CPU

Intel Corp. said this week that despite the delay that occurred to mass production of the code-named Broadwell microprocessor, the company is on-track to start manufacturing of chips based on the all-new next-generation micro-architecture known as Skylake in 2015. “We have a lot going on, the ramp of Broadwell, the …

Intel Corp. on Monday quietly added numerous microprocessors that belong to the so-called “Haswell Refresh” family into the price-list. The addition of certain chips into the list indicates that the world’s largest chipmaker has begun to sell and ship them to customers. At present the lineup of “HSR” chips lacks …

In a bid to boost its share on the market of media tablets, Intel Corp. has aggressively lowered the price on some of its system-on-chips designed for media tablets. While the chips are most probably outdated, it looks like Intel is extremely serious about winning designs in the tablet space, …

The gaming and enthusiast audiences love their big, quick, expensive powerhouse machines – there's no denying that. But the reality is that many users – about 38% of the market, in fact – in a wide span of geographical regions simply cannot afford or justify the latest-and-greatest in both CPU …

While it was pretty obvious that Intel Corp. plans to start selling its new code-named “Haswell Refresh” central processing units sometimes in April or May, the actual launch date was not completely clear. Apparently, that will happen in exactly one month time. Intel plans to start selling its improved Core …

Intel Corp. this week announced that it would relocate its test assembly and test operation to Asia from Costa Rica. As a result, it would fire about 1500 of its employees in the country. Still, Intel's engineering and design center and shared services operations will remain in Costa Rica. Intel …

One of the more surprising things about the way the world has changed since the advent of the network and tablet PC revolutions, is the way that desktops are holding their own. Sure, it's more of a gentle decline that the rampant growth we experienced in the past, but it …

Qualcomm on Monday announced two new high-end application processors for smartphones and tablets. The new chips integrate 64-bit general-purpose cores, new-generation Adreno graphics engines, 2K/4K video processing as well as 4G/LTE Advanced modem that supports 3*20MHz carrier aggregation, enabling speeds of up to 300Mb/s. The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 and …

GlobalFoundries, the world’s second largest contract maker of semiconductors, seems to be the leading candidate that can get IBM Corp.’s chip manufacturing operations, a media report claims. The deal has not been finalised yet and the talks are ongoing, but chances are rather high that Abu Dhabi-backed GlobalFoundries will get …

With the introduction of Google Android Wear operating system, hardware makers developing ultra-low-power chipsets started to unveil their platforms for wearable devices, such as smart-watches or smart-eyewear. Imagination Technologies, a leading designer of general purpose processing cores as well as multimedia and graphics processing engines, said this week that it …

Intel Corp. this week revealed the name of its new-generation code-named Braswell system-on-chip that will power upcoming value notebooks and desktops. The new chip will be made using a leading-edge process technology and will combine relatively high performance, small footprint, low power consumption and low cost. Intel did not reveal …

Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday announced plans to slightly boost its purchase commitment from GlobalFoundries by around $50 million this year compared to last year. As part of the agreement, the contract maker of chips will manufacture not only its traditional central processing units (CPUs) and accelerated processing units (APUs) …

Although Qualcomm took part in the announcement of Microsoft Corp.’s DirectX 12 application programming interface, the company’s plans regarding support of the new API were not completely clear. Last week an executive of Qualcomm confirmed that the future Adreno graphics cores will fully support DirectX 12. The current Snapdragon 800 …

Toshiba Corp. has introduced its first application processor designed for wearable computing devices. The system-on-chip will be available later this year. The new ApP Lite TZ1001MBG chip will power such devices as activity monitors, smart watches, bracelet- and glasses. Toshiba ApP Lite TZ1001MBG integrates ARM Cortex-M4F processor (with 48MHz clock-rate) …

Intel Corp. and Altera this week said they would extend their collaboration to the development of multi-die devices that leverage Intel's world-class package and assembly capabilities. The multi-die devices will feature Altera's Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs made using 14nm process technology as well as other components. This will allow …

From time to time large PC makers unveil hardware that chip companies like Advanced Micro Devices would rather not discuss with the general public. Recently it turned out that some of the desktops sold by Hewlett-Packard carry a strange microprocessor called AMD FX-670K, which does not seem to be exactly …

Early this month Advanced Micro Devices introduced its new low-cost desktop platform based on Kabini chip design. The new AM1 platform comprises microprocessors carrying Athlon and Sempron brands with integrated graphics cores as well as new mainboards with FS1b sockets previously only used for mobile applications. What AMD did not …

Early last year Intel Corp. demonstrated the world’s first fully-patterned 450mm wafers and in mid-2013 started to construct D1X module 2 fab, which is supposed to act as a primary development facility for virtually all of Intel’s 450mm initiatives. It was expected that commercial production of chips on 450mm wafers …

The desktop is dead, that's something you'd think was pretty much cemented. Not for everyone of course, like those in corporate offices and certainly not for gamers – they need the space for those monstrous GPUs – but for the average consumer? Definitely. Just look at the climate we're in …

Advanced Micro Devices and OCZ Storage Solutions, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp., on Monday said that they would showcase personal computers powered by AMD hardware and Vector 150 series solid state drives at the Game Developers Conference later this week. The systems will illustrate how developers can enhance productivity and …

For years Intel Corp. has been focused to deliver the best possible chips for various mobile devices, including notebooks and tablets, whereas solutions for desktops computers were put on the back-burner. This happened for many reasons because of the lack of competition on the desktop market as well as because …

Intel Corp. has decided to speed up introduction of its next-generation microprocessors and platforms designed for enthusiasts who demand maximum performance. The new Core i7 Extreme “Haswell-E” chips along with Intel X99-based mainboards will be introduced at Computex Taipei 2014 in early June, several months before planned originally, according to …

Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday announced a new breed of accelerated processing units (APUs) featuring new-generation low-power Jaguar x86 cores that will be available in pin-grid array (PGA) packaging and will be compatible with FS1b sockets (commercially known as AM1). The new chips will be branded as Athlon and Sempron. …

It was a bit disappointing that Samsung Electronics did not reveal its 64-bit application processors for mobile devices at the Mobile World Congress 2014 under its Exynos Infinity initiative. Nonetheless, the company vows that it will introduce its first ARMv8-compatible chips later this year. Samsung’s arch-rival Apple has been selling …

MediaTek has announced its first system-on-chip for smartphones that features ARMv8-compatible 64-bit general-purpose cores, advanced graphics engine as well as 4G/LTE connectivity. The MT6752 is pin compatible with the previously announced quad-core MT6732 and can be installed into already developed devices. MediaTek MT6752 integrates eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores with up to …

Although Samsung Electronics was expected to unveil its first 64-bit ARMv8-compatible application processors at the Mobile World Congress 2014, so far the firm has only introduced two new Exynos 5-series system-on-chips. The processors offer increased performance amid optimized power consumption and up-to-date feature-set. The new high-end Exynos Octa 5422 is …

Qualcomm this week introduced its new performance-mainstream Snapdragon 600-series system-on-chips for smartphones and tablets. The new SoCs feature ARMv8 64-bit processing technology, 4G/LTE connectivity as well as new-generation Adreno graphics. The new chips will be used inside devices due late this year. Qualcomm Snapdragon 610, 615 application processors integrate four …

Intel Corp. on Monday introduced its new Atom Z3400-series system-on-chip code-named “Merrifield” designed for smartphones and tablets. The new application processor is powered by the latest low-power Silvermont micro-architecture, features Imagination Technologies PowerVR 6-series “Rogue” graphics and integrates a host of promising technologies. Intel Atom Z3400-series “Merrifield” SoC features two …

At the Mobile World Congress 2014 next week Samsung Electronics plans to reveal its all-new system-on-chip for smartphones and tablets called Exynos Infinity. The new application processor will likely power Samsung’s next flagship smartphone – the Galaxy S5 – which will also be launched at the MWC 2014. Samsung confirmed …

Historically, companies like Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices designed microprocessors and then software developers developed applications that took advantage of those chips. According to the head of Intel, that pattern was changed several years ago and now, before designing a new central processing unit, the world’s largest chipmaker first …