Nvidia Corp. and Samsung Electronics have quietly signed an agreement under which the latter will produce computer chips for the former. At present, it is unknown whether Samsung will manufacture graphics processors or application processors for the chip designer, but it is obvious that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is no …
Read More »AMD cuts ‘Bulldozer’ instructions from ‘Zen’ processors
Advanced Micro Devices has been talking about development of its next-generation high-performance “Zen” architecture for months now, but so far it has not revealed any details about the chips officially. Nonetheless, thanks to a recent patch for Linux we have learnt one significant detail about “Zen”: it will not support many …
Read More »AMD begins to enable ‘Zen’ processors support in Linux
Advanced Micro Devices has begun to add support of its upcoming microprocessors powered by “Zen” micro-architecture to Linux operating systems. The enablement of future chips in Linux confirms AMD’s plans to release such central processing units and even reveals some facts about their functionality. Unfortunately, addition of support does not …
Read More »Asrock adds support of AMD ‘Godavari’ processors to FM2+ mainboards
Advanced Micro Devices plans to release its code-named “Godavari” accelerated processing units (also known as “Kaveri Refresh”) sometimes in June, but manufacturers of mainboards already add their support to their platforms. Asrock recently enabled operation of AMD “Godavari” hybrid microprocessors on its FM2A78M-HD+ R2.0 mainboard with a new BIOS release. …
Read More »AMD develops custom server microprocessor for Facebook – source
Advanced Micro Devices is working on a server-class system-on-chip (SoC) for Facebook. While not a lot of details are known about the microprocessor today, if Facebook adopts the chip for its datacentres, it will be a major revenue opportunity for AMD. As Facebook’s infrastructure has scaled, the company ran into …
Read More »Mainboards for Intel ‘Skylake’ chips to hit the market in September
With 14nm fabrication process finally mature enough for production of high-end microprocessors, Intel Corp. feels itself pretty comfortable. With no or little competitive pressure from Advanced Micro Devices, the world’s largest chipmaker can release new products when it makes the most business sense for it. The company takes advantage of …
Read More »Intel: Windows XP replacements and PC purchases are slowing
Intel Corp. on Thursday said that its revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal year will be lower than anticipated. The company reduced revenue outlook by about $1 billion. The world’s largest chipmaker blamed slower than expected replacements of Windows XP-based PCs by businesses as well as challenging macroeconomic …
Read More »Asustek’s Intel Z97 and H97 mainboards now support ‘Broadwell’ CPUs
Intel Corp.’s code-named “Broadwell” processors are still two or three months away, but mainboard makers are already preparing for their arrival. Asustek Computer, the world’s largest producer of motherboards, this week released new BIOS versions for its contemporary mainboards that add support for the new central processing units. As expected, …
Read More »Benchmark results show notable architectural advantages of ‘Skylake’ processors
Intel Corp.’s code-named “Skylake” processors may be significantly faster than existing chips at the same clock-rate thanks to architectural improvements, according to performance benchmarks of alleged engineering sample of the forthcoming CPU. If Intel manages to maintain current clock-rates with commercial “Skylake” chips, the latter could be significantly faster than …
Read More »Samsung plans to use MediaTek’s SoC inside smartphones – report
Samsung Electronics reportedly plans to start using application processors from MediaTek in its smartphones. The move will clearly lower Samsung’s dependence on system-on-chips from Qualcomm, but will hardly have any positive effect on the company’s handsets. A rumour from Taiwan has it that Samsung and MediaTek are negotiating about a potential …
Read More »Intel: ‘Skylake’ processors will be fantastic for tablets, PCs, servers
While Intel Corp. is going to release its code-named “Skylake” processors a little later than expected, the company keeps the plan to introduce its new micro-architecture for virtually all segments of the market continuum this year. Intel will roll-out “Skylake” central processing units for tablets, 2-in-1s, personal computers and servers …
Read More »AMD: We will actively promote ‘Zen’ processors for server market
Advanced Micro Devices now commands only about 2 or 3 per cent of the server market because of various reasons and the company is not going to regain its positions with the current Opteron offerings. Nonetheless, the chip designer seems to pin a lot of hopes on its “Zen” micro-architecture …
Read More »Intel ‘Skylake’ processors for PCs will not support AVX-512 instructions
Intel Corp.’s forthcoming central processing units code-named “Skylake” for personal computers will not support any AVX-512 instructions, according to a media report. Only Xeon processors for servers and, possibly, workstations will support 512-bit instructions. Support of 512-bit SIMD instructions – known as AVX3 – was expected to be a key …
Read More »Intel to reclassify Atom processors to better reflect their positioning
Intel Corp. not only plans to unveil its new Atom processors code-named “Braswell” later this year, but also to introduce a new classification for its chips aimed at ultra-portable devices. The new naming scheme will help the world’s largest chipmaker to better position its Atom processors and will likely help …
Read More »Asrock shows off LGA1151 mainboard for Intel ‘Skylake’ processors
At the Embedded World 2015 trade-show this week Asrock demonstrated its first mainboard for LGA1151 central processing units code-named Skylake. DFI, a well-known maker of mainboards that no longer produces products for consumers, is also showcasing its embedded/industrial LGA1151 roadmap at the show. Although makers of desktop mainboards are not …
Read More »TSMC: We will close the gap with Intel at 10nm!
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. believes that its 10nm fabrication process will not only be available around the same time when Intel Corp. starts to use its 10nm technology, but will also offer similar performance and density as Intel’s. In a bid to speed up time-to-market of their manufacturing processes featuring FinFET …
Read More »Samsung: 10nm technology in development, 7nm will require new transistors
Kinam Kim, the president of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business, presented his view on the development of chip manufacturing technologies at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference 2015 this week. Samsung is already developing its next-generation 10nm FinFET fabrication process, but in order to continue scaling down structures of chips, new materials …
Read More »AMD details ‘Carrizo’: High-density design, lowered power consumption
At the International Solid-State Circuits Conference 2015 Advanced Micro Devices unveiled the first official details regarding its code-named “Carrizo” accelerated processing units. As reported, the new chips are aimed specifically at notebooks and therefore were designed from the ground up to be extremely power efficient and integrate all functionality possible. …
Read More »Intel: 7nm process technology will require new materials
The semiconductor industry has realized the benefits of Moore’s Law for 50 years, making chips that have grown from tens to billions of transistors and performing an increased range of functions from memory to logic to signal processing. Next year or in 2017, the world’s largest maker of microprocessors will …
Read More »AMD’s ‘Zen’ could sport Intel’s ‘Skylake’ features, new 512-bit FPU – rumours
Although microprocessors based on AMD’s next-generation high-performance micro-architecture code-named “Zen” are more than a year away, some details regarding the forthcoming chips and “Zen” in general are beginning to surface. The most recent rumours about the new architecture add some technical details and point to release schedule of the new …
Read More »Qualcomm fits-in ARM Cortex-A72, 4K support into mainstream SoCs
Qualcomm, the world’s largest supplier of mobile application processors, has introduced its new lineup of mobile system-on-chips for mainstream smartphones, tablets and other devices. The new Snapdragon 600-series application processors feature ARM’s latest Cortex-A72 cores, support 4K video capture and playback, advanced storage technologies, a number of other high-end features …
Read More »ARM Cortex-A57 and Intel Silvermont – most efficient mobile cores, says study
At present there are about half of a dozen different general-purpose processing cores for various low-power system-on-chip solutions. There are high-performance, low-power, big and small cores. But when all of these metrics are taken into account, ARM and Intel have the edge over their rivals. Massive popularization of mobile and …
Read More »Intel could delay ‘Skylake-S’ processors to October – document
Intel Corp. has set a very broad product introduction window for its code-named “Skylake-S” microprocessors that it allows the chipmaker to release its new microprocessors as late as in October, which means rather limited availability of such desktop chips this calendar year. An excerpt presumably from an Intel’s document for …
Read More »Samsung kicks off production of 14nm Exynos system-on-chips
Samsung Electronics has announced that it had begun mass production of a new Exynos 7 system-on-chip for mobile and multimedia devices using 14nm FinFET process technology. The news Exynos 7 Octa processor will likely power the company’s upcoming mobile devices, including flagship smartphones. Samsung started to mass produce chips using …
Read More »AMD to launch A8-7650K ‘Kaveri’ APU this week
Advanced Micro Devices plans to release a new accelerated processing unit (APU) based on the code-named “Kaveri” design. The new chip will be a relatively affordable solution with unlocked multiplier that is designed for overclockers in budget. The new AMD A8-7650K accelerated processing units has four “Steamroller” cores (two dual-core …
Read More »Intel to unveil Skylake processors for desktops in August – report
As reported, Intel Corp. will delay its code-named “Skylake” microprocessors for desktops and the new chips will not hit the market in mid-2015, as planned. According to a new media report, the “Skylake-S” chips will hit the market only in August. DigiTimes reports that Intel intends to release its new …
Read More »Samsung to integrate baseband capabilities into its Exynos mobile APs
In an attempt to lower its dependence on Qualcomm, the world’s largest developer of application processors for mobile devices, Samsung plans to integrate baseband capabilities into its advanced Exynos system-on-chips. Such SoCs will emerge next year and will power devices the company will release in 2016. For years flagship smartphones …
Read More »Intel reaffirms plans to release Core M ‘Skylake’ chips this year
Intel Corp. reiterated plans to release a new generation of Core M microprocessors based on the code-named “Skylake” micro-architecture this year. The new chips will have improved performance and lower power consumption than existing Core M central processing units, which should enable more competitive designs. “As we move into the …
Read More »Nvidia refocuses Tegra business: targets gaming and automotive markets
For many years Nvidia has tried to enter the market of system-on-chips for media tablets and smartphones with its Tegra application processors. Even though the company has managed to win a number of contracts, in the recent years competitors like Intel, Qualcomm and MediaTek left Nvidia almost no chances to …
Read More »Analysts: It makes no sense to buy AMD, it seems right to invest in it
Rumours about takeover of Advanced Micro Devices surface pretty frequently and given the current financial woes of the company, it was only a matter of time before they emerge once again. But while it is unlikely that AMD will be purchased by any other company, it is possible that the …
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