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The runaway success of Asus’s diminutiveEee laptopand the appearance of £99 laptops like theElonex low-cost lapsterhas sent manufacturers scrambling to produce their own cheap-as-chips Tiny Tim lappies.

Currently motoring up over the horizon is the Intel 2go PC (formerly known as the Netbook), a rugged little number manufactured by CTL, and looking like its aimed at the education market.

With a rumoured price tag hovering around a pocket soothin’ $400 (around 200 quid in UK spondulas), we could imagine this little fella appealing to a far wider audience, especially once they’ve given the specs the once over.

It may be cheap, but the 2go packs an Intel Celeron M CPU with 915GMS chipset backed by 512MB of DDR2 RAM (upgradeable to 1GB), a Realtek audio chipset with two integrated 1W speakers, and comes in Windows XP or Linux flavours.

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The market leader in notebook computing solutions DELL recently launched the Dell XPS M2010 Mobile Concept PC Laptop. The product with Intel's Core Duo processor stole the show at CES -06.

The company’s latest concept in an innovative design is a unique blend of a PC and notebook in looks. This Mobile Concept PC sports a 20" display which is quite larger than what laptops have. The 8 integrated speakers, deliver mind blowing sound quality. Dual DVI out and integrated 1.3 megapixel video camera also adds up to the feature list.

The Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, remote control are designed to add to portability to the PC Laptop. With two hard drives the laptop has enough capacity to store the users entire data needs and dual core processor ensures the best performance. It weighs in at only 18 pounds.

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The new Acer Aspire AS3216A desktop PC is powered by 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor E2160 and it comes with 16X SuperMulti DVD writer, 19-inch TFT LCD monitor and a new 6-CD Educational Pack.

Powered by 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor E2160 featuring 2 MB L2 Cache (1-MB each core), 800 MHz FSB using Intel 945 GC chipset motherboard, the Acer Aspire AS3216A desktop PC offers 2-GB DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM which is expandable to up to 2.0 GB maximum, a 320-GB Serial-ATA 7200 rpm hard disk drive, and a internal 16X Supermulti Double Layer (8.5 GB) DVD Writer.

In addition, acer Aspire AS3216A desktop PC comes with Aspire USB Multimedia Keyboard with 17 Hotkeys and Volume Knob and USB Optical Mouse.

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HP has announced Compaq Presario SG3510IL (FK801AA) Desktop PC which is powered by AMD Athlon 64 Processor LE-1640 and it features nVidia graphics chipset with dedicated video memory, 250-GB 3G SATA hard drive, 15-inch Color CRT monitor, and a 16X DVD Writer and comes with freeDOS OS preinstalled.

The new Compaq Presario SG3510IL desktop PC is powered by 2.7 GHz AMD Athlon 64 Processor LE-1640 with HyperTransport technology and the desktop PC features nVidia nForce 430 chipset motherboard with 1MB L2 cache and 2000 MHz FSB.

With FreeDOS preinstalled, Compaq Presario SG3510IL desktop PC comes with 1-GB PC2-6400 DDR2 (800 MHz) RAM which is expandable to max 4-GB, a 250-GB 3G 7200 rpm (300 MB/Sec speed) SATA Hard drive and a 16X DVD Super Multi Drive Dual Layer (8.5 GB) DVD Writer with LightScribe Technology.

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PC Specialist is a Yorkshire-based company that specialises in custom built personal computers. We say Yorkshire-based, but really the organisation is Internet-based with no retail premises. The theory is this keeps overheads down, and using hefty bulk orders for components, PC Specialist can keep its prices down. And indeed a PC Specialist machine is more than competitively priced.

The online system builder lets you design an Intel or AMD machine, and we chose to construct an Intel beast from scratch. There are also stock configurations that can be ordered if you don't wish to spend the time designing your own.

It's a very nifty system builder, with plenty of options available. There's a good choice of video cards (albeit with more on the Nvidia side), and a selection of cases and power supply units. The one area lacking in choice is the monitor, as you can't specify a brand (only screen size) unless you pick one of the higher spec LG monitors.

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It can be hard find a computer that offers all the bells and whistles you could ever hope for in a PC. With the Visionman Intel C2D Desktop PC, you won’t have to look any further. Visionman is a trustworthy PC maker that offers computer packages that combine speed, performance and style, without price tags that leave your wallet sagging.

More often than not, they add valuable extras that make their products really hard to beat for the price. In an effort to continue their tradition of excellence, we proudly introduce one of their latest and best-performing workstations, the Visionman Intel C2D Desktop PC.

Intel Powered, Graphically Inspired Desktop PC

From the get-go, you can see that the Visionman Intel C2D Desktop PC is all set for battle. With the Visionman 585-Watt X-Blade Tower, this PC doesn’t look anything like your average PC. Sleek, modern and sturdy, it’s ready for even the most rigorous conditions. Thanks to its 585-watt power supply, it’s also ready to support the energy requirements of high-performance PC components.

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We learned in May that there would be delays to Intel's Centrino 2 chipset for notebooks, but today it gets an official launch from Intel. That certainly tallies with the slew of notebooks hitting the news which have the chips inside. Alongside the Centrino 2, Intel gives us word on the Core 2 Extreme, which runs at 3.06 GHz and the Mobile Intel 45 Express Chipset and wireless Intel Wi-Fi Link 5000, and the WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5050 chipset that supports the Centrino 2 to support WiMax and Wi-Fi operations. Since Intel plans to release eight processors over the next 90 days, there'll be lots more news like this. Press release below.

Jul 15, 2008 00:01

New Intel-Based Laptops Advance All Facets of Notebook PCs

New Intel(R) Centrino(R) 2 Processor Technology Brings 'HD-to-Go'; Adds Security and Manageability Features, Boosts Speed, Battery Life and Wireless Range
SAN FRANCISCO —(Business Wire)— Jul. 15, 2008 Intel Corporation unveiled its Intel(R) Centrino(R) 2 Processor Technology products for laptops today, powered by five new Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processors. Close to 250 innovative consumer and business notebook PC designs are on the way, including those equipped with the right combination of powerful processors, graphics and battery life to enjoy viewing stunning high definition videos and myriad other computer and Internet activities.

Intel also introduced the world's highest-performing dual-core mobile processor, the Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme processor running at a brisk 3.06 GHz, as measured by SPECint(1)_rate_base2006, an industry benchmark (http://www.spec.org)(2).

Rounding out a mobile-focused summer for the company, Intel said it also plans to unveil eight processors within 90 days that will include first-ever mobile quad-core products and second-generation products for ultra-thin and light notebooks. In total, Intel will bring 14 diverse new processors into the marketplace as laptop sales continue to outpace desktop PCs.

Formerly codenamed Montevina, Intel Centrino 2 processor technology and Intel(R) Centrino(R) 2 with vPro(TM) Technology improve upon every facet of a laptop's main features, including performance and battery life via new processors and chipsets, faster draft 802.11n wireless (with WiMAX arriving later this year), and new business-class manageability capabilities.

"When we first introduced Intel Centrino back in 2003, there were very few Wi-Fi hotspots, YouTube videos and social media didn't really exist, 'thin and light' only referred to weight goals and desktop PCs outsold notebooks by a very wide margin," said Mooly Eden, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the company's Mobile Platforms Group. "Today, notebooks outsell desktops in the U.S., and we're paving the way to HD entertainment, rich online gaming, faster broadband wireless speeds and an easier and more secure way for businesses to manage, update and repair their notebook fleets."

Intel is introducing five dual core processors based on Intel's reinvented transistors (high-k metal gate formula) and advanced 45-nanometer manufacturing process. These processors come with a faster 1066MHz front side bus and up to 6MB of L2 cache, and three versions reduce laptop processor wattage about 30 percent, down to just 25 watts. Also featured is Deep Power Down Technology that turns off processing components such as core clocks and cache memory when the laptop is idle for greater energy savings.

Intel also unveiled its Mobile Intel(R) 45 Express Chipset and wireless Intel(R) Wi-Fi Link 5000 series that is shipping to customers now, with laptops arriving later in July and August. Delivering five times the speed and twice the range of older 802.11a/g technology, the Intel Wi-Fi Link 5000 series provides 802.11 draft-N support that delivers the fastest data rates possible today — up to 450 Mbps.

Switchable graphics, a new optional power-saving feature available on Intel Centrino 2-based notebooks, provides both integrated and discrete graphics on a single notebook, enabling users to easily switch between the two options. Switchable graphics delivers greater 3-D performance when needed while providing the option for greater power savings for the best of both worlds.

For consumers, Intel Centrino 2 processor technology delivers the horsepower and battery life to enjoy a typical full-length, Blu-ray(1) high-definition video on a single battery charge for the first time, plus the ability to play a variety of online games, download music or post videos faster than before.

For businesses, Intel Centrino 2 with vPro technology offers enhanced manageability and security options. This is increasingly important as companies replace desktops with notebooks and need to remotely diagnose, update and repair systems over a wireless network. Improved manageability with AMT 4.0 has also been added that provides wireless manageability during system sleep states, ongoing remote configuration capabilities, support for next-generation management standards (WS-MAN and DASH 1.0) and the ability for an employee to initiate communications to IT from outside a company's firewall.

OEMs and Channel system builders will deliver close to 250 systems to market. For more information including Intel product pricing, visit http://www.intel.com/go/processor_pricing. For a full media version of this release including photos, videos, related blogs and other information, visit http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20080715comp_sm.htm and the Intel Centrino 2 technology press kit at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/centrino2.

WiMAX Momentum

Later this year in the United States, Intel will begin shipping its first-ever combined WiMAX/Wi-Fi module, part of the Intel(R) WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5050 Series that is an optional feature for future Intel Centrino 2-based laptops. WiMAX is a 4G, Internet protocol-based broadband wireless technology that complements Wi-Fi networks.

WiMAX also provides much wider Internet and phone voice coverage, and unlike Wi-Fi has the ability to unwire entire cities or communities, connecting users even when they're on the move. Intel is working with service providers around the world to deploy WiMAX networks, with initial U.S. network availability starting later this year from Sprint XOHM and Clearwire.

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The amount of people that have sat down and gently *sighed* I wish there was an Intel version of the nForce chipset would be countless. nVidia entering the chipset market had really given former chip leaders a knock about. The release of the nForce 4 only made those *sighs* louder because all the loyal Intel followers wanted SLI support on the Pentium 4 platform, even if they weren’t going to jump on it straight away… at least the option was going to be there.

We might finally have someone to compete with Intel in the enthusiast market. Intel makes great chipsets, there is no denying that but variety is the spice of life especially with SIS and VIA being quiet on the Intel front at the moment. The rumor has been floating around for a long time now that nVidia were going to release an Intel version of the nForce 4 and it became all official a few weeks back. This is one chipset that could have severely impacted the sales of DDR2 memory and PCI Express graphics cards. If people were thinking, “I will wait to see what nVidia bring to the party before I upgrade”, we could begin to see an increase in sales towards the middle of this year.

Being a reference board, we are going to be looking at what the Intel Pentium 4 version of the nForce 4 chipset offers, what its performance is like against the 925XE chipset from Intel and give you a general understanding of the new chipset which will help you decide if its worth while moving to the newest Intel player on the market or stick with old faithful.

Throughout the article we’ll refer to the nForce 4 Intel Edition as the NF4 IE. This isn’t an official abbreviation of the chipset but we like to set trends so let’s find out what everyone is calling it in a few months.

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Intel Nehalem will be unveiled at an event in San Francisco on November 17th and it will become “the fastest processor on the planet.” The Core i7 was announced a while ago and we can’t wait to get our hands on this architecture, however, the pricing might be a problem.

The Core i7 will be manufactured in three different quad-core models : 2.66 GHz Core i7 920 available for the under $1000 PC class, the 2.93 GHz Core i7 940 which will be available for $1500-$2000 PC class and the 3.2 GHz 965 Extreme Edition for the fastidious PCs which most of us will never afford.

The 920 costs 284$, the 940 will be $562 and for the Extreme Edition you will have to pay $999. Anyhow you should expect the retail prices to be 10-15 percent higher.

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Intel Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of computer processors, is this week turning the pricing screw on closest industry rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in an effort to further solidify its position of dominance while clearing the way for better technology.

That solidification arrives via a rush of hefty price cuts -- up to 50 percent -- applied to a variety of Intel’s existing microchips. According to Intel, around a dozen processors are covered by the price cuts, with the majority of those built on the company’s older 65 nanometer (nm) technology.

Intel’s 65nm manufacturing process has since been superseded by its more advanced 45nm technology, and the sudden round of price cuts is likely to represent somewhat of a stock clearance as it continues to shift the spotlight from one to the other, reports Computerworld.

“We’re transitioning from 65nm to 45nm,” commented Intel spokesman Patrick Ward via an official announcement posted to the California-based company’s Web site. “We’re in the process of refreshing our line. If you see a 65nm [processor], it’s older technology and we’re moving on from it.”

In terms of the most notable processors directly affected by Intel’s price cuts, the new listing reveals that 1,000-chip orders of the Q6700 Core 2 Quad have plummeted from $530 USD to $266 USD per chip, while the Xeon X3230 has also dropped form $530 USD to $266 USD.

Other 1,000-chip orders benefiting from the price cuts include the Core 2 Duo E26850, which falls from $266 USD to $183 USD per chip, while the Xeon 3085 falls from $266 USD to $188 USD per chip.

Analyst reaction to Intel’s pricing adjustment suggests that the leading chipmaker, while obviously shifting from a 65nm to 45nm focus, is looking to expand its pricing-to-performance strengths when measured against the range of processors offered by AMD, which traditionally delivers cheaper chip alternatives to Intel’s line.

When it comes to the advancement of 45nm technology, AMD is looking to ship its initial microprocessor entrants in 2008’s closing quarter, which will subsequently leave the company trailing Intel by around a year.

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For breach of agreement, NVIDIA Corp. has registered a countersuit against Intel Corporation in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware.

The action also seeks to end Intel's license to NVIDIA's graphic processing and 3D computing patents.

NVIDIA's countersuit was made in response to a suit filed by Intel during the last month in the Delaware court, aggressively claiming that the 4-year old chipset license deal does not expand to work on Intel's future generation processors - Nehalem aka Core i7 chips.

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On April 7th, 2006, Intel silently launched the Intel Pentium D 805 processor. That makes the Pentium D 805 processor the entry level dual-core CPU for any Intel platform. Running at 2.66GHz the Pentium D 805 utilizes a Front Side Bus (FSB) of 533MHz and a clock multiplier of 20. To make this an entry level processor Intel gave it a 533MHz FSB, which is a slower than the other dual-core processors that all run on a 800MHz FSB and it does not have Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology for better thermal regulation.

What does this mean to you? It means that Intel has released a dual-core processor priced at under $130. We couldn't ignore this budget dual-core processor and ordered one from chiefvalue.com this past week and it has been on the test bench since it arrived!

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In order to meet the challenge of Moore's law, Intel has succeeded in reducing the feature size of its transistors to increase the speed of its devices. Intel started mass production of microprocessors with a feature size of less than 100nm in 2000, thus entering the era of nanotechnology. However, it is apparent that conventional feature size reduction, or scaling, can only take us so far with current materials and processes before we hit a wall at sub-10nm feature sizes. At this point, 'equivalent' scaling of devices through nanotechnology will emerge as the driving force behind Moore's Law. As part of its contribution to CRANN, Intel Ireland has provided five staff to the centre who are engaged in nanotechnology research. Peter Gleeson, Matt Shaw and Chris Murray work as Researchers-in-Residence based in TCD and UCC. Jenny Patterson is the Nanotechnology Program Manager. The products Intel Ireland manufacture in ten years will be based on fundamental research carried out today. Intel's involvement in CRANN is both recognition of the excellent research work underway in Irish universities and a commitment to add value to Intel Ireland through the groundbreaking application of nanotechnology.

Intel Ireland is the largest industrial partner in the CRANN project. Intel has been manufacturing various logic and memory products at its state of the art Irish fabs for over a decade. By successfully shrinking transistor size, we have been able to satisfy Moore's law which predicts computing density will double every two years. In order to continue to meet this aggressive roadmap, Intel recognizes the need for more advanced materials and processing capabilities in the coming years which go beyond 'conventional CMOS'. Nanotechnology in general offers many potential solutions to these future requirements. How can the incredible properties of novel materials such as nanotubes or nanowires be employed in our devices? Can we use templated self assembly to 'grow' nanoscale structures in place rather than use expensive lithographic techniques? Can the spin of the electron be used to switch a transistor more effectively than its charge at sub-10nm gate lengths? These important questions are being addressed by the three individual research projects being carried out by the Intel Researchers in Residence within CRANN. These Intel employees work within the university research groups, learning the theory and techniques necessary to make progress on the issues and providing an 'industrial' view on applications and requirements. One successful outcome of this relationship so far is the information exchange between the university groups and Intel's Materials Analysis labs. Another important outcome has been the realization of substrates from the 'Adaptive Grid' project. This project is truly multi-disciplinary in nature and aims to identify and overcome key challenges associated with the integration of top-down and bottom-up fabrication of processor type architectures, with a near-term focus in enabling the benchmarking of a range of nano-materials (e.g. materials formed by different process methods). To date expertise has been combined from the scientists in CRANN, with designers and fabrication engineers, integrators, and technicians in Intel Ireland to realise the first revision of a silicon substrate which will allow much more reliable testing of materials such as carbon nanotubes. This will provide a huge research advantage to CRANN for enhancements in place ability, contact ability, testability, and reproducibility of measurements.

Intel Ireland's participation in CRANN is both a commitment to nanotech solutions to future industry needs and recognition of the outstanding research work being carried out in Irish universities. Leonard Hobbs, overall Manager of Silicon Research at Intel Ireland says "Intel is delighted to have been involved in the CRANN team from the start. We recognise the unique advantage of collaborating with world class researchers in an area of strategic importance to our business and we look forward to continued success in collaborating with this international research institute."

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ntel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Processor BX80569Q9550
Leaders of the pack seeking monster performance, look no further. With four execution cores, the Intel® Core™2 Quad processor blows through processor-intensive tasks in demanding multi-tasking environments and makes the most of highly threaded applications. Whether you're creating multimedia, annihilating your gaming enemies, or running computer-intensive applications at one time, new quad-core processing will change the way you do everything. Pioneer the new world of quad-core and unleash the power of multi-threading.

The High End Just Got Higher
Introducing the latest additions to the Core 2 Quad family built using Intel's 45nm technology and hafnium-infused circuitry. These new processors deliver amazing performance and power efficiency. Whether it's encoding, rendering, editing, or streaming, make the most of your professional-grade multimedia applications with a PC powered by the Intel® Core™2 Quad processor. With four processing cores and up to 12MB of shared L2 cache and up to 1333 MHz Front Side Bus, more intensive entertainment and more multitasking can bring a multimedia powerhouse to your home.

The latest versions built on Intel's 45nm manufacturing technology take these benefits to a whole new level. This new technology uses hafnium-infused Hi-k transistors, enabling even more processor performance by doubling the transistor density, improving efficiency and speed relative to the previous generation, and increasing cache size by up to 50 percent. These new Intel Core 2 Quad processors deliver even more performance without using more energy.

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The word on the street is that Google has been and will continue buying AMD products over Intel. Google currently owns 200,000 servers and AMD could start to see a lot of business from Google as they continue to expand or need to replace/upgrade the existing servers. The funniest part is that Intel's Chief Executive is on Google's board. It looks as though AMD continues

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IDF It's official: Intel's 'Montevina' incarnation of Centrino will indeed be branded Centrino 2, as expected.

Up to the release of Montevina, due this coming May, there have been four versions of Centrino. But apart from briefly adding the word 'Duo' to the brand, Intel hasn't to date offered any clear indication to consumers that marked a new version of the platform from its predecessors.

That hasn't played well with notebook vendors and suppliers who have had to fall back on the chip giant's own codenames - 'Santa Rosa refresh', for instance - to differentiate one Centrino generation from another. Clearly, that doesn't tell buyers anything, and laptop makers have been crying out for a new approach that does.

Enter 'Centrino 2', using a simple version number in the tried and trusted way to show product A is generation X and product B is generation Y.

Montevina machines will go out under the Centrino 2 brand. Intel is planning to release some 15 45nm Core 2 Duo processors that tie into its 'Cantiga' chipset, the foundation of Montevina. Cantiga ups the platform's system bus speed to 1066MHz and adds support for DDR 3 memory. As before, Wi-Fi is part of the package, now augmented with WiMax as an optional extra.

Equally optional is the second generation of Intel's Flash cache Turbo Memory technology.

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Intel, a bellwether for the bleak first quarter earnings season and the whole tech industry, may have just thrown a life jacket to sinking tech stocks.

The world’s biggest chip maker reported that its first-quarter net income fell 55 percent from the first quarter a year ago. But the net income of $647 million, or 11 cents a share, wasn’t nearly as bad as analysts had feared.

Paul Otellini, chief executive of the company, said in a statement that the PC industry found its bottom in the first quarter and that the industry is “returning to normal seasonal industry patterns.”

For its own internal planning, Intel is counting on revenues being flat in the second quarter that ends June 30. Intel had few other changes to its plans and financial outlook.

That should be a relief to those who feared more economic catastrophe. Revenue for the quarter was $7.1 billion, better than the $6.97 billion analysts expected but down 26 percent from $9.6 billion a year ago when Intel posted net income of $1.6 billion, or 25 cents a share.

This quarter, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company is the first to report earnings for the first quarter, which was likely one of the worst in history. Everyone is looking for signs of whether there’s more misery in store or some light at the end of the tunnel.

Analysts expected Intel to post earnings of $157 million, or 2 cents a share, on revenue of $6.97 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2008, Intel reported a net income of $234 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $8.2 billion.

At the tail end of the first quarter, Intel fired off a major volley with the launch of its Xeon Series 5500 microprocessors for servers in corporate data centers. (pictured right)

Intel has taken a pounding in the stock market. Its 52-week peak was $25.29 a share. But its market capitalization of about $89 billion still dwarfs the $2.3 billion for rival Advanced Micro Devices. Intel plans to spend about $5.4 billion on research and development in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

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Intel has announced the branding for its forthcoming range of low-power processors designed for handheld devices. Formerly referred to by the codenames of Silverthorne and Diamondville, the chips will now go by the moniker Atom.

The Intel Atom uses the same instruction set as the Core 2 Duo processor, but it’s a completely new design that represents Intel’s smallest-ever processor. The Atom is just 25mm2 with 47 million transistors, compared to 410 million on the latest 143mm2 Core 2 Duo. The new chip will run at speeds up to 1.8GHz and draw between 0.6 and 2.5W – the Core 2 Duo draws around 35W.

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The Intel Core2 Extreme Quad-Core processor is theworlds first quad-core desktop processor, delivering the latest incutting-edge processor technology and unprecedented performance acrossa wide range of applications and benchmarks. The new Intel Core 2Extreme processors QX9000 series are based on the industry-leading 45nmmanufacturing technology, providing another giant leap forward on theroad to multi-core and parallel computing.
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Intel slashes processor prices as it flushes 65nm from the manufacturing system. Credit: Intel.

Intel Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of computer processors, is this week turning the pricing screw on closest industry rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in an effort to further solidify its position of dominance while clearing the way for better technology.

That solidification arrives via a rush of hefty price cuts -- up to 50 percent -- applied to a variety of Intel’s existing microchips. According to Intel, around a dozen processors are covered by the price cuts, with the majority of those built on the company’s older 65 nanometer (nm) technology.

Intel’s 65nm manufacturing process has since been superseded by its more advanced 45nm technology, and the sudden round of price cuts is likely to represent somewhat of a stock clearance as it continues to shift the spotlight from one to the other, reports Computerworld.

“We’re transitioning from 65nm to 45nm,” commented Intel spokesman Patrick Ward via an official announcement posted to the California-based company’s Web site. “We’re in the process of refreshing our line. If you see a 65nm [processor], it’s older technology and we’re moving on from it.”

In terms of the most notable processors directly affected by Intel’s price cuts, the new listing reveals that 1,000-chip orders of the Q6700 Core 2 Quad have plummeted from $530 USD to $266 USD per chip, while the Xeon X3230 has also dropped form $530 USD to $266 USD.

Other 1,000-chip orders benefiting from the price cuts include the Core 2 Duo E26850, which falls from $266 USD to $183 USD per chip, while the Xeon 3085 falls from $266 USD to $188 USD per chip.

Analyst reaction to Intel’s pricing adjustment suggests that the leading chipmaker, while obviously shifting from a 65nm to 45nm focus, is looking to expand its pricing-to-performance strengths when measured against the range of processors offered by AMD, which traditionally delivers cheaper chip alternatives to Intel’s line.

When it comes to the advancement of 45nm technology, AMD is looking to ship its initial microprocessor entrants in 2008’s closing quarter, which will subsequently leave the company trailing Intel by around a year.

Intel 38

NEW YORK (AFP) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and US computer chip maker Intel Corp. announced on Monday that they have forged an alliance that will allow TMSC to use Intel's tiny Atom microprocessors. Intel, the world's largest chip manufacturer, and TMSC described the agreement in a joint statement as "an important step in a long-term strategic technology cooperation between Intel and TSMC." "The compelling benefits of our Atom processor combined with the experience and technology of TSMC is another step in our long-term strategic relationship," Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini said. Intel said the agreement with TMSC should "significantly broaden the market opportunities" for its Atom processor, which was unveiled last year and is used in a wide variety of electronic devices, from smartphones to netbooks. The Atom features 47 million transistors and is Intel's smallest processor. "We expect this collaboration will help proliferate the Atom processor ... and foster overall semiconductor growth," said Rick Tsai, president and chief executive of TSMC, which operates the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry. The agreement with TMSC is unusual for the Santa Clara, California-based Intel as it tends to tightly control everything from computer chip design to manufacturing. The alliance comes at a difficult time for the semiconductor industry and is aimed at expanding the use of the Atom in electronic devices. Market research firm Gartner expects worldwide semiconductor revenue to drop 24.1 percent this year to 194.5 billion dollars while another firm, IDC, has forecast that the semiconductor market will erode 22 percent this year. Gartner also reported on Monday that sales of personal computers are expected to decline by 11.9 percent to 257 million units in 2009, the steepest drop in the industry's history.

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With the aim to create even faster CPU than its current Yorkfield 45nm Core 2 based Xeon, Intel is planning to come out with an upgraded edition of the same that will operate at 3.16GHz. The present fastest Yorkfield based Xeon is X3370 at 3.0 GHz clock 12MB cache and FSB 1333 was carrying a price tag of $525, but from 18th January its price has come down to $317.

The name of the latest faster version is Xeon Quad core X3380, which will function at 3.16GHz and has the same FSB 1333 and comes with 12MB cache. The users will have to pay $525 in the Q1, when the product would be launched. As far as the launch is concerned, it will happen before 29th March before Intel launches its Nehalem based Xeons.

It is being quite surely expected that since Nehalem will change pricing in server renting space.

Major hosting companies including ThePlanet, Rackspace, LayeredTech, Softlayer, ZipServers and Hi-Velocity are expected to announce new packages in multi-core processor bas

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The first 32nm processor, code-named Westmere, will be in production by the fourth quarter of 2009. It will arrive in a dual-core, four-thread format suitable for desktops and notebooks, the company said in a conference call on Tuesday.

The design initially will also include a 45nm integrated graphics and memory controller as part of a multichip package, with this component moving to 32nm — and possibly fully integrated — in 2010. The same year will see the arrival of Gulftown, a six-core, 12-thread chip for desktops, as well as the first Westmere-based Xeon server chips.

Intel announced that as well as moving integrated graphics and memory into the main processor, it was moving all remaining chipset functions into a single chip, the Intel 5 series. With the Intel 5, motherboard makers could build PCs with all the logic components in just two chips.

"We have excellent health on Westmere," an Intel spokesperson said. "We were thrilled with the first silicon, and were able to boot and run applications on the very first wafers. We have enough confidence that we're accelerating the 32nm ramp in the mainstream."

The spokesperson also said that a version of the chip would be demonstrated later on Tuesday in San Francisco.

Intel said the 32nm process was the first to use immersion lithography, a new technique where some production takes place in water, with design patterns shrunk by refraction.

Westmere is substantially the same architecture as the existing 45nm Nehalem chip, shrunk to the new 32nm process. Seven new instructions have been added, the company said, to support accelerated encryption and decryption suitable for communication and hard disks. The next major update, Sandy Bridge, will have a new architecture that will span the next process transition to 22nm.

In support of these moves, the company said it was spending $7bn (£4.8bn) over two years across four chip-production sites in the US.

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A Brief History of CompetitionBack in time a few years to 2004 and AMD were market leaders with their single-cored Athlon 64: (One of which I have working away happily in an Exel computer in the office.) The first proper 64-bit capable processor, which blew away anything that Intel had to offer at the time. Then came the Athlon 64×2 dual-cored 64-bit capable processor from AMD; which was well developed using AMD’s developing technologies to provide a good and efficient internal architecture on a single silicon wafer. At or around the same time Intel brought their own 64-bit-capable dual-cored processor putting them on a par with AMD. It turned out that the Intel offering was more overclockable than AMD’s equivalent; therefore the power-users and super-geeks started using Intel processors along with water-cooling. AMD were at the same time developing the Phenom series of quad and triple-core processors; but at that point the game became very cut-throat when Intel “cheated” in bringing out a quad-core by stapling two dual-cored wafers together before AMD had had a chance to fully develop their Phenom architecture which had been beset by a situation caused by a bug in the hardware. Both AMD and Intel have brought out 65nm technologies which reduce the power consumption and increase the individual transistor’s switching times considerably. It turns out that Intel have been working on 45nm technology for over 11 years and have perfected it to the point that the first CPUs based on this further miniaturisation are starting to appear …And so for at least the last year or so Intel has been recognised as market leader simply because its products are far more overclockable than AMD’s and therefore are endorsed by the geeks. – Any product endorsed by geeks tends to get rated highly. Now to add to that they will gain an endorsement from the green environmentalist faction for their 45nm and smaller technology’s lower power consumption: They’ve completely and utterly leapfrogged AMD with regard to market domination.

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Pentium III Xeon family was manufactured using two different cores:

0.25 micron Xeon processors are based on Tanner core, which is very close to Pentium III Katmai core. The main difference between Tanner Xeons and Katmai Pentiums lies in the size and operating frequency of level 2 cache: the Xeon CPUs have much larger, up to 2 MB, L2 cache running at CPU frequency, that is twice as fast as Katmai L2 cache.

Next generation of Xeon processors was produced using 0.18 micro technology. There were two different versions of these processors - with 100 and 133 MHz Front Side Bus frequency. All Xeon microprocessors with 133 MHz FSB were in effect Pentium III Coppermine processors in Xeon package. Like desktop Pentium III CPUs, they had 256 KB level 2 cache integrated on the processor core and didn't support quad-processing. Performance of these Xeons was no better than performance of desktop processors. Later Intel released real Xeon processors that could work in 4-way systems and had very large, up to 2 MB, L2 cache. The disadvantage of these processors was lower FSB - only 100 MHz.

All Pentium 3 Xeon CPUs were packaged in the same bulky and heavy 330-contact SECC cartridge as Pentium II Xeons.

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The Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme quad-core processor builds on the success of the Intel® Core micro-architecture, and sports a 1.3GHz bus to match the board it is paired up with, as well as comes with 12MB of cache in the 45nm variant, with the 65nm variant offering a lesser cache at 8MB. This increase in cache spells faster response, and is the showcase of Intel®'s 45nm technology which enables faster and improved responsive processors.

Key highlights of this Intel® processor include :

• Intel® Wide Dynamic Execution - Enables the delivery of more instructions per clock cycle which significally improves gaming execution time and its energy efficiency capabilities.

• Intel® Deep Power Down Technology - This is designed specifically to deliver extreme energy-efficient performance.

• Intel® Smart Memory Access - Created to improve system performance by fully optimizing the use of all available data bandwidth found.

• Intel® Advanced Smart Cache - Ultimately provides a higher-performance, more efficient cache subsystem for this processor, and also, is optimized for all industry-leading multi-threaded games.

Intel® Advanced Digital Media Boost - Built to accelerate a broad range of applications, including game physics and also artificial intelligence. Currently improved even further on its 45nm versions with Intel® HD Boost, and its utilizing new SSE4 instructions for better multimedia performance.

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Advancing innovation around the Intel Atom processor with a goal to target additional market segments, Intel Corporation today announced four unique versions of processors and two new system controller hub additions to the company's "embedded" business division product line-up. The new products for the Intel Atom processor Z5xx series include industrial-temperature options, as well as different package-size choices better suited for in-car infotainment devices, media phones, eco-technologies and other industrial-strength applications.
The low-power Intel Atom processor is behind much of Intel's growth into several new computing-related market segments, extending the popular Intel architecture to embedded industries such as automotive in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), industrial control and automation, and media phones. These products also enable market segment innovation through advancements in integrated 2-D and 3-D graphics, video acceleration and support for multiple operating systems including several versions of Windows* and Linux*.

"With the addition of these new products, we can bring the benefits of Intel processors to new applications, devices and customers who develop products used in unconstrained thermal environments with low-power in mind," said Doug Davis, vice president, Digital Enterprise Group and general manager, Embedded and Communications Group, Intel. "Meeting the needs of embedded environments and new market segments will play a large role in delivering the connectivity and functionality necessary as the number of devices connecting to the embedded Internet is expected to grow to an estimated 15 billion devices by 2015," Davis added, citing a January report by IDC's John Gantz titled "The Embedded Internet: Methodology and Findings."

The Intel Atom processor is the company's smallest built with the world's smallest and most energy-efficient transistors. Intel's 30-year-old embedded computing division focuses on machines, devices and equipment that have computing and Internet capabilities but are not traditional PCs, laptops or servers. Intel offers an extended 7-year lifecycle for those areas that require longer product refresh cycles such as IVI.

"Intel is well known for innovation and we're excited to see them introducing new low-power consumption Intel Atom processors targeted for in-vehicle systems," said Greg Baribault, director of product management for the Automotive Business Unit at Microsoft. "Intel Atom processors and the Microsoft Auto software platform will provide scalability for the new era of advanced in-vehicle solutions."

In addition to in-car applications, the Intel Atom Z5xx processor series also targets an emerging category of Internet-based communications devices Intel calls "media phones." The package size and power envelope of the Intel Atom Z5xx series are ideal for the media phone, which provides communications services over IP and easy, one-touch access to lifestyle applications such as e-mail, text messaging, weather information, YouTube, horoscopes and digital photo albums.

To help accelerate this emerging device category, Intel today introduced an Intel Media Phone Reference Design that will facilitate development of hardware solutions to market. The hardware development platform includes schematics and validated software stacks.

The new products will be available in the second quarter. For more information about the new options for the Intel Atom processor Z5xx series, visit developer.intel.com/design/intarch/atom500/index.htm.

Intel offers a broad spectrum of embedded silicon, technologies, components and tools that enable businesses to meet stringent platform requirements and competitive development schedules. Intel architecture-based processors provide enhanced energy-efficient performance within power and space constraints common for embedded applications. For more information, visit www.intel.com/go/embedded.

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Intel Corporation is introducing its most advanced desktop processor ever, the Intel Core i7 processor, the first member of a new family of Nehalem processor designs - and the company says it is the most sophisticated ever built, with new technologies that boost performance on demand and maximise data throughput.

The Core i7 processor speeds video editing, immersive games and other popular internet and computer activities by up to 40 percent without increasing power consumption.

“Intel has delivered the fastest desktop processor on Earth to the most demanding users on Earth, the ones who are using their PCs for video, gaming and music,” said Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group. “When you couple what is Intel’s biggest leap in chip design with other incredible innovations like Intel’s solid state drives, the Core i7 processor has redefined the computer of tomorrow.”

The Turbo Boost Technology accelerates performance to match a computer user’s needs and workloads. Through a sophisticated on-die power control unit and using new ‘power gate’ transistors based on Intel’s advanced 45 nanometer, high-k metal gate manufacturing process, Turbo Boost automatically adjusts the clock speed of one or more of the four individual processing cores for single- and multi-threaded applications to boost performance, without increasing power consumption.

The Core i7 also has the latest Intel power-saving technologies, allowing desktops to go into sleep states formerly reserved for Intel-based notebooks.

This new processor more than doubles the memory bandwidth of previous Intel ‘Extreme’ platforms, speeding the transfer of computer bits in and out of the processor with Intel Quickpath Technology. Designed with Intel’s Hyper-Threading Technology, the processor also allows multiple computing threads to run simultaneously, effectively enabling it to do two things at once. As a result, the Core i7 quad-core processor delivers 8-threaded performance.

The company says the Intel Core i7 processor also offers unrivaled performance for immersive 3-D games – over 40 percent faster than previous Intel high-performance processors on both the 3DMark Vantage CPU physics and AI tests, popular industry computer benchmarks that measure gaming performance.

The Intel Core i7 processors and Intel X58 Express Chipset-based Intel Desktop Board DX58SO Extreme Series are for sale immediately from several computer manufacturers online and in retail stores, as well as a boxed retail product via channel online sales.

This is the first member of the Intel Nehalem microarchitecture family; server and mobile product versions will be in production later. Each Core i7 processor features an 8 MB level 3 cache and three channels of DDR3 1066 memory to deliver the best memory performance of any desktop platform. Intel’s top performance processor, the Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition, also removes overspeed protection, allowing Intel’s knowledgeable customers or hobbyists to further increase the chip’s speed.

Prices vary from US$284 through $999 based on speed, cache memory and other factors.

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The Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor PCSTATS is testing for you today is remarkable for its power efficiency. The E6750 does not draw much power, having an typical TDP (Typical Design Power) of 65W.

The operating core voltage range has dropped slightly from previous versions to between 0.962V-1.35V. Earlier Core 2 Duo processor were based on a B2 stepping while the E6750 is using Intel's newer G0 stepping. Intel is still relying on a 65 nanometer manufacturing process, and the silicon die here is approximately 143mm2 in area and contains around 291 million transistors.

PCSTATS is testing an Engineering Sample Core 2 Duo E6750 in this review. Stock benchmarks will be identical to retail processors, but overclocking may see some advantages.

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Can’t edit your favorite pics while performing Hi-Def video encoding or having a problem playing any game which demands a high performance processor. Well do not be so worried, Intel (the god of processors) has come up with its exciting new Intel Core i7 processor extreme edition. Although Intel has released many processors over the years, most of these offered only small iterations on existing designs, and were more evolutionary than revolutionary. This time it has come up with the world’s most advanced processors for those who like to use their PCs for things such as video gaming, photo editing or any other memory consuming operations. It has a monstrous capacity of handling various strenuous tasks simultaneously. Apart from its high speed performance, high quality gaming, the components of the processor are also amazing. It has 3.2 GHz of core speed as well as three channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory. This quad core processor also includes eight processing threads with Intel’s incredible HT technology and eight megabytes of Intel Smart Cache and with the combination of Intel Turbo Boost technology and Intel Hyper-Threading technology, it merely has no match.
Currently this extreme i7 processor is being sold at a retail price of about 1010 USD. Although the price is a bit on the higher end, but if you are looking for a tool which makes interaction with your PC as smooth as it has never been, then you better go for it. Also, the cost of the desktop boards which are based on this new processor is a bit high (around 260 USD); no need to worry though, the prices are going to take a downward leap in a couple of months. Best features of the Core i7’s are
3.20 GHz core speed
3 Channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory
8 MB of Intel Smart Cache
Intel Turbo Boost Technology
Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

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On Monday Intel announced the first mobile quad-core processor called Penryn. The new silicon is the cousin to the Penryn desktop processor, the Core 2 Extreme QX9650, announced on 12 November 2007.

The next generation transistors, used in the new Penryn processors (Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Quad and Xeon family) feature “new high-k + metal gate material that will allow for higher frequencies, lower resistance, less leakage and lower power consumption.”

Aside from the simple fact that the new 45nm process will allow for double transistor density over current generation processors, Intel also promises that the new microarchitecture will offer a significant performance-per-watt increase over current 65nm technology. Other benefits of the new 45nm process and high-k and metal gate combination will be:

• Significant reduction in transistor switching power
• Improvement in transistor switching speed
• Reduction in source-drain leakage power
• Reduction in gate oxide leakage power
• Greater energy efficiency

According to AppleInsider Penryn-based Core 2 notebook chips boost battery performance by as much as 16 percent and encoding operations by as much 40 percent over Merom processors in mobile benchmark tests.

Penryn is the successor to the fourth-generation Intel (Santa Rosa) Centrino notebook processor currently shipping in the current MacBook and MacBook Pro. Penryn chips have already started shipping PC notebooks from HP, Toshiba and Fujitsu.

The MacBook Pro was last updated on 5 June 2007 with the Santa Rosa processor and new NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 250 days ago. The MacBook was last updated just 72 days ago (on 31 October 2007) with Santa Rosa and Intel GMA X3100 video.

While the MacBook is still pretty current the MacBook Pro is due for a refresh. I’d love to see a new quad-core Penryn MBP announced at MWSF - ideally in an entirely new enclosure.

What about you?

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Intel introduced the Intel CE 2110 Media Processor, an integrated media SoC for the next generation consumer electronics devices, such as digital networked media players and set top boxes. Microsoft expect its new media processor will bring consumers advanced home entertainment and information services.

The Intel CE 2110 Media Processor combines a 1 GHz Intel XScale processing core with powerful audio-video processing, graphics and I/O components. Single chip solution is important as consumer electronics manufacturers need to accelerate development/production process.

The MPEG-2 and H.264 video codecs maximizes system-level performance by enabling the Intel XScale processor core to be used exclusively for applications. In addition to the Intel XScale processor core, this highly integrated consumer electronics platform building block includes an Intel Micro Signal Architecture DSP core for audio codecs, a 2D/3D graphics accelerator, hardware accelerators for encryption and decryption, comprehensive peripheral interfaces, analog and digital input/output, and a transport interface for ATSC/DVB input.