Update - Intel's Plan to End Overclocking on Mainstream CPU's

Category: CPU's
Posted: May 12, 2008 04:39PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

Back in April, I reported on an almost absurd rumor that Intel was planning to prevent overclocking on its upcoming Nehalem-based mainstream CPU's, and that they intended to create a high-priced "overclocking friendly" niche with the Bloomfield processors. Well, it's looking like that rumor will soon become a sad reality. When Intel releases its next-gen Socket 1160, the Lynnfield and Havendale CPU's scheduled to operate on the platform will include what's being termed as an "overclocking lock". Basically, because some traditionally Northbridge-based components - like the memory controller - will be on-die, Intel has significantly more control over how CPU clocks are generated. In fact, the chip giant is allegedly planning to use a "checks and balances" type system, where one clock generator will be inside the CPU, and another will reside in the PCH - and both will maintain OEM speed by referencing and mirroring the other. Thus, attempts to alter the speed of one clock generator will be nullified when it is being checked over by the other. Boo, Intel. Boo.

AMD to Announce Additions to Opteron Lineup

Category: CPU's
Posted: May 12, 2008 08:02AM
Author: Dale Shuck

AMD is set to announce five new low-watt processors within its Opteron family of quad-core processors today. This will be the first time these processors have been available for purchase outside of systems offered by AMD's OEM partners. The new chips are part of AMD's 8300 and 2300 series. The new Opterons are all designed with a 55-watt TDP. The 8300 series processors will clock at 1.8- and 1.9GHz. The three CPUs in the 2300 series are being offered in speeds from 1.7GHz to 1.9GHz. All of the chips feature 512KB of L2 cache and 2M of shared L3 cache. Systems built around these processors are already available from HP and Dell with other major vendors expected to follow suit later this year. Prices range from $209 to $873 in 1,000-unit lots.

Intel's End of Life Roadmap

Category: CPU's
Posted: May 9, 2008 07:28PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

It's a classic case of "out with the old, in with the new" at Intel, who is planning to EOL several products in the near future. Among the most popular CPU's that are being forced into retirement are the Core 2 Extreme QX6850 and QX6800 - who will be done as of July 2008, the Core 2 Duo E6850 and E6750 in Q1 2009, and the budget Pentium dual-core E2140 in June of this year. Also, it appears as if Intel plans on discontinuing the ultra-successful P35 chipset in December '08 to make room for its replacement, the P45 - which will feature PCI-E 2.0 expansion slots, FSB speeds up to 1600 MHz, and DDR3 support up to DDR3-1333.

AMD To Release First CPU Supporting DDR3

Category: CPU's
Posted: May 8, 2008 03:52PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

Continuing its effort to catch up to Intel, AMD is expected to release its first ever CPU that supports DDR3 memory sometime in the second quarter of 2009.  Besides DDR3 support, we can expect the quad-core "Suzuka" CPU to take advantage of HyperTransport 3.0 - enabling bus speeds up to 2.6 GHz, and a maximum 20.8 GB/s full-duplex bandwidth - and AMD-V's virtualization technology.  Suzuka is slated to operate with the RS780 Northbridge and the SB700S Southbridge, and is rumored to be making the jump to the yet-unreleased Socket AM3.  I hope that someone at Team Green will notice the incredible success and longevity of Intel's Socket 775, and suggest developing and sticking with a platform for a good period of time.  Considering AMD's many recent woes, I would think that building and maintaining some semblance of stability would be more beneficial than introducing a new CPU socket every year...

Big Chip Makers Preparing for Transition to 450-mm Wafer Production

Category: CPU's
Posted: May 6, 2008 12:15PM
Author: Dale Shuck

Silicon wafers are the foundation upon which chips such as CPUs are based. These wafers start out as ingots that are manufactured in sizes ranging up to 300mm in diameter. Most major semiconductor firms today have standardized on the larger 300mm size and there are now plans under way to move to a larger 450mm wafer that would potentially allow manufacturers to double the number of processors that can be created on each wafer. Due to the enormous investment costs involved in building the fabs, or plants, that create these ingots, it is important that the industry develop standards for developing manufacturing and testing equipment. Intel and Samsung jointly announced plans to begin developing plans to transition to the larger ingot sizes with production slated to begin in 2012. Generally speaking, the industry changes standards about every ten years with the last move from 200mm to 300mm wafer sizes coming in 2001.

AMD 45nm Quad Core Coming This Quarter

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 29, 2008 04:32PM
Author: Ben Grantham

AMD may still be playing catch up to Intel, but the fact that it plans to introduce it's first 45nm quad-core processor this quarter (which ends 30th June) is a glimmer of good news. The first chip to get the 45nm treatment should be the Phenom X4 9750, follwed by a couple more before the end of the year. The die shrink will bring drops in power consumption (from 125W to 95W) and allow clockspeed increases as well as additional L3 cache (from 2MB to 6MB). The upcoming X4 9850 and 9950 chips should also hit the 45nm process before Jan 2009, as well as low-power 45nm quad-cores expected in the first half of next year. Let's hope for AMD's sake that there aren't any delays.

AMD's Next CPU Architecture Will Be Completely Different?

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 29, 2008 03:42PM
Author: Ben Grantham

Vague quotes from sales and marketing staff aren't always the best things to analysing when playing guesswork on upcoming technology, but AMD's Giuseppe Amato is quoted as telling Custom PC when refering to the company's next generation architecture "...it will definitely not be, how can I say, comparable with the Phenom. It will look completely different." Cue wild speculation, plus a slight wondering of how 'different' things will really be. Other news from AMD today is that apparently there are over 100 designs being developed based on its new Puma laptop platform for delivery come June and hybrid graphics seem to be high on the list of claimed plus points there. As we all know by now, competition is good so lets hope AMD can provide some of the stiff variety.

Intel to Continue Q6600 Production Into Q3 2008

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 28, 2008 03:47PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

Some good news came along today for those saving cash to build an Intel-based quad-core PC in the coming months - the CPU giant has plans to keep producing the Q6600 processor into the third quarter of this year.  The Q6600, which at stock runs 2.4GHz on a 1066 FSB, has proven to be an extremely reliable chip to build a system around, and has incredible overclocking headroom - my Q6600's 24/7 OC runs rock-solid stable at 3.2GHZ, and I have been able to benchmark at 3.9GHz.  While no official reason has been given for the extended production schedule, it is rumored that Intel may be having fabrication issues with its new 45nm CPU's.  Considering the recent 50% price cut on the quad-core Q6700 - the Q6600's bigger brother - it's fairly safe to assume that system builders will find that "little brother" price will drop as well.

Hardware Roundup: AMD Phenom X3 Edition

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 23, 2008 04:39AM
Author: Dale Shuck

As you can tell by reading the news here at OCC, today is the release date of a trio of triple-core Phenom processors from AMD. Based on the same architecture as it's X4 quad-core processors, AMD is positioning these below their quad-core chips price-wise which makes them comparable to competing dual-core processors. When the triple-core processors were announced by AMD last year, there were many an eyebrow raised about the odd number of cores, especially as most have never considered anything but a multiple of two in terms of cores. The more cynical pundits speculated AMD was simply trying to find a market for failed quad-core chips. Whatever the reason, we now get our first chance to see how the X3 processors perform.

OCC
HotHardware
TweakTown
PC Perspective
motherboards.org
Bjorn3D
Tech Report
Legit Reviews
Neoseeker
Viper Lair

AMD Set to Launch New Triple-Core Processors

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 22, 2008 09:46PM
Author: Dale Shuck

AMD will add three new triple-core processors to its Phenom processor lineup on Wednesday, April 23rd. All three CPUs are part of the X3 8x50 series of processors. Those not familiar with the numbering convention should know the 'X3' denotes a triple-core processor as opposed to the quad-core processors denoted by the 'X4'  prefix. As all of the new chips are members of the 50-series family, they will have the latest B3 stepping free of the TLB erratum found in the earliest versions of the Phenom processors. The latest X3 processors are the 8450, 8650 and 8750 which are clocked at 2.1-, 2.3- and 2.4GHz respectively. Common features shared across these processors are 2MB of shared L3 cache, 512KB L2 cache per core and a max TDP of 95W. AMD is pricing these chips at $145/$165/$195US which puts them squarely up against Intel's dual-core processors at those price points. AMD expects general availability soon after the launch date. OCC is fortunate enough to be able to bring you a review of the AMD Phenom X3 8750 to coincide with the launch.

Intel to End Overclocking on Mainstream Products

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 22, 2008 12:16AM
Author: Chris Benjamin

File this under "ZOMG!! OH, NOES!!!!" - there are unconfirmed reports that CPU giant Intel plans to cease overclocking support for its mainstream product lines - a move that if true, will certainly send shock waves throughout the PC enthusiast community.  The OC stoppage is allegedly to take effect when Intel moves away from the LGA775 socket, leaving the upcoming Nehalem desktop platform - named Bloomfield, which uses the new LGA1366 socket - as Intel's only remaining overclockable hardware.  While it's currently unclear exactly how Intel intends to prevent overclocking via third-party motherboards supporting its upcoming Lynnfield and Havendale platforms - both of which will use yet another new socket, LGA1160 - one theory suggests that since the greater portion of the Northbridge is actually inside the CPU on these platforms, Intel could limit the extent to which the BIOS is allowed to interact with and alter factors like bus speed.  Stay tuned for more details as this story develops...

Intel Slashes Prices

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 21, 2008 01:34PM
Author: Carl Dunham

Intel has been enjoying a "phenom"enal (pun intended) lead in the processor market with its Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors and it looks like its only going to get better. In response to AMD's job cuts Intel is going to help them out with a price cut for some of its Core 2 Quad and older processors by up to 50%! Intel plans to drop its Q6700 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad processor from $530 to $266, the similar Xeon will receive the same treatment. Intel also introduced two new Core 2 Duo processors, the 2.83GHz E8300 at $163 and the 2.53GHz E7200 at $133. If your building a budget box Intel also slashed prices on some of its Pentium and Celeron models as they are "older" technology.

Intel to Launch Quad-Core Mobile CPU

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 15, 2008 12:40PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

Intel has announced the arrival of its first quad-core notebook processor.  The 45nm Penryn-based QX9300 will run at 2.53 GHz, with 12 MB of L2 cache and a 1066 MHz front side bus, and will be aimed at the extreme performance market.  The QX9300 will have a TDP of 45W - 10W higher than the recommended maximum for notebook PC's - but because this CPU will only be available in high end 15" to 17" (or larger) laptops, the excess heat is not expected to be a problem.  This CPU will be compatible with Intel's Centrino 2 platform, sporting NAND flash-memory caching, support for DDR2 and DDR3 RAM, and DisplayPort technology.  Look for the QX9300 to make its debut in Q3 2008.

AMD to Start Shipping Opteron Server Chips

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 9, 2008 10:46PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

To those still waiting for AMD to release the quad-core "Barcelona" Opteron processors - stop holding your breath.  AMD has announced that they are shipping the quad-core server chips in volume, and server OEM's like HP, Dell, and IBM should be receiving the processors soon.  For the curious or forgetful, a brief history lesson - as far back as November 2007, AMD quad-core CPU's began locking up test systems due to an error in the L3 cache - popularly known as the TLB Bug.  This problem caused AMD to make a somewhat strange decision - they shipped the quad-core desktop Phenom CPU to retailers with no real "cure" until the B3 stepping came along a few months later.  In the meantime, motherboard makers were urged by AMD to alter their BIOS to sidestep the processes that could cause the TLB to rear its ugly head, but that fix also knocked overall system performance down about 10%.  At the same time, AMD decided to postpone the server bound quad-core "Barcelona" Opteron CPU's.  We all are aware of the public relations hit AMD took when they loosed buggy Phenom CPU's to the masses, and the true extent of the damage caused to the Opteron server line may never be known.  Nevertheless, it is important to applaud the release of the bug-free Opteron chips, because they will reignite competition between AMD and Intel - and everyone benefits from competition.

Intel upgrades to another socket for 2008

Category: CPU's
Posted: April 6, 2008 11:27AM
Author: Andrew Robinson

Intel has a new socket (LGA1366) for their single and dual processor boards (Bloomfield and Gainestown respectively). With all of the raw processing power these new processors will be putting out Intel has increased the pin count by 591 over LGA775 which increases the overall size of the CPU by 20 percent. This new setup has a new socketing system as well. The new socket its self has a metal back plate to reduce stress from heavy heatsinks and the processor loading mechanism differs slightly from LGA775.

Intel Fleshes Out Atom Processor Lineup

Category: CPU's, Manufacturers
Posted: April 2, 2008 08:47AM
Author: Ben Grantham

Yesterday we saw Intel displaying some ultra portables based on Atom processors and today we see Intel adding five new processors to the Atom family. The new additions are all built on the 45nm process and range in speed from 800MHz to 1.86GHz, they also all feature 512KB of L2 cache. These Silverthorne based processors are squished onto a package roughly the size of a penny (13mm x 14mm) and are destined to find homes in what Intel refers to as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) as well as GPS devices, portable video players and any other device you can think of that could make use of them. Prices range from $45 for the Z500 @ 800MHz, up to $160 for the Z540 @ 1.86GHz. Back up for these chips will come in the form of Intel's new System Controller Hub (SCH), which incorporates a number of useful features such as HD Audio, PCIe and USB plus WiFi, WiMAX, EV-DO and HSDPA capabilities. Also included is a graphics solution with support for hardware accelerated 720p and 1080i content. Part of the philosophy behind the Atom processor is getting Intel into new developing markets, but there seems to be enough potential here to offer useful products for well established markets as well.

Intel Shows Off Atom Based Ultra Portables

Category: CPU's, Mobile, Prebuilts
Posted: April 1, 2008 07:41AM
Author: Ben Grantham

It is looking more and more like ASUS were a little ahead of the curve when it released its Eee PC, as it appears we are going to be seeing a wide range of very similar machines from a variety of manufacturers in days to come. In the run up to the Intel Developer Forum, Intel were displaying a few Atom based machines which bear more than a passing resemblence to the popular ASUS model. Of course, ASUS itself will be adopting the Atom in upcoming Eee PCs so other companies will be playing catch up on an established brand. Also, while unidentified in the original link, Engadget have fingered the third machine in the line up as MSI's Wind PC (the name being further proof that far eastern marketing departments are a little out of touch with western culture).

AMD To Launch More Phenoms

Category: CPU's
Posted: March 28, 2008 05:34PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

AMD has announced the launch of a number of new Phenom-based CPU's.  Among those introduced is the energy efficient quad-core Phenom X4 9100e.  This processor uses AMD's Cool'n'Quiet 2.0 technology, and CoolCore tech. - which helps conserve power by dynamically turning on and off parts of the CPU depending on load.  The X4 9100e also takes advantage of Independent Dynamic Core Tech., which allows independent frequency control for each core,  which adjusts power consumption in relation to core usage.  Additionally, AMD launched two tri-core CPU's - the X3 8400 and the X3 8600 - which can improve performance over dual-core CPU's in single threaded apps, and can also scale appropriately in multi-threaded apps like a quad-core CPU.  The X3's can also provide increased performance in multitasking situations.  Not to be outdone by Intel in the quad-core market, AMD has announced four quad-core CPU's - the X4 9550, X4 9650, and X4 9750, clocked at 2.2GHz, 2.3GHz, and 2.4GHz respectively.  AMD is also continuing it's "Black Edition" tradition by offering the quad-core Phenom X4 9850 - clocked at 2.5GHz - with an unlocked multiplier.  All four AMD quad-core Phenoms are "true quad-core", and are B3 stepping CPU's - meaning they do not carry the dreaded TLB bug.  Unfortunately, the Phenom X3 8400 and 8600 - as well as the X4 9100e - are all B2 stepping CPU's and are carriers of the TLB bug.

Intels entry-level Atom to start at $29 USD

Category: CPU's, Mobile
Posted: March 27, 2008 11:33AM
Author: Andrew Robinson

Intel's new low-power processor now called the ATOM (previously code named Silverthorne) will be starting at $29USD for their entry-level Atom 230 vaiant in tray quantities of one thousand. These price points will be directly competing with AMD's low-power Sempron lineup. The Intel Atom series of cpus are planing to be released in the second quarter of this 2008. Asustek plans on using the Atom series of cpus in their E-DT (Eee PC desktop) machines and other manufactures plan to follow suit.

Intel Adds Low-Power Xeons to Lineup

Category: CPU's
Posted: March 25, 2008 07:32PM
Author: Dale Shuck

Intel has released two new additions to its 45nm Pennryn lineup with the announcement of  the L5410 and the L5420 quad-core processors. Both have a power envelope of 50 watts, 12MB of L2 cache and core clock speeds of 2.33GHz and 2.5GHz respectively. Previously, the Xeon lineup TDP ranged from 80 to 150 watts. This brings the total number of Pennryn processors Intel offers up to 35, with 72 different Pennryn server and PC CPUs expected by the end of the year.

Intel to Release Hex-Core Processor

Category: CPU's
Posted: March 17, 2008 04:46PM
Author: Carl Dunham

You read right, Sun has leaked that Intel's upcoming Dunnington processor will contain three dual-cores in one cpu, giving you a six-core processor! Dunnington is the sucessor of Tigerton, a 65nm Xeon processor with two dual-cores in one fancy little package. Dunnington will get the Xeon label and feature 45nm Penryn technology with 16MB of L3 cache shared by all six cores and 3MB of L2 cache for each core. This new processor will work with most current systems that support the Tigerton processor, aiding in upgradability. The new Xeon lineup featuring Dunnington will be released in the second half of 2008.

Intel 'Larrabee' GPU; Hybrid CPUs

Category: CPU's, Gaming, Manufacturers
Posted: March 17, 2008 04:23PM
Author: Ben Grantham

There were rumblings last year about Intel re-entering the discrete graphics card market and I'm sure many of us will remember the Intel i740, which was the company's last discrete solution. Well ahead of its Spring Developer Forum in Shanghai, Intel has given an update on the status of its new GPU core, which will be quite different to current offerings from NVIDIA or ATI. For a start, it will is based on the x86 instruction set commonly used in CPU architecture. It is also a multi-core design, though how many cores has not been stated (early schematics seemingly included 16 cores). Apparently the architecture could scale to several thousand in-order cores, and will support OpenGL, DirectX and ray-tracing instructions. The Larrabee GPU core should debut sometime early next year as samples. Intel also talked about integrating graphics cores into CPUs, much in the vein of AMDs Fusion processors. These are likely to use designs derived from the G45 IGP initially, paired with a couple of Nehalem cores in both desktop and notebook versions. These should be due in the first half of 2009, crucially ahead of the expected debut for Fusion processors.

Intel Atom Powered Desktops For Under $200?

Category: CPU's, Manufacturers
Posted: March 14, 2008 12:05PM
Author: Ben Grantham

According to Intel, prices of desktops sporting its Atom processors could sell in the $199 to $250 range. Obviously the Atom chips aren't powerhouses when compared with regular desktop processors, but Intel expects them to be used in fanless systems meant for basic tasks such as Internet surfing or watching plain old DVDs. So you could think of it as a secondary PC for all those mundane day to day tasks (where you are likely spending 90% of your time in a web browser anyway), at least that is the spin Intel are putting on it. It also offers a low cost option for developing countries. Intel calls its Atom desktops "Nettops" and appears to be pushing them to run Linux (a natural choice to keep costs down). Whether they will offer anything to you and me will be seen when they become available later this year.

Centrino 2 Chips Coming In June / September

Category: CPU's, Manufacturers
Posted: March 13, 2008 10:49PM
Author: Ben Grantham

Intel's 45nm notebook processors, recently branded as Centrino 2 (well, thats logical really) will first hit this June and the first Quad-Core in the series will find its way to consumers in September. The QX9300 will weigh in at 2.53GHz with 12MB of cache and will cost just over $1000. I'm willing to bet you won't be seeing these in super slim models, but rather in those fancy (and heavy) brick like models that are popular with gamers on the move. The processors coming along in June will be dual-core parts and range from the P8400 (2.26GHz with 3MB cache), to the T9600 (2.8GHz with 6MB cache). Those should go for $209 and $530 respectively. The Extreme dual-core Centrino should also get a bump to the X9100 (3.06GHz, 6MB cache, $851). As well as the quad-core in September you can expect a range of low power dual-cores akin to those found in the Macbook Air. All you have to do now is wait, as usual. It's worth noting that the information isn't official from Intel yet, but sources seem pretty confident.

AMD Begins Shipping Tri-Core Phenom

Category: CPU's, Manufacturers
Posted: March 13, 2008 09:15AM
Author: Ben Grantham

Yes, apparently as of yesterday AMD started to ship its Tri-Core Phenom processors to PC manufacturers, meaning desktops featuring the chips will start to appear soon from vendors including Dell and HP. AMD said last year when it added the Tri-Core to its line-up that it would be available in the first quarter of 2008 and it looks as though it will live up to that claim. There is no word on when you'll be able to grab one of these chips for yourself in the retail channel however. If you are particularly keen and happen to live in the UK, then PC vendor Mesh Computers has already began to offer systems based on the AMD parts. The Mesh Matrix XXX Plus features the Phenom 8400, with its three cores running at 2.1GHz, while the Matrix XXX Pro (pictured) comes with the 8600 model which runs at 2.3GHz. Triple Core processors exist in a limbo zone between dual-core and quad-core parts. I'm sure someone at AMD would tell you that it would provide a good comprimise between the two.

AMD Demos 45nm Quad-Core; Details Puma Mobile Platform

Category: CPU's, Manufacturers, General News, Trade Shows/Conventions
Posted: March 5, 2008 09:38AM
Author: Ben Grantham

DailyTech -

AMD seems to be using CeBit to attract as much attention as it can (and it probably needs to). With Intel releasing its full line-up of quad-core 45nm processors soon, AMD is showing its own 45nm parts at CeBit running multiple operating systems and running intensive applications. The processors were produced at AMD's Fab 36 in Dresden using a 45nm process developed with IBM. AMD plans to deliver 45nm products later this year, though how much later is yet to be specified. Anything that gives Intel a bit of competition is good for us consumers though, so let's hope for the best.

AMD also released details of its 'Puma' mobile platform, which will make use of 780G chipset reported on earlier. This is AMD's first go at a full mobile platform (think Centino on the Intel side), with Puma platform notebooks specified as having a Turion Ultra (Griffin) CPU, RS780M Chipset and Wi-Fi adapter. The Turion Ultra is only dual-core for the time being, though future quad-core versions can't be ruled out. Several measures are implemented in an attempt to save on power, such as the CPU cores being able to run at independent frequencies, which can shift dynamically. PowerXpress technology should also allow you to switch between integrated and external graphics without a reboot. AMD is expecting Puma based notebooks to start shipping at the end of Q2.

New Family of ultra-small Intel chips called 'Atom'

Category: CPU's, Manufacturers, General News
Posted: March 3, 2008 10:26AM
Author: kingdingeling

c|net - The family name for the Diamondville chips (News Post)has been announced, the 'Atom' series of chips. Two chips will carry this name. One was formerly known as Silverthorne and will be a mobile processor designed for the next generation of low-power mobile internet devices. This processor features a new power state, which allows the processor to essentially shut off in between tasks, to achieve a maximum power savings potential. The Menlow chips will also be rebranded to Centrino Atom, but these chips will feature integrated graphics, integrated wireless radio and a new, thinner and lighter design.

Dual-Core Diamondville Processor Planned

Category: CPU's, Mobile
Posted: February 29, 2008 11:24AM
Author: Dale Shuck

Computerworld -

It looks like a dual-core version of Intel's low-power Diamondville processor is in the works. The single-core version is due out some time around the middle of 2008 and will be based on the 45nm Silverthorne architecture.  The Diamondville chips are intended for use in the low-end laptop market (the Silverthorne processors go to the ultra-mobile devices).  The low cost notebook market is expected to grow substantially as can be seen in the success of Asus Eee PC.  While the Eee uses an Intel Celeron processor, the Diamondville will replace that chip n the low-end laptops.  With the advent of the dual-core version, users can expect to see speedier performance and see this chip targeted at the low-end desktop market.

New low-cost single core processors from Intel

Category: CPU's, Manufacturers, General News
Posted: February 26, 2008 01:37PM
Author: kingdingeling

c|net - What a surprising move from Intel this is! Take a look at the demand for the Asus EeePC, then it becomes obvious why Intel will wants to invest into such a niche. It's growing massively! With these new processors, dubbed "Diamondville", Intel is moving away from it's multi-core strategy, using a totally new piece of silicon based on the 45nm manufacturing process. The aim of these processors is to offer low power consumption and low cost, whilst still offering decent performance. Although these processors are very similar to Intel's Celeron line-up, they are a completely new CPUs. The "Diamondville" line is purely single core, however there will be an exception, a dual core desktop version is going to come out sometime this year.

By now you must be asking yourself "well how do these guys perform?" According to Intel, they should be roughly the same performance as the Pentium M Series. That being said, that's definitely lots of performance for a processor that's aimed at laptops the size of the Asus EeePC, which currently are either rather slow, or ridiculously expensive.

Hardware Roundup: Monday Edition

Category: Video Cards, Motherboards, CPU's, Cases, Memory, Power Supplies, Mobile, Monitors, Prebuilts, Storage / Hard Drives
Posted: February 18, 2008 06:29AM
Author: Dale Shuck

Monday rolls around again and we have quite a few reviews in tour roundup this morning.  For the video card section Fudzilla dissects the PowerColor HD 3850 1GB complete with a factory overclock and a ZEROTherm after market cooler.  Also from the ATI camp Techgage reviews the ASUS EAH3870 X2 1GB.   Moving over to the NVIDIA side, there is the Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GT ZL 512Mb Video Card from Madshrimps.  This card also features a factory overclock and an after market cooler, but this one is from Zalman.  If you're curious to find out how the upcoming 9600 series of cards from NVIDIA will perform you need to check out the NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 512MB G94 review from TweakTown.  We'll have to wait to see about NVIDIA's pricing and ability to deliver sufficient stock levels on this new card.  PC Perspective returns with its latest news with the release of Podcast #22 - Skulltrail, NVIDIA buying AGEIA, AMD merger talk and more!.  You've been treated to several articles in our roundup regarding Intel's new Skulltrail platform.  Some of Intel's partners are also scheduled to release boards based on the the dual socket LGA771 configuration and HotHardware has the Asus Z7S WS Skulltrail Motherboard Exclusive Sneak Peek for your perusal.  So where does that leave you if you want a single processor setup based on the LGA775 socket?  Check out the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Quad Core Processor at Tech ARP.  They also updated their Intel Core 2 Performance Comparison Guide to include the QX9650 numbers.  For the latest in DDR3 memory, Overclockers Online evaluates the Patriot Viper Extreme 2x1024MB PC3-15000.  Acrylic and home theater PCs are both segments of the specialty  case market.  Combine the two and you get the Sunbeam Acrylic HTPC Case and Overclocker Cafe checks it out.  RBMods has a look at the Ultra X2 Extreme Edition 750W Power Supply.  HotHardware also treats us to a look at a prebuilt performance system in their Maingear Ephex 3-Way SLI Gaming System review.  ThinkComputers offers up a look at a pair of notebooks today with its Lenovo ThinkPad T61p 14.1-inch & 15.4-inch Laptops.  With terabyte hard drives seeming to rule the roost in terms of size the sweet spot in terms of cost per gigabyte is in the 500GB-750GB models and ExtremeMHz has the Seagate 750GB SATA II Hard Drive up for review.  With drive prices falling and storage requirements increasing perhaps its time to invest in a nice RAID array.  The HighPoint RocketRAID 3120 at Bjorn3D is one way to achieve that goal without breaking the bank.  PCSTATS has a look at the Samsung Syncmaster 275T 27-inch LCD Display, a sweet-looking display offering good ergonomic features and HDCP support.