Regardless of theoretical performance, the upcoming AMD RD790 and Athlon 64 Black Edition line of processors certainly are overclockable and feature-laden. On nothing but air cooling, MSI testers were able to get an RD790 chipset to a remarkable 510MHz FSB speed. Once the RD790 is released with PCI Express 2, CrossFire X, and support for goodies such as Phenom, we will see one seriously good platform.

AMD recently admitted that it was not quite prepared when they launched quad-core processors earlier this year. Even after the delays, there simply were not enough AMD quad core offerings to go around. And so, to make up for that, they've announced that they're going to make a lot more quad core processors this quarter. The official statement by AMD:

While our initial production ramp of quad-core Opterons has been slower than anticipated, we expect quad-core Opteron will be widely available by the middle of this quarter; and, we expect to ship hundreds of thousands of quad-core processors this quarter into the server and desktop segments.

Intel took on the mindset of "out with the old and in with the new", and their choice is reflected in their roadmaps. Starting in Q1 2008, Intel will remove their single-core offerings from the market by replacing them with superior dual-core models. The upcoming Celeron E1000 series will be the first entry-level dual-core processor to hit the market. The first dual-core Celeron, the E1200, is clocked at 1.6GHz, has an 800MHz FSB, a 512KB L2 cache, and will cost a mere $51 USD (in thousand-unit quantities). All of the E1000 series will be based on the Core 2 Duo micro-architecture, and will be 45nm parts.

Part of AMD's marketing plan is to make creative, enticing names for their products. For one of their low-energy models, AMD's marketing department did a fine job creating a very memorable CPU core code-name: Sparta. For the low price of $46 shipped, you can have your very own Spartan computer part. This product offers more than an awesome name, however. The value-oriented part is built on a 65nm micro-architecture, requires only an impressive 45W of energy to run, runs at 1.9GHz with an FSB speed of 800MHz, has an L1 cache of 64KB+64KB, and an L2 cache of 256KB. Anyone hoping to own an AMD Sempron LE-1100 should follow the source link..

Fortunately for anybody considering an upgrade to AMD AM2 processors, AMD will be slashing prices on their Athlon 64 processors. Just some examples of price cuts we'll be seeing...

The Athlon 64 X2 5000+ currently costs $119, and will soon cost $109USD.

The Athlon 64 X2 5200+ currently costs $124, and will soon cost $119USD

The Athlon 64 X2 5600+ currently costs $149, and will soon cost $139USD.

When AMD first released the 5000+ version of the Black Edition series of processors, it seemed pretty unimpressive. However, the Black Edition processors are a lot like the old FX processors: they come with an unlocked multiplier, and are hand-picked for overclocking. And so, while the Black Edition processors may not be the best at stock clocks, they certainly are good at overclocking. Just as an example, a Chinese overclocker was able to push his 5000+ Black Edition to a respectable 3.5GHz on stock cooling.

While Intel is preparing to move on to a 45nm micro-architecture, AMD is preparing true quad-core processors, and working on a quad-graphics card solution. The technology that will allow for four graphics cards to be stuck in one system will be called "QuadFire", and there are no major details out at this time, other than the name and pictures of supporting motherboards. The chipset supporting "QuadFire" is AMD's own RD790, which is pictured below in MSI's K9A2 motherboard. The RD790 is designed to work with a Phenom processor, has six SATA ports, and two E-SATA ports.

Pictures courtesy of OCWorkbench.

Via is well known for low power CPUs, so it comes as no big surprise that the company will be offering a new Eden processor with a power consumtion of a mere Watt. The new CPU adopts the typical VIA V4 bus and 21mm × 21mm nanoBGA2 packaging as other Eden models, but sets itself apart offering a 500MHz core frequency at a power consumption of only 1W. It is meant for network applicances or embedded boards.

Intel's next big thing is 45 nanometer architecture, which it has applied to their new Penryn micro-architecture. On November 11, Intel will release seven Xeon processors containing the new micro architecture. Among the seven processors are the 2.00GHz E5405, the 2.33GHz E5410, the 2.50GHz E5420, the 2.66GHz E5430, the 2.83GHz E5440, the 3.00GHz E5450 and the 3.16GHz X5460. All seven chips operate on a 1333MHz frontside bus. No official prices are available at this time, and we will see more Penryn processors in Q1 2008.

AMD isn't the only one making new CPUs: Intel plans to announce a new Core 2 Duo CPU and make some hefty price cuts on September 2nd. The Core 2 Duo T7800 is a laptop chip, will be clocked at 2.6GHz, run on a 800MHz bus, and have 4MB of L2 cache. Intel will also launch the Core 2 Duo T7250, which is clocked at 2GHz, with a bus speed of 800MHz and 2MB of L2 cache. For budget customers, Intel has the new 2.0GHz Celeron M 550. There is no word on how much these new processors will cost, but the current Core 2 Duo prices will definitely get cut on September 2nd.

While every hardcore AMD fan awaits the Barcelona and Phenom series of CPUs, AMD is busy making the best out of what it has already. In a Japanese presentation, AMD showed off the Athlon 64 6400+ "Black Edition". This CPU should hit retail markets on August 20th, and should cost anywhere between $220 and $240 USD. The CPU runs on a 90nm process, and is clocked at 3.2GHz.

At the same presentation, AMD demoed a Phenom X4 system at 3GHz in an AMD RD790 motherboard. AMD somehow managed to present this without anyone getting good performance numbers.

With the passable launch date of September 10 there seems two be a couple of problems with the chip and compatibility. It seems that the Dual Dynamic Power Management will not work without a BIOS update, and with a supported motherboard. This is something to be expected from knowing that some features will not be supported on former socket types.

"It seems the CPU itself is capable of engaging in CoolCore operations, but not Dual Dynamic Power Management (formerly "Split Plane," which allowed each core to operate independently with different voltages and clock speeds). It won't be able to handle these power saving and performance enhancing aspects of operations from the core alone. The motherboard must be brought into the mix in an active way to help reduce power consumption and save energy when the many cores are not in high use."

The other issue while not truly being an issue is the 128-bit floating point. There simply isn't any software on the market to take advantage of it. Hearing something like this isn't new to the PC market at all. The 64Bit CPUs are just now starting to see the light after a few years of their release, and Dual core CPUs are also just now starting to be implemented into applications. It's safe to say that the 128-bit floating point technology may take some time before developers start using it.

According to AMD's most recent roadmap, 2 Phenom FX series will see the light of day: Phenom FX-80 and Phenom FX-90. The FX-80 will be designed as single-core CPU's while the FX-90 will be designed as 4x4 dual CPU's.

The plan is to launch the Phenom FX-90 CPU's by Q1 2008 and the FX-80's a little earlier during the November-December interval.

AMD has recently denied the rumor that Phenom would be delayed. AMD says that they will have Phenom released during Q4 2007, despite motherboard manufacturers saying otherwise.

However, any Phenom launch before Q1 2008, according to AMD, will be a mere paper launch, not unlike the HD 2x00 series. Motherboard manufacturers claim that this delay is give AMD enough time to make enough Phenom processors for a heavy AMD fanbase. This is also a move designed to make Phenom more competitive with Penryn.

Intel (or "Chipzilla", as The Inquirer lovingly refers to them), according to Intel spokesperson Danny Cheung, has sold one million quad-core Xeon 5300 processors. "Clovertown" was unleashed just last November, and thanks to great performance and competitive pricing, is solely responsible for re-claiming the Server market for Intel. The entire Clovertown line is priced between $455 and $1,172 USD, according to Intel's price list.

AMD announced today that Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, code-named "Barcelona," are planned for shipment in both standard and low power versions at launch later this summer. This would be the first time AMD has made both standard and low power parts immediately available as part of a new processor launch.

During this first launch, processor speeds are expected to be available up to 2.0 GHz.

Based on the K8 core, AMD's next generation mobile processor will be released mid-2008. The 65nm core socket S will receive Barcelona's Hyper transport 3 and will boast better power efficiency and management than its predecessor with its ability to limit the power consumption of the memory interface. The RS780/780G chipsets will combine with Griffin to include Hyperflash and Puma, which competes directly with Intel's Turbo Memory.

Sun Microsystems, Inc., today announced it has successfully booted the Solaris 10 operating system (OS) on its high-end "ROCK" SPARC processor for the first time. This important milestone comes ahead of schedule and within six weeks of Sun receiving its first shipment of prototype ROCK processors. "Booting Solaris for the first time is a critical accomplishment in the development of our high-end, chip multithreading (CMT) technology," said David Yen, executive vice president for Sun Microelectronics.

Over the next two weeks AMD will slowly begin to introduce its new brand name for the next generation high end desktop K10 architecture. The brand, Phenom, will succeed Athlon on all K10 offerings. Dual-core Agena processors will be labeled as Phenom X2 while quad-core Agena CPUs will receive the name Phenom X4 or Phenom FX. Phenom is pronounced as an abbreviated version of the word "phenomenal." The company will still retain its Athlon and Sempron brand names - Athlon on its mid-range products and Sempron on up the low-end.

Intel is rolling out a pair of ultra-low power chips for compact notebooks and small PCs.

The two new Core 2 Duo chips only consume a maximum of 10 watts of power when running full speed, which makes them ideal for ultraportable notebooks or other devices where size or battery life is at a premium. As a comparison, Intel's Core 2 Duo processors for regular notebooks consume about 34 watts of power at maximum performance.

Intel will offer the chips in two speeds, the U7600 runs at 1.2GHz and the U7500 runs at 1.06GHz.

In respond to AMD's Quad FX, Intel announced in January at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, new platform dubbed "V8". The guys at HotHardware.com have managed to take a good look at it and run some benchmarks. The "V8" consists of Intel workstation-class S5000XVN dual-socket motherboard, coupled to a pair of Xeon X5365 processors, 4GB of Samsung DDR2-667 FBDIMMs, and a GeForce 8800 GTX. The motherboard is based on Intel's 5000X chipset and the processors are clocked at 3.0GHz a piece(1333MHz FSB). Click here, to see some preliminary testing on this rig.

Laptops based on Intel's new Centrino platform Santa Rosa are starting to leak out, this time they're from Lenovo (a few Fujitsu models got out last week). The new ThinkPads T61 and R61 are both based on Intel's Core 2 Duo processors and use Intel's Gm/PM965 chipset. Other specs include both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows XP Pro, Intel's new Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 IGP (for systems using integrated graphics), NVIDIA graphics (for other systems), 14.1" screens, Intel Turbo Card, smartcard support and full hard disk encryption. These laptops should be available from May this year, with a Blu-Ray version coming in July. Lenovo will also finally be removing the IBM branding from palm rests after acquiring Big Blue's laptop division in 2005.

IBM Moves Moore's Law into the Third-Dimension

Armonk, NY - 12 Apr 2007: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a breakthrough chip-stacking technology in a manufacturing environment that paves the way for three-dimensional chips that will extend Moore's Law beyond its expected limits. The technology - called "through-silicon vias" -- allows different chip components to be packaged much closer together for faster, smaller, and lower-power systems.

The IBM breakthrough enables the move from horizontal 2-D chip layouts to 3-D chip stacking, which takes chips and memory devices that traditionally sit side by side on a silicon wafer and stacks them together on top of one another. The result is a compact sandwich of components that dramatically reduces the size of the overall chip package and boosts the speed at which data flows among the functions on the chip.

The soon to be released next CPU architecture named K10 was x-rayed a while ago. We know that the K10 won't hit the 3GHz mark, it will come in all flavors from 2.1GHz all the way up to 2.9GHz. What we missed there, and what AMD didn't let out of their labs yet, was a corresponding heat dissipation figure. Now as Fudzilla.com acts like their silent megaphone they tell the public that 95W will be the maximum TDP for Barcelona and Agena FX. That is quite low for a real quad-core CPU, and sounds very promising in terms of overclocking achievements.

Intel has added two ultra low voltage Core 2 Duo processors to its product portfolio. The new 1.06GHz U7500 and the 1.2GHz U7600 models, are based on the Merom core with 533MHz FSB and 2MB L2 cache. Both CPUs will be targeting mini notebooks, tablet PCs and ultra-portable notebooks. The U7500 and U7600 are introduced as part of the currently shipping "Napa refresh" platform, but will also be available for the upcoming Santa Rosa platform with a slight change in pinout. The new Merom ULV CPUs will be replacing the Core Duo U2500 processor over the coming months. One of the first manufacturers offering the U7500/U7600 will be Gateway who said that its E-100M notebook will be available with the two processors beginning on May 3 of this year.