Contract prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) modules dropped in August and September, despite peak season and anticipated stock-up demand on China, according to DRAMeXchange. Analysts believe that the launch of Microsoft Windows 10 this summer did not catalyse rise of demand, whereas the free Windows 10 upgrade program …
Read More »Samsung reportedly cuts output of standard DRAM, prices may rise
Samsung Electronics has reportedly decided to reduce production of standard dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which could cause increase of DRAM prices in the coming months. The world’s No. 1 maker of computer memory will increase production of LPDDR in a bid to supply enough memory to Apple, which is …
Read More »TSMC cuts prices of 20nm and 28nm chips by 10%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reduced prices of chip production using its 20nm and 28nm fabrication processes earlier this quarter, according to a media report. Customers of TSMC lowered orders for 20nm and 28nm chips and the company wants to increase utilization of its capacities by slashing prices. Potentially, the price-cuts …
Read More »DRAM prices continue to drop despite of looming back-to-school season
Despite of the fact that personal computer makers are now buying dynamic random access memory in a bid to support demand during the back-to-school season, DRAM prices continue to drop. Not only weak demand impacts DRAM prices negatively. All memory makers are transiting to thinner manufacturing technologies and Samsung even …
Read More »AMD officially cancels 20nm chips, takes $33 million charge
Advanced Micro Devices this week formally confirmed that it would not produce any of its chips using 20nm process technology at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Instead, the company will focus on development of its chips to be made using various FinFET process technologies. As a result of the cancellation, the …
Read More »Micron begins commercial shipments of 20nm GDDR5 chips
Micron Technology has announced that it had begun commercial shipments of GDDR5 chips made using 20nm process technology. The company did not reveal any details, but it is highly likely that Micron initiated shipments of its 8Gb GDDR5 chips several weeks ago. “We commenced shipments of our first 20 nanometer …
Read More »Samsung putting pressure on DRAM prices – analyst
Some market observers believe that prices of dynamic random access memory are about to increase, which will significantly improve profitability of DRAM producers. While this is essentially correct, there are reports that Samsung Electronics is dropping prices of memory in a bid to boost revenues, which could hurt other manufacturers' …
Read More »AMD: 20nm ‘Amur’ and ‘Nolan’ will ‘probably’ not go into production
Advanced Micro Devices said this week that its accelerated processing units code-named “Amur” and “Nolan” will probably never go into mass production. The company believes that their performance will not be competitive and its future products made using FinFET fabrication processes have better chances to become successful. After Lisa Su …
Read More »AMD delays introduction of K12-based processors to 2017
Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday said that it will delay high-volume shipments of microprocessors powered by its custom ARMv8-compatible “K12” cores to 2017. The company did not reveal any reasons behind the postponement. AMD’s “K12” core is the company’s first 64-bit ARMv8-A-compatible microprocessor engine designed entirely in-house. Development of the …
Read More »UMC skips 20nm planar process tech, leaps ahead to 16nm FinFET
United Microelectronics Corp., the world’s second largest contract maker of semiconductors, said that it would not offer 20nm planar fabrication process, but will jump directly to 16nm FinFET manufacturing technology. Skipping the node will help the company to catch up with its competitors. Although it was widely expected that UMC …
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 750-series SSD for consumers: up to 1.2TB capacity, up to 2.40GB/s transfer rates
Intel Corp. announced its new 750-series solid-state drives this week. The new SSDs are designed for high-performance desktops and the manufacturer calls the drives its “highest-performing client SSDs”. With read speeds up to 2.40GB/s and capacities up to 1.2TB, the Intel 750-series SSD is a dream of any performance enthusiast. …
Read More »AMD still has not started to use 20nm process tech
Late last year Advanced Micro Devices said that it would use 20nm fabrication technology offered by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., but only for for select products. According to AMD’s recent filing with the Security and Exchange Commission, the company has not yet started to use the 20nm manufacturing process. AMD …
Read More »SK Hynix to start production of DRAM using 20nm process tech in 2H 2015
SK Hynix, the world’s second largest producer of dynamic random access memory, said this week that it would begin to mass-produce DRAM using 20nm fabrication process in the second half of the year. The new manufacturing technology will help the company to better address the needs of the high-end memory …
Read More »Nvidia starts to use Samsung as a chip manufacturing partner – company
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 »SK Hynix demos HBM2 memory ICs, opens way for 32GB graphics cards
SK Hynix has demonstrated a wafer with second-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) at the CeBIT trade-show in Hannover, Germany. The new memory chips will emerge on the market sometimes next year and will increase memory bandwidth and memory capacities for graphics cards and other applications. The first-generation HBM (HBM1) stacks four …
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 »50% of Samsung’s DRAM will be made using 20nm process in 2015 – report
Samsung Electronics will lead the market of dynamic random access memory with transition to 20nm fabrication process, a media report citing sources with knowledge of the matter claims. Over half of the company’s DRAM this year will be made using 20nm manufacturing technology. Demand for higher-performance and higher-density computer memory …
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 »SK Hynix: LPDDR4 memory hits mass production
SK Hynix has announced that its 8Gb LPDDDR4 memory, which is in mass production now, has been chosen by a major smartphone maker for a new flagship model. The forthcoming handset will be among the first phones to use the new type of memory. SK Hynix’s 8Gb LPDDR4 memory chips …
Read More »Details about AMD Radeon R9 300-series product line emerge
As reported, Advanced Micro Devices plans to introduce its new Radeon R9 and Radeon R7 300-series products in the second quarter of the year. While the new product line will carry new model numbers, it will include graphics processing units that will not be exactly new. The Radeon R9 300-series …
Read More »AMD: We are putting the finishing touches on the Radeon R9 300-series
A representative of Advanced Micro Devices has confirmed that the development of its forthcoming product family based on a new breed of graphics processing units is on the finish line. While the novelties will not hit the market shortly, they will likely enter production in the coming weeks. “We are still …
Read More »Samsung to produce chips for Nvidia, Qualcomm – analyst
Samsung Electronics is expected to significantly improve its contract semiconductor manufacturing business this year thanks to early start of production using 14nm FinFET fabrication process. While Apple, the largest customer of Samsung, now orders chips not only to Samsung, but to TSMC as well, it continues to work with the …
Read More »Alleged performance of AMD Radeon R9 380X in 3DMark revealed
A Chinese web-site has published what it claims to be preliminary performance benchmarks of an upcoming high-performance graphics card from Advanced Micro Devices. Just like previous unofficial test results, the new ones indicate that AMD’s forthcoming high-end graphics solution will beat everything that is available on the market today except …
Read More »AMD: Future GPUs will significantly boost performance in 4K resolutions
Even though modern graphics cards are powerful enough to play the majority of video games in ultra HD resolutions, two modern graphics cards are usually required to play all the latest video games in 4K (3840*2160) ultra-high-definition resolution with all graphics effects enabled. AMD believes that the forthcoming graphics chips …
Read More »AMD to update its graphics lineup in May – July timeframe – Insider
Although Advanced Micro Devices officially told its investors and financial analysts not to expect any new graphics cards on the market before the second quarter of calendar 2015, many observers still expected AMD to announce a new single-chip flagship graphics solution in the Q1. However, a person with knowledge of …
Read More »Samsung to expand DRAM production capacities – report
Samsung Electronics may want to increase its share of the market of computer memory as it is planning to expand DRAM production capacity, a media report claims. The expansion will unlikely negatively affect prices of dynamic random access memory in the second half of the year, but the fact that …
Read More »AMD develops ‘Arctic Islands’ family of graphics processing units
Advanced Micro Devices yet has to reveal its new families of graphics processing units this year, but already now the code-name of AMD’s 2016 graphics products lineup is known. Apparently, the company will continue to use names of islands to call its next-generation chips. AMD’s next-generation family of Radeon GPUs …
Read More »First images of PlayStation 4 slim ‘Monolith’ get published
A web-site has published the first images of what it claims to be the slim version of the PlayStation 4 video game console. The new console is code-named “Monolith” and is considerably smaller than the original PS4. Multiplayer.it has published photos of a laptop screen that displays an alleged internal …
Read More »AMD readies ‘Trinidad’ graphics processing unit
Advanced Micro Devices is preparing to launch a new graphics processing unit that is code-named “Trinidad”. The new GPU will be aimed at the mainstream market and will replace AMD Radeon R9 270-series “Curacao” graphics processor. Nothing particular is currently known about the “Trinidad” graphics processing unit except its code-name, reports …
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