Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Thursday gave an update regarding the status of its 16nm fabrication processes. The company said that it is satisfied with the yield, but at the same time postponed the start of mass production using its 16nm manufacturing technology from early 2015 to the second or …
Read More »AMD: We have not cut prices of GPUs, partners run promotions
We looked here and asked there to bring you everything you need to know about AMD Radeon R9 price reductions and promotions. Last week it was reported that Advanced Micro Devices and its partners among suppliers of graphics cards reduced prices of AMD Radeon R9-series graphics adapters in a bid to …
Read More »AMD vows not to cut R&D expenses, plans to streamline operations
Although AMD has just announced a plan to reduce its workforce by 7 per cent and align its real estate footprint with its reduced headcount, the company has no plans to reduce spending on research and development (R&D). All the cuts will be made in different segments. While it is …
Read More »AMD to cut headcount by another 7% by year end
Advanced Micro Devices late on Thursday said that it will cut its staff by 7 per cent by the end of the year. The decision was made by Lisa Su, chief executive officer of AMD, who was appointed on the position just about a week ago. The company hopes that …
Read More »Apple to launch iOS 8.1, Apple Pay on the 20th of October
Apple on Thursday said that its mobile payment system – Apple Pay – will go online starting the 20th of October, 2014, when the company rolls-out iOS 8.1, a new major update to the mobile OS from Apple. While the Apple Pay could eventually be a revolution, the vast majority …
Read More »First specifications of Intel Skylake’s graphics cores emerge
As reported several months ago, Intel planned to significantly boost performance of integrated graphics cores inside that belong to the code-named Skylake family. Based on the preliminary specifications published today, it looks like the chipmaker only plans to improve integrated graphics in the premium products, but not in all Skylake …
Read More »Samsung rolls-out eight-core Exynos 7 Octa application processor
Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled its all-new Exynos 7 application processor for mobile and consumer electronics devices. The features eight processing cores, high-end graphics engine, 4K ultra-high-definition video output and a number of other innovations. The chip is made using Samsung’s latest process technology and will power numerous future devices …
Read More »ASML: EUV tools continue to make progress, adoption to start in 2016
Although Intel Corp. does not plan to use lithography with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength with its 10nm fabrication process, it looks like other makers of semiconductors still pin hopes to take advantage of the EUV in connection with 10nm technology. ASML, one of the leading producers of semiconductor manufacturing tools, …
Read More »Ubisoft: Microsoft and Sony demand PC games to be locked at 30fps
In the recent months Ubisoft and some other video game developers have received a lot of criticism for decisions to lock their games at 30 frames per second on all platforms. During a recent question and answer session with students in a college a game architect from Ubisoft implied that …
Read More »Intel begins to sample Skylake microprocessors
Intel Corp. has quietly started to sample its next-generation code-named “Skylake” microprocessors. Availability of samples of upcoming chips means that the company should be on-track with its second-generation offerings made using 14nm process technology and products on their base will arrive on time. According to Zauba.com database, which monitors imports …
Read More »Intel: We will lead the world to 10nm microprocessors
Intel Corp. said on Tuesday that it would be the first company to start volume production of chips using 10nm fabrication technology. The company has already demonstrated the first wafers processed using 10nm tech, now it revealed that it will gradually increase its investments in the forthcoming technology in the coming …
Read More »AMD and Nvidia already preparing for 8K (7680*4320) UHD displays
Nowadays the Holy Grail for core gamers are 4K (3840/4096*2160 resolutions) monitors as well as graphics cards capable of providing decent performance in such high resolutions. However, it is well known that makers of displays have already started to work on 8K (7680*4320 resolution) screens, which are not going to …
Read More »Intel: We have roughly 35 custom Xeon models in the lineup
Intel Corp. is gradually increasing the number of custom microprocessors designed for specific customers in its lineup. The move helps the company to maintain its market share and address clients that have special requirements and which otherwise would have chosen proprietary solutions from other companies. “The data center team is …
Read More »MicroStar International rumoured to adjust mainboard business
Although desktop computers are not going to leave the market any time soon, they are not as popular as back in the days. As a result, sales of many desktop components are stagnating these days, forcing manufacturers to adjust their businesses to stay profitable. A new market rumour suggests that …
Read More »Intel: We are behind expected yield curve with 14nm process technology
Although Intel Corp. has significantly improved yields of chips made using 14nm process technology, the company is still not completely satisfied with the result. Lower-than-expected yields have already caused Intel to postpone mass production of its code-named “Broadwell” microprocessors and will likely affect the company for several more months. “Overall …
Read More »Lenovo readies Motorola-branded tablets – CEO
Earlier this year the former chief executive officer of Motorola said that the company was not interested in making its own media tablets because it wanted to focus on smartphones. However, after Lenovo Group acquired Motorola, the company seems to be reconsidering its strategies. Slashgear reports citing chief executive officer …
Read More »TDK: HAMR technology could enable 15TB HDDs already in 2015
At the Ceatec trade-show in Japan last week TDK demonstrated its new heads for hard disk drives that support the heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology. Such heads could enable next generations of hard drives with rather extreme capacities already next year. Capacities of modern hard drives are – among other …
Read More »ARM: 20nm process tech will not be used by mainstream applications
Due to multiple reasons the majority of developers of various system-on-chip devices will skip 20nm process technology of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and will use 14nm and 16nm FinFET fabrication processors of TSMC, GlobalFoundries and Samsung Electronics. Traditionally TSMC and other foundries develop multiple different process technologies for different kinds …
Read More »Samsung does not expect computer memory prices to drop next year
Although Samsung Electronics plans to significantly boost its production capacities in the coming years, the company does not expect prices of dynamic random access memory to drop in 2015. Chief executive officer of the company is confident that DRAM prices will continue to be favourable for manufacturers. “We'll have to …
Read More »SandForce 3000-series controllers delayed again
Although SandForce 3000-series controllers were officially introduced almost a year ago, it now looks like they will only emerge on the market in the first half of 2015. There is good news, though, once the SF3000-series controllers hit the market, they will power multiple devices from numerous manufacturers. The SF3700 …
Read More »Apple’s Beats settles legal dispute with Bose
Apple’s Beats Electronics and Bose Corp. on Friday settled their patent dispute over noise-cancelling technologies. Bose will no longer demand the U.S. ITC to prevent Beats’ noise-cancellation headphones from being imported into the United States from China. Bose and Beats in joint filings told a U.S. court in Delaware they …
Read More »Zeiss announces VR One: universal $99/€99 VR headset for all phones
Carl Zeiss, a leading manufacturer of optical lenses and devices on their base, on Friday introduced VR One, a virtual reality headset that is potentially compatible with nearly all high-end smartphones. The device lacks any electronic components and costs just $99/€99, but there is virtually no software for it at …
Read More »Lineup of mobile Skylake chips to feature tens of models in 2015
Intel Corp. plans to release a rather broad range of microprocessors based on the Skylake micro-architecture for mobile computers next year, according to a new media report. The upcoming central processing units (CPUs) will address all kinds of mobile devices, including tablets, 2-in-1s, mainstream notebooks as well as high-performance laptops. As expected, …
Read More »Microsoft to dump ARM-based Surface media tablets – report
While Microsoft Corp. will continue to offer its Surface Pro line of tablets designed for creative professionals and corporate users, the company is currently reconsidering the future of its Surface media tablets, at least, in their current form. According to a report, Microsoft may dump ARM-based Surface tablets and offer only …
Read More »Analysts welcome Lisa Su as AMD’s CEO, but questions remain
Market analysts responded positively to the appointment of Lisa Su to the position of AMD’s chief executive officer. The observers believe that it was wise for the board of the company’s directors to choose someone with a chip design experience, however, many analysts question the timing when the decision was made …
Read More »Microsoft: DirectX 12 will not dramatically improve Xbox One
Many gamers expect Microsoft Corp.’s DirectX 12 application programming interface to bring dramatic performance and graphics improvements to the company’s Xbox One game console. According to Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox division at the company, the DX12 will bring certain improvements to the platform, but they will not be …
Read More »TV vendors to significantly discount 4K UHD TVs on Black Friday
It is not a secret that select vendors in the U.S. already offer ultra-high-definition 4K televisions at below $1000 price-point. By contrast, well-known brands have so far managed to maintain premium price on their UHD TVs. However, this Black Friday (28th of November, 2014) even big companies will have to …
Read More »Microsoft reaffirms commitment to Surface Pro, preps next-gen models
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday reiterated its commitment to its Surface Pro business tablets and said that its next-generation solutions of the kind, which are in development today, will be compatible with existing peripherals. The claim was made in order to persuade IT managers and CIO to consider Surface Pro as …
Read More »Samsung confirms mass production of TLC 3D V-NAND flash memory
Samsung Electronics on Thursday confirmed that it had begun mass production of triple-layer cell (TLC, or 3-bit-per-cell, 3bpc) three-dimensional vertical NAND (3D V-NAND) flash memory. The company will use the memory for its upcoming solid-state drives that promise to offer decent performance, reliability as well as affordability. Samsung’s first TLC …
Read More »Samsung Gear VR cannot work for more than 25 minutes
Samsung’s Gear VR virtual reality headset will be the first new-generation VR gear that will make it to the market ahead of Oculus VR’s Rift as well as Sony’s project Morpheus. Unfortunately, in its current form the devices has a limitation that could make it rather useless for core gamers. …
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