Advanced Micro Devices continues to express confidence that its next-generation high-performance general-purpose processing cores – known as “K12” and “Zen” – will be successful on the market of servers. After exiting the market of micro-servers by shutting down SeaMicro, AMD now focuses on development of high-performance microprocessors for x86 and …
Read More »SilverStone Precision PS11B-Q Review
SilverStone supplies its Precision PS11B case in two forms. This Q-suffix version is Quiet while the W has a Window. There are other differences as the Q has a solid front panel with vents at the sides and a fair amount of foam material to deaden sound inside while the …
Read More »AMD expects further APU, CPU declines, cuts chip orders to GF
Advanced Micro Devices on Thursday revealed that it had signed a new wafer supply agreement (WSA) with GlobalFoundries for 2015. Based on the disclosed terms of the agreement, AMD will significantly reduce purchases from GlobalFoundries, which indicates that the company projects further declines of PC-related product shipments this year. Under …
Read More »Intel still committed to make new Itanium processors
Intel Corp. introduced its latest Itanium microprocessor code-named “Poulson” back in 2012 and since then the company has neither updated the lineup of its IA64 chips, nor revealed exact plans about future Itanium products. But while Intel has been consistently adding new reliability, availability and serviceability features to its Xeon …
Read More »AMD to focus on high-performance server CPUs, abandons SeaMicro
Advanced Micro Devices on Thursday said that as a part of the strategy to simplify and sharpen the company’s investment focus, AMD would exist the micro-server systems business, which was formerly known as SeaMicro. The company will retain SeaMicro’s Freedom fabric and other intellectual property, but will cease to invest …
Read More »Asus unveils ‘military grade’ TUF Trooper Intel B85 mainboard
Asustek Computer has announced a new mainboard that weds extreme durability and reliability with moderate cost. The new TUF Trooper B85 features complete protection against lightning strikes and electrostatic discharge (ESD) as well as uses “military grade” components that will last longer than standard ones. The platform supports virtually all …
Read More »Intel: We are not discussing our 10nm schedules
Intel Corp. is confident that its 10nm manufacturing process will enable it to build central processing units cost-efficiently. However, the company does not want to reveal when exactly it plans to start making chips using its next-generation 10nm fabrication technology. In accordance with Moore’s law and Intel's tick-tock cadence, the company needs to …
Read More »Intel: 10nm and 7nm technologies have perfect economic feasibility
It is not a secret that transitions to newer chip manufacturing processes are getting more difficult from financial capital standpoint since not only research and development costs more than before, but also production equipment is getting more expensive. In a bid to keep their prices at current levels, semiconductor companies need …
Read More »In-Win 904 Plus Chassis Review
And the award for ‘Novel ATX PC case 2015 goes to … In-Win for the 904Plus.' That might seem premature as we have only reached April but the odds of another radical design that will top the 904 Plus are slender to non-existent. In-Win has updated the 904 very slightly …
Read More »Intel sees better 14nm yields, ‘Broadwell’ ramp ahead of the plan [UPDATED]
UPDATE: Adding Intel's 14nm vs 22nm cost curve comparison as well as a comment regarding current “Broadwell” costs. Intel Corp.’s 14nm manufacturing process was not a big success for the company because of initial yield issues. However, by now the majority of problems seem to be gone, at least, the …
Read More »Intel: We are excited about ‘Skylake’ processors and Windows 10
Slow demand for personal computers in the first half of the year substantially affected Intel Corp.’s business results, but the company remains moderately optimistic and believes that launches of its future microprocessors code-named “Skylake” as well as Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 10 operating system will help its PC business. Intel’s client …
Read More »G.Skill Ripjaws4 2400MHz 32GB DDR4 Memory Kit Review
The multi-threaded performance of Haswell-E processors makes them ideal for home users with demanding workloads. Video editors, game streamers, and users running virtual machines are some of the audiences who may benefit from up to eight CPU cores running on the Haswell microarchitecture. Those demanding workloads can bring with them …
Read More »TSMC: 16nm yields are approaching mature levels
Although Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has delayed mass production of chips using its 16nm fabrication processes, this did not happen only because of low yields. According to the company, 16nm yields at TSMC are approaching mature levels. This year TSMC will offer two 16nm process technologies for clients: 16nm FinFET …
Read More »Sapphire showcasing power of FirePro at HMI
Sapphire will be demonstrating a range of FirePro graphics cards at the Hannover Messe Industrial Show (HMI) from 14th to 17th April 2015. AMD FirePro Workstation products are optimized and certified for Professional Applications. The line-up of AMD FirePro desktop workstation graphics cards features powerful next-gen architectures and technologies to …
Read More »Intel is quietly delaying 10nm production – report
Intel Corp. delayed mass production of 14nm chips by nearly a year because of insufficient yields. According to a media report, something similar may happen to its 10nm manufacturing technology. Intel is setting up a small pilot line for 10nm production in D1X development fab in Hillsboro, Oregon, reports SemiconductorEngineering. …
Read More »Samsung to make 14nm graphics processors for Nvidia
Nvidia Corp. will use Samsung Electronics’ manufacturing capacities to produce graphics processing units, according to a media report. The move will help Nvidia to increase performance of its GPUs without boosting their power consumption. When Nvidia revealed earlier this year that it will use Samsung’s services to build its chips, …
Read More »Nvidia has launched a ‘Game Ready’ driver for Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V for the PC will unlock in just a few hours time but there are some things you should do while you wait- like ensuring you have the latest driver updates for your graphics card. Nvidia has just launched its latest ‘Game Ready' driver update in preparation for …
Read More »Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X 12 GB (SLI)
If you are considering a new Ultra HD 4K monitor then it is likely you will need a new system update to drive those 8,294,400 pixels. Right now the cost of 4k capable graphics cards is prohibitive for all but the wealthiest of gamers. When we reviewed the Titan X …
Read More »AeroCool GT-A Chassis Review
First appearances matter, and the styling of the Aerocool GT-A will easily distract you from the fact that this is a budget ATX case. The appearance of this white version with a blue LED fan at the front is eye-catching with its flared wheel arch thing at the front and …
Read More »Concept of AMD APU for HPC leaks: 16 x86 cores, next-gen GPU, HBM memory
Advanced Micro Devices has been mulling accelerated processing unit for high-performance computing applications for many years, but software and hardware limitations have prevented the company from creating such chip. Recently AMD finally unveiled plans to release an APU for HPC market in 2017 and this week the first concept of …
Read More »Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to support DX 12 and Tress FX
Earlier this week we were hit with the announcement of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, a sequel to Human Revolution. The game is being built for not just the next generation of consoles, but also the next generation of PC graphics as it will adopt the Direct X 12 API along …
Read More »Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti is ready, launch may be advanced – rumour
Nvidia Corp. has finished development of the rumoured GeForce GTX 980 Ti reference design, media reports claim. Moreover, the company may advance its launch in a bid to steal media attention from AMD’s forthcoming Radeon R9 390-series graphics adapters. General specifications of Nvidia’s upcoming graphics card currently known as the …
Read More »Samsung’s own CPU core took years to develop – report
Samsung Electronics has developed and built its Exynos application processors for years, but its chips are always powered by off-the-shelf general-purpose and graphics processing cores from ARM, which limits their advantages over competing system-on-chips. Everything is going to change next year, when Samsung finally rolls-out its new SoCs featuring its …
Read More »TSMC’s 10nm goals: higher density and performance at lower power
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. this week unveiled first details about its 10nm fabrication process at the TSMC Technology Symposium in the U.S. The official goals are slightly less ambitious than those discussed last year, but the general focus of TSMC’s 10nm manufacturing technology is clear: considerable increase of transistor density compared to …
Read More »Intel and Altera acquisition talks end due to price disagreement
Negotiations between Intel Corp. and Altera have ended because the companies could not agree on price. The world’s largest maker of microprocessors did not want to pay a hefty premium for the company, which is more profitable than Intel itself. If the chipmaker really wants to get Altera, the talks will …
Read More »First images of alleged XFX AMD Radeon R9 380 hit the web
A web-site has published what it claims to be the first photos of the upcoming AMD Radeon R9 380-series graphics card. If the images depict what they claim to, then it confirms that AMD’s upcoming Radeon R9 300-series lineup will at least partly consist of rebranded current-generation products. The XFX …
Read More »Price drops of AMD Radeon R9 290-series are over, price-tags freeze
Prices of AMD Radeon R9 290-series graphics cards seem to have stabilized both in the U.S. and in Europe. Apparently, supply and demand of such graphics adapters are now balanced and there is no need to further cut the prices. At present the most affordable AMD Radeon R9 290X boards …
Read More »Intel: Moore’s law will last for another 10 years
Intel Corp. predicts that Moore’s law will last for at least another decade and the number of transistors per chip will keep doubling every two years. While there are challenges ahead, Intel’s engineers are going to solve them. Later this month Moore’s law will hit 50 years, an unprecedented date for the …
Read More »End of planar NAND flash nears as Samsung to focus on 3D V-NAND
Samsung Electronics plans to concentrate on expansion of production capacities used to make its 3D V-NAND memory going forward. A media report claims that the South Korean conglomerate no longer plans to build new manufacturing facilities for production of traditional planar NAND flash. NAND flash was invented by Toshiba Corp. …
Read More »Samsung to use world’s largest $15 billion fab to produce DRAM – report
Samsung Electronics overwhelmed the world of semiconductors when it announced plans to build a chip production plant that will cost almost $15 billion last October. At the time it was unclear for what the giant plans to use its fab in Pyeongtaek, a city south of Seoul. According to a …
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