 GHz
Cores: 4
L2-Cache Size: 2 MB (4x512KB)
L3-Cache Size: 6MB
Hypter Transport speed: 2000 MHz
Socket: AM3
Power TDP: 125 W
Price: N/A

Techiton

AMD's Phenom II X4 TWKR + Overclock

2009-07-10T13:26:00.001-07:00

Two AMD Phenom II X4 42 Black Edition TWKR (whew, that's a mouthful) CPUs, side by side. This is a picture that you'll likely not see anywhere else. After all, these are pretty rare chips. The TWKR-edition CPUs are currently the most sought-after and coveted AMD processors in the world, at least if you're a hardcore overclocker. Ever since pictures of the TWKR CPUs were leaked a few weeks back, enthusiasts everywhere have been buzzing about them. What hidden superpower do these chips have? What makes these processors so special? Tom's Hardware, along with Team IRONMODS, will put these two chips to the test to see what really makes them tick. But first, here's a bit of background on these unique offerings.

According to AMD, there are approximately 100 TWKR processors in the world. These chips were created especially for the extreme overclocking community to operate beyond the specification of typical production-level processors. What makes these chips special is the fact that they are considered “high leakage” parts. In this context, high leakage means that the processors "leak" more current than a normal Phenom II CPU and consequently run hotter, which actually turns out to be a positive for the overclocking crowd (even if it means they're more likely to die an early death). They can take on more voltage and generally tend to scale higher when cooled with extreme methods, such as liquid nitrogen or liquid helium.

So, how fast can these processors go? It turns out that AMD's binning, which filters out these high leakages parts, works in favor of the extreme overclocker. Pushing approximately 1.75 V to the CPU, we were able to hit 6.4 GHz. Could the processor hit even higher frequencies? We are pretty sure it could with even more voltage and better cooling. We did not try more than 1.75 V on this chip for fear that we'd cut its already-destined-to-be-short life even shorter, or even kill it on the bench. We have a lot more tests that still need to be run and a dead CPU doesn't perform well.

Is it possible that your retail Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition processor might perform as well or better than one of these TWKR chips? The simple answer is, yes. The chances are fairly slim, though. With the TWKR, extreme overclockers know that the chip they have in their hand has all the attributes of an exceptional performer.

The speed that can be achieved by one of these processors is neither guaranteed nor predictable. Just like retail processors, the overclocking headroom on each chip will vary. At its default settings, the TWKR boots at 2 GHz (10 x 200 MHz). Under more traditional cooling methods (air, water, phase change, and cascade), the TWKR will probably perform similar to retail Phenom II Black Edition offerings. Indeed, the Phenom II X4 42 BE TWKR is designed to shine under extreme sub-zero cooling with LN2 and LHe.

Tomshardware!

Making sense of Intel's Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 brands

2009-07-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Intel has announced a new brand structure that, over time, promises to do away with a complex structure of too many product names with "a simplified family of Core processors spanning multiple levels".

That's the theory, but we're already a little confused by Intel's plans going forward. Judging by a post by Intel communications manager Bill Calder on the Intel Technology Blog, it seems as though the semiconductor giant is taking a leaf out of NVIDIA's book by attempting to unify its core product line with a common nomenclature, i.e. Core i#.

However, looking forward, Bill's information doesn't quite paint a crystal clear picture of what will happen in years to come. We know that the much-loved Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad brands will one day go the way of the Dodo, but the new brands coming in - Core i3 and Core i5 - aren't exactly made clear. What are they? Well, we know now that the Core i5 moniker will be used by upcoming Lynnfield parts, but the rest remains largely a mystery.

With Intel leaving the door agape for conjecture, here's what we think might be the future line up of Intel's flagship brand. Please keep in mind that this is merely hearsay, and we're simply doing our best to put two and two together.

Full Story

AMD Ships 'Istanbul' Six-Core Opteron Server CPU

2009-07-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

The new six-core AMD Opteron (codenamed "Istanbul") is shipping out to OEM customers today, and the chip should be available to consumers by the end of this month. Hailed as the world’s first six-core server processor with Direct Connect Architecture for two-, four- and eight-socket servers, this chip has up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt over the previous generation quad-core processors in the exact same platform. Over the next few weeks, systems will begin to creep out from Cray, Dell, HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems, and support from motherboard and infrastructure partners will follow suit. Also of note, HE, SE and EE versions of the six-core AMD Opteron processor are planned for the second half of 2009.

Hothardware

ATi CrossfireX Vs Nvidia 3-Way SLi

2009-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate Benchmark between ATI and Nvidia's Premium enthusiast configurations !!

Link to youtube

AMD Phenom II TWKR Hit 7GHz

2009-07-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

AMD Phenom II TWKR must have been one of the most discussed processors recently, and the high-leakage chip has hit 7GHz in an AMD-backed overclocking festival.

The OCer used DFI LP UT790FXB-M3eH motherboard equipped with digital PWM, and cooled down the processor with Liquid Nitrogen and Liquid Helium. The processor reached 7000.4MHz, but the result hasn’t been officially certified by CPU-Z for now.

Expreview

Corsair launches the fastest DDR3 memory modules

2009-07-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Corsair recently announced the launch of the new Dominator GT line of the fastest DDR3 memory modules for Intel Core i7 based systems. The new memory modules is based on Corsair’s patent pending Dual-path Heat eXchange (DHX) technology and comes in 3-up 6GB kit running at 2000MHz.

These high speed memory modules will offer high performance gaming experience to the high-end gamers. The DHX technology also includes heat sink and removable cooling fins that allow for multiple cooling options including water cooling. For more information on dominator GT line of memory modules, visit the official website of Corsair.
Link

Breathing New Life into the ATI 4XXX Lineup

2009-07-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

The full review

There is no denying that the 4XXX series cards and specifically the 4870 saved ATI while at the same time giving Nvidia a kick in the gut. The 4XXX cards were released at just the right time to catch Nvidia without the ability to provide immediate competition and also at such a low price point. All that performance came at a price or rather at a temperature. The 4XXX cards ran hot and demanded a lot of power.

Today AMD/ATI seeks to breath new life into the 4XXX lineup with the release of the 4890 and 4770 cards squarely aimed at taking a chuck out of the vast majority of the video card market. Most users, while interested in the ultra high performance cards will end up buying a mid ranged card which impacts their wallet less. It should come as a relief to many consumers then that the new 4890 comes with a price tag of $249 or $229 after MIR (mail in rebate). At this price point you can expect two results:

ATI will gain further foothold and share in both the high end and mid range markets.
Nvidia will move to quickly reduce the price of its GTX 280 and new GTX 295 cards.
Both of these reactions are good for you and me as they mean we will be gaming on better equipment at a lower cost. Fans of both Nvidia and ATI should embrace this release as good news, but does the 4890 have what it takes to de-thrown the 280 let alone the monster 295 Nvidia cards and is that even what the 4890 is aimed at?

AMD Phenom II X4 Sets 3DMark06 World Record in Finland!

2009-07-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Team Finland strikes again setting the 3DMark06 World Record under Liquid Nitrogen cooling. This is the sequel to the acclaimed "Experiment" where Team Finland set the 3DMark05 World Record in January 2009. Dragon technology combining AMD Phenom II processors and ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics raises the bar - again.

Coldfins