ARM Technologies is looking to become the mobile hardware provider for future VR-centric smartphones, with the announcement of a brand new processor and graphics processor at this year's Computex event. They are said to offer much higher performance and improved efficiency over current-gen models, but won't be available until 2017. …
Read More »Razer releases Cortex: Gamecaster streaming/recording tool
Razer is looking to make it easier for you to stream or record gameplay footage with Cortex: Gamecaster, its new lightweight software that allows for game and audio capture with a sleek, unobtrusive user interface. Using Cortex: Gamecaster, users can stream to Twitch, YouTube Gaming or even lesser known sites …
Read More »Xilinx starts to ship 16nm FinFET+ chip ahead of schedule
Xilinx, a leading maker of programmable gate arrays as well as special-purpose system-on-chip solutions, this week said that it had made the first customer shipment of its Zynq UltraScale+ processing solution. The chip is made using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s second-generation 16nm FinFET process technology (CLN16FF+) with increased performance and …
Read More »ARM ups expectations: ARMv8 to be in 25% of servers by 2020
ARM Holdings admits that large-scale deployments of servers based on chips powered by its technologies will start only in 2016 or 2017. But while there are almost no commercial ARM servers today, the company is increasing its target market share for 2020. In fact, ARM hopes that in five years …
Read More »Samsung to offer its Exynos SoCs to other smartphone makers
Samsung Electronics may become a new rival for Qualcomm, MediaTek and other suppliers of mobile system-on-chips as the company reportedly plans to sell its Exynos 7420 processors to third parties. For a long time, Samsung Electronics used application processors from Qualcomm inside its premium smartphones, but in the recent years …
Read More »Razer to honour Ouya Free the Games funding commitments
Although the Android Ouya console failed to make the splash its developers hoped, one aspect of its platform did impress a lot of indies: its Free the Game promotion. With it, Ouya promised to match whatever developers were able to raise on Kickstarter from a million dollar fund. The plan …
Read More »AMD begins development of its third major semi-custom design
Advanced Micro Devices recently started to design its third semi-custom accelerated processing unit for an undisclosed customer. Some believe that this third semi-custom system-on-chip will eventually power Nintendo’s next-generation game console code-named “NX”. However, AMD claims that the new SoC “expands the base” of its semi-custom business beyond gaming, which …
Read More »Xilinx tapes-out world’s first 16nm FinFET+ system-on-chip
Xilinx, a leading designer of field-programmable gate arrays as well as special-purpose system-on-chip solutions, on Wednesday said that it had taped-out one of the world’s first SoCs to be made using TSMC’s 16nm FinFET+ process technology. The new chip will be used for self-driving vehicles, industrial Internet-of-Things and 5G wireless …
Read More »Qualcomm teams up with Chinese government for server CPUs
Qualcomm Technologies has reportedly signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Chinese government under which it will develop server-class microprocessors. The chips will eventually be used inside Chinese servers, which will ensure a steady revenue stream for Qualcomm. Under the terms of the document signed by Qualcomm and the authorities, …
Read More »Nvidia: We’ve learnt a lot from the automotive industry
Nvidia Corp. is one of the world’s most successful developers of graphics processors ever, but the company is constantly searching for new markets for itself. Cars nowadays require a lot of general-purpose processing horsepower and visual processing capabilities, something that Nvidia can deliver thanks to its expertise in GPUs and …
Read More »Nvidia’s Tegra X1-based Shield game console certified in S. Korea
Nvidia Corp.’s first Tegra-based Shield portable video game console has failed to become popular on the market, but the company still believes that it can create a commercially successful dedicated gaming device for Google Android titles. In fact, Nvidia’s second-gen Shield powered by its latest Tegra X1 application processors has …
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 »Samsung’s own Exynos M1 CPU core already supported by software tools
It is not a secret that Samsung Electronics is developing its own 64-bit ARMv8-A-compatible general-purpose processing core. This month the full-custom core from the company gained support from developers of tools used to create software. The latest versions of GNU Binutils, a collection of binary tools, as well as GNU …
Read More »ARM: 20% of servers to be ARM-based by 2020
Despite of a lot of hype about ARM-based servers in the recent years, actual number of their deployments remains very low. However, ARM Holdings is optimistic about its market opportunities and expects 20 per cent of servers to be ARM-based by 2020. In a bid to dramatically increase its share of …
Read More »ARM: Our cores have enough performance for notebooks
Rumours about personal computers in clamshell form-factors powered by microprocessors featuring ARM architecture have been floating around for years, but only recently select Chinese companies released notebooks with Google Chrome OS that actually use ARM-based system-on-chips. According to ARM Holdings, these systems are only the beginning. “Just recently we have …
Read More »AMD delays its first ARM-based Opteron ‘Seattle’ CPU to 2H 2015
Advanced Micro Devices this week confirmed that it plans to start volume shipments of its first 64-bit ARMv8-A-based Opteron microprocessor code-named “Seattle” in the second half of this year, which represents a massive one year postponement. The reasons of the delay are unclear, it is also unknown whether AMD has …
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 »Nvidia Tegra X1 to power desktops, notebooks, tablets, portable consoles
Unveiled early this year, Tegra X1 system-on-chip from Nvidia Corp. was positioned mainly for automotive applications. However, given rather serious processing horsepower it has, it can be used for many other devices. In fact, according to recent leaks and listings, Nvidia and its partners plan to use the Tegra X1 …
Read More »AMD unveils CPU and GPU roadmaps for the next five years
Advanced Micro Devices has demonstrated its roadmaps for the next five years. While the company did not disclose almost any details about its future products, it is important that AMD actually has plans that can be executed. AMD’s Junji Hayashi demonstrated a number of slides revealing the company’s roadmaps at …
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 »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 »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 »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 »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 »Allwinner A64: a $5 64-bit quad-core chip for 4K tablets and CE
Allwinner, a Chinese maker of application processors for mobile devices and consumer electronics, recently introduced the world’s cheapest 64-bit application processor. The system-on-chip, which costs just $5, will power high-performance tablets and CE devices with 4K ultra-high-definition displays. The Allwinner A64 SoC integrates four ARM Cortex-A53 general-purpose cores, an unknown …
Read More »ARM introduces new-generation Cortex-A72, second-gen 64-bit core
ARM Holdings, a leading developer of mobile processors and solutions, on Tuesday introduced its second-generation high-performance 64-bit core based on the ARMv8-A architecture. While ARM has not revealed a lot of details about its new core, it said that it significantly increases performance compared to existing offerings and is the …
Read More »Razer announces Razer Arena competitive gaming software
Razer has revealed its new ‘Razer Arena' software, which will allow users to automate the process of finding competitive gaming servers and then tracking your progress. The community will also be able to organize their own competitions and tournaments. First of the software's functions is automatic match creation and reporting, …
Read More »AMD: x86 will remain the central server micro-architecture
Even though Advanced Micro Devices and a number of other chip designers expect ARM architecture to gain a significant part of the server market in the coming years, even AMD itself admits that the good-old x86 will remain the architecture of choice for the vast majority of servers in the …
Read More »TSMC to start volume production of 10nm chips in 2017
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has delayed volume production of chips using 16nm FinFET manufacturing technologies by several quarters. As a result, it now has to reconsider plans regarding production of semiconductors using 10nm FinFET fabrication process. Previously it was expected that the company will produce 10nm chips in late 2016, …
Read More »MediaTek readies system-on-chips with 10 and 12 cores
The latest mobile application processors from MediaTek already offer performance comparable to that of mobile system-on-chips from companies like Qualcomm. Apparently, the company is working on two new SoCs that promise to offer truly unbeatable performance. Unfortunately, it is completely unclear whether the new APs will be used for mobile …
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