and 2.66GHz Core i5-580M CPU options from Intel. You'll recognize both as mostly roadmap fodder until now, and they're joined by the i5-560M, which makes its debut on a couple of Sony's midrange consumer lines. Basically, it's a whole lot of new silicon in what look like the same old enclosures, but that's not going to stop us from speccing out a Quad SSD-equipped VAIO Z just for the fun of it. We can probably expect these upgrades to journey westward soon as well, so why not hit the source link for a little bit of advance reconnaissance?
Infineon
, the company behind the baseband chips inside your super-duper new phone, is about to cash out from the wireless industry courtesy of Intel's insatiable appetite. The Wireless Solutions Business (WLS), which accounted for nearly a third of Infineon's €3 billion ($3.83b) revenue last year, is being sold to the American chipmaker for a cool $1.4 billion. For its part, Intel is quick to reassure the world (and its antitrust authorities) that WLS will continue to operate as a standalone business and continue to support ARM-based devices. Chipzilla's perfectly innocent ploy is to harness Infineon's knowhow in future smartphone, tablet and laptop products, providing both the processing and wireless capabilities. Specifically mentioned in the news release is Intel's ambition to "accelerate 4G LTE" through this deal, while also not neglecting its ongoing efforts with WiMAX, with the overarching strategy being described as "a combined path." We should know more about where this path will take us when the acquisition is completed in the first quarter of next year.Intel to Acquire Infineon's Wireless Solutions Business
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- Intel to purchase Infineon's Wireless Solutions Business, called WLS, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.
- WLS sale enables Infineon to expand leading position in markets for automotive, industry and security technologies.
- WLS will operate as a standalone business. Intel is committed to serving WLS' existing customers, including support for ARM-based platforms.
- The acquisition expands Intel's current Wi-Fi and 4G WiMAX offerings to include Infineon's 3G capabilities and supports Intel's plans to accelerate LTE. The acquired technology will be used in Intel® Core processor-based laptops, and myriad of Intel® Atom™ processor-based devices, including smartphones, netbooks, tablets and embedded computers.
- The deal aligns with Internet connectivity pillar of Intel's computing strategy.
NEUBIBERG, Germany & SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Infineon Technologies AG and Intel Corporation have entered into a definitive agreement to transfer Infineon's Wireless Solutions (WLS) business to Intel in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion.
"We all stand to benefit enormously from this deal. Thanks to the outstanding effort of the employees and the management during the last years, WLS is excellently positioned to grow further with the new owner who is ideally suited for this business."
WLS, a leading provider of cellular platforms to top tier global phone makers, will operate as a standalone business serving its existing customers. WLS will also contribute to Intel's strategy to make connected computing ubiquitous from smartphones to laptops to embedded computing.
"The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an extraordinary rate," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "The acquisition of Infineon's WLS business strengthens the second pillar of our computing strategy -- Internet connectivity -- and enables us to offer a portfolio of products that covers the full range of wireless options from Wi-Fi and 3G to WiMAX and LTE. As more devices compute and connect to the Internet, we are committed to positioning Intel to take advantage of the growth potential in every computing segment, from laptops to handhelds and beyond."
"The sale of WLS is a strategic decision to enhance Infineon's value. We can now fully concentrate our resources towards strong growth in our core segments Automotive (ATV), Industrial & Multimarket (IMM) and Chip Card & Security (CCS). This creates a great perspective for all Infineon customers, employees and shareholders," said Peter Bauer, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. "We all stand to benefit enormously from this deal. Thanks to the outstanding effort of the employees and the management during the last years, WLS is excellently positioned to grow further with the new owner who is ideally suited for this business."
The WLS transaction is a strategic decision for Intel and Infineon. WLS complements Intel's existing assets and enables growth in mobile computing, smartphones and embedded computing. Infineon will benefit from this by stronger addressing three central challenges to modern society – energy efficiency, mobility and security.
Intel's goal is to expand its mobile and embedded product offerings to support additional customers and market segments, including smartphones, tablets, netbooks, notebooks and embedded computing devices. Through this effort, Intel will pair WLS' best-in-class cellular technology with its core strengths to enable the delivery of low-power, Intel-based platforms that combine its applications processor with an expanded portfolio of wireless options -- bringing together Intel's leadership in Wi-Fi and WiMAX with WLS' leadership in 2G and 3G, and a combined path to accelerate 4G LTE.
Intel expects WLS to continue growing, and remaining a standalone business to ensure continuity of existing customer sales, projects and support. The business will continue to support its customers with the best solutions possible, including ARM-based products as well as Intel-based application processor platforms with leading-edge 3G slim modem solutions.
WLS today holds leading positions in the field of wireless mobility and cellular platforms for smart phones and ultra-low-cost, entry phones. WLS provides baseband processors, radio-frequency transceivers, power management integrated circuits (ICs), additional connectivity features, single-chip solutions as well as the corresponding system software. This helps to enable the smooth transmission of voice and high-speed data from the backbone of the telecommunication network to the end user's device. With annual revenue of Euro 917 million, WLS was approximately 30 percent of Infineon's total annual revenue of Euro 3.03 billion in the past financial year.
The board of directors of Intel and the supervisory board and the management board of Infineon have approved the transaction. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011, subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions specified in the definitive agreement.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, mobility, and security. In the 2009 fiscal year (ending September), the company reported sales of Euro 3.03 billion with approximately 25,650 employees worldwide. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the U.S. from Milpitas, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore, and in Japan from Tokyo. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).
About Intel
Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and http://blogs.intel.com.
Intel first made mention of its upcoming dual-core Atom for netbooks back at Computex, and now it's making good on its promise with the ready-to-ship Atom N550
. The chip operates at 1.5GHz, with 1MB of cache and support for DDR3 memory, and "similar" battery life to the Atom N450. Intel is billing it as a more "responsive" experience, which will make sense as a selling point to anyone who has attempted any serious multitasking on a netbook. YouTube and Hulu also get first paragraph billing in Intel's press release, and we'll be happy to test out those claims once we get our hands on a netbook with the N550 under the hood. Unfortunately, while Intel claims that netbooks based on the processor are available "in stores today," we don't know of any shipping just yet -- naturally, we have our eyes peeled. MSI and Lenovo actually denied plans for the chip to us, despite their inclusion in Intel's PR, but we do know the upcoming ASUS 1015N (which is also packing NVIDIA ION graphics) will pack the N550 when it hits. Hardly a landslide so far, but we're sure we'll eventually see enough N550 to be sick of it, in traditional netbook fashion. In semi-related news, Intel is also proud to announce that it's shipped over 70 million Atom netbook chips since it started on this crazy ultraportable journey back in 2008. PR is after the break.New Dual-Core Intel® Atom™ Processor-Based Netbooks Hit Shelves Today
- Sales from Acer, ASUS, Fujitsu, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, MSI, Toshiba and others start today and through end of the year.
- Intel has shipped more than 70 million Intel® Atom™ netbook chips since its 2008 launch.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 23, 2010 – Intel Corporation announced today that a dozen of new netbooks based on its new mobile dual-core Intel® Atom™ processors are available in stores today. The netbooks – available now and through the end of the year from manufacturers including Acer, ASUS, Fujitsu, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, MSI, and Toshiba – enable new levels of support for applications like games, as well as Adobe Flash* technology for access to a number of Web pages including online hotel booking systems and multimedia sites such as YouTube* and Hulu*.
"Acer strives to continually improve on our customers' total mobile experience, whether it is increased responsiveness or extended Internet interactivity through longer battery life," said David Lee, associate vice president of Acer's Mobile Computing Business Unit. "We are pleased to select dual-core Intel Atom processors for Acer netbooks, helping to empower netbook users achieve even more – both at work and at leisure."
With the dual-core Intel® Atom™ processor N550, consumers can enjoy Internet access on the go with a more responsive experience in the same compact form factor, DDR3 memory support and similar great battery life as the single-core Intel® Atom™ processor N450.
"In their short history, the netbook category has experienced impressive growth," said Erik Reid, director of marketing for mobile platforms at Intel. "Having shipped about 70 million Intel Atom chips for netbooks since our launch of the category in 2008, there is obviously a great market for these devices around the world."
New netbooks based on dual-core Intel Atom chips arrive in stores today and are available at a variety of consumer-friendly price points. For more information, visit www.intel.com/products/processor/atom.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
Intel, Atom and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Barnaby Jack hit the jackpot at Black Hat on Wednesday. Twice.
Exploiting bugs in two different ATM machines, the researcher from IOActive was able to get them to spit out money on demand and record sensitive data from the cards of people who used them.
He showed the attacks on two systems he had purchased himself -- the type of generic ATM machines typically found in bars and convenience stores. Criminals have been hitting this type of machine for years, using ATM skimmers to record card data and PIN numbers, or in some cases simply pulling up a truck and hauling the machines away.
Patches have already been developed the systems, built by ATM-makers Triton and and Tranax, Jack said. Triton patched the issue in November 2009, said Bob Douglas, Triton's vice president of engineering.
Douglas showed up at Black Hat to attend the talk and a subsequent press conference. Tranax could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tranax has had security problems before. In 2006, CNN reported that a Virginia Beach, Virginia, criminal used a keypad code to reprogram a Tranax machine into thinking it was dispensing $5 bills. Then, using an anonymous prepaid debit card, he withdrew $20 bills, but was only debited for one-quarter of the money he took. A manual showing how to do this, was reportedly available on the web.
But according to Jack there's an easier, much more alarming way to get the money out. Criminals can connect to the machines by dialing them up -- Jack believes a large number of them have remote management tools that can be accessed over a telephone -- and then launching an attack.
After experimenting with his own machines, Jack developed a way of bypassing the remote authentication system and installing a homemade rootkit, named Scrooge, that lets him override the machine's firmware. He also developed an online management tool, called Dillinger, that can keep track of compromised machines and store data stolen from people who use them.
Criminals could find vulnerable ATMs by using open-source "war-dialling" software to call hundreds of thousands of numbers, looking for those that respond by saying they have the vulnerable management software installed. Criminals have already used a similar technique over the Internet to break into vulnerable point-of-sale systems.
Jack's tools are just proof-of-concept software, designed to show how vulnerable the machines really are, he said. "The goal of the talk is to spark discussion on the best ways to remediate," he said.
"It's time to give these devices an overhaul," Jack said. "Companies who manufacture the devices aren't Microsoft. They haven't had 10 years of continual attacks against them."
The machines Jack hacked were, however, based on Microsoft's Windows CE operating system.
In an dramatic on-stage demonstration at Black Hat, he connected remotely to an ATM and ran a program called Jackpot that caused the ATMs to spit out cash, while playing a tune and splashing the word "Jackpot" across the screen of the machine.
In a second demo, he walked up to the machine, opened it with a key he had obtained on the Internet, and installed his own firmware. A single, standard key can open many different types of machines, he said, presenting another serious security problem.
He demonstrated the remote attack on an unpatched Tranax system; the hands-on attack was on an older Triton machine, he said.
Jack had planned to deliver the talk at last year's conference, but it was pulled after ATM vendors asked for more time to patch the issues he'd discovered.
He got the green light for the talk after leaving his former employer, Juniper Networks, and taking a job with IOActive, a company that sells -- among other things -- ATM security consulting services.
The security researcher seems to have had a good time researching ATM bugs. When a delivery man showed up, asking him why on earth he'd want a machine delivered to his home, Jack quipped, "Oh I just don’t' like the transaction fees, mate."
Exploiting bugs in two different ATM machines, the researcher from IOActive was able to get them to spit out money on demand and record sensitive data from the cards of people who used them.
He showed the attacks on two systems he had purchased himself -- the type of generic ATM machines typically found in bars and convenience stores. Criminals have been hitting this type of machine for years, using ATM skimmers to record card data and PIN numbers, or in some cases simply pulling up a truck and hauling the machines away.
Patches have already been developed the systems, built by ATM-makers Triton and and Tranax, Jack said. Triton patched the issue in November 2009, said Bob Douglas, Triton's vice president of engineering.
Douglas showed up at Black Hat to attend the talk and a subsequent press conference. Tranax could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tranax has had security problems before. In 2006, CNN reported that a Virginia Beach, Virginia, criminal used a keypad code to reprogram a Tranax machine into thinking it was dispensing $5 bills. Then, using an anonymous prepaid debit card, he withdrew $20 bills, but was only debited for one-quarter of the money he took. A manual showing how to do this, was reportedly available on the web.
But according to Jack there's an easier, much more alarming way to get the money out. Criminals can connect to the machines by dialing them up -- Jack believes a large number of them have remote management tools that can be accessed over a telephone -- and then launching an attack.
After experimenting with his own machines, Jack developed a way of bypassing the remote authentication system and installing a homemade rootkit, named Scrooge, that lets him override the machine's firmware. He also developed an online management tool, called Dillinger, that can keep track of compromised machines and store data stolen from people who use them.
Criminals could find vulnerable ATMs by using open-source "war-dialling" software to call hundreds of thousands of numbers, looking for those that respond by saying they have the vulnerable management software installed. Criminals have already used a similar technique over the Internet to break into vulnerable point-of-sale systems.
Jack's tools are just proof-of-concept software, designed to show how vulnerable the machines really are, he said. "The goal of the talk is to spark discussion on the best ways to remediate," he said.
"It's time to give these devices an overhaul," Jack said. "Companies who manufacture the devices aren't Microsoft. They haven't had 10 years of continual attacks against them."
The machines Jack hacked were, however, based on Microsoft's Windows CE operating system.
In an dramatic on-stage demonstration at Black Hat, he connected remotely to an ATM and ran a program called Jackpot that caused the ATMs to spit out cash, while playing a tune and splashing the word "Jackpot" across the screen of the machine.
In a second demo, he walked up to the machine, opened it with a key he had obtained on the Internet, and installed his own firmware. A single, standard key can open many different types of machines, he said, presenting another serious security problem.
He demonstrated the remote attack on an unpatched Tranax system; the hands-on attack was on an older Triton machine, he said.
Jack had planned to deliver the talk at last year's conference, but it was pulled after ATM vendors asked for more time to patch the issues he'd discovered.
He got the green light for the talk after leaving his former employer, Juniper Networks, and taking a job with IOActive, a company that sells -- among other things -- ATM security consulting services.
The security researcher seems to have had a good time researching ATM bugs. When a delivery man showed up, asking him why on earth he'd want a machine delivered to his home, Jack quipped, "Oh I just don’t' like the transaction fees, mate."
at a moderately more affordable $899 price point. Based on the same 32nm Gulftown architecture as its costlier brother, the 970 will run at 3.2GHz by default, though presumably it too will be able to crank up speeds using Intel's Turbo Boost
. Aside from that, you get a healthy 12MB of on-chip cache and the standard triple-channel DDR3 memory controller. UK speed freaks can order one up as well now, clearly a tiny bit ahead of Intel itself making things official, so we'd advise checking with your nearest super-CPU purveyors in case they too have received some early units of this multithreaded code cruncher.
. Even more affordable will be the Clarkdale-based Core i5-655K, which trots along at 3.2GHz (with a 3.46GHz gallop option), but response to it was a little more muted. It's a dual-core CPU, after all, and if you don't plan on exploiting that unlocked multiplier to achieve some madness above 4GHz, you might be better off looking elsewhere. In amidst all the mad benchmarking, we've also found a review of a Falcon Northwest i7-875K rig as well, so give it all a read if you're mulling over a desktop upgrade.Read - Tech Report
Read - AnandTech
Read - PC Perspective
Read - Hot Hardware
Read - TweakTown
Read - Legit Reviews
Intel has been actively gearing up for the past year to provide both silicon and software to Internet-enabled TV ventures.
Intel and Google appear close to announcing a deal with Sony for Internet-enabled TVs at a Google developer conference later this week in San Francisco. The deal would help Sony to differentiate itself in a challenging and highly competitive marketplace for television sets. Last week, Sony reported pricing pressure on its Bravia LCD televisions, contributing to a half-billion-dollar loss in Sony's consumer products and devices division.
Intel has been actively gearing up for the past year to provide both silicon and software to Internet-enabled TV ventures, according to Eric Kim, SVP and GM, digital home group, Intel Corporation, speaking at a May 11th investor presentation. On the silicon side, Intel has an order backlog of one million units of its second-generation "System-on-Chip" (SoC) Intel Atom CE 4100, which entered production in December 2009. Customers include France Telecom and other major service providers, cable operators and IPTV operators to be announced.
On the software side, Intel has developed a consumer electronics (CE) operating system based on MeeGo Linux. The OS will support legacy CE middleware, including various systems developed by broadcast and pay-TV providers around the world, as well as fully-capable Internet applications including HTML5, OpenGL, and Adobe Flash 10.1. "When vendors say, 'We support Flash,' it usually means Flash Lite," said Kim. "We provide the performance headroom to run Flash without any constraints."
Intel's previous software framework, Widget Channel, was developed in conjunction with Yahoo! to enable developers to build small applications to enhance the viewing experience.
With the reported deal, Google, along with its developer community, would have a prime position to provide applications and content optimized for the Intel framework. In addition, the delivery channel opens up new methods of delivering user content, presenting contextual advertising, and gathering user information.
However, Intel's Kim was careful to point out that the latest generation of smart-TV technology was intended to complement existing networks and providers rather than attempt to replace it entirely. "We thought it was important to embrace the broadcast legacy infrastructure," said Kim. "These players invested billions into infrastructure, and they're not going to throw it away."
Google is holding its annual developer conference, Google I/O, on Wednesday and Thursday in San Francisco.
| Data center air conditioning can be challenging, costly Explore The Benefits of Portable Air Conditioners |
Intel's previous software framework, Widget Channel, was developed in conjunction with Yahoo! to enable developers to build small applications to enhance the viewing experience.
With the reported deal, Google, along with its developer community, would have a prime position to provide applications and content optimized for the Intel framework. In addition, the delivery channel opens up new methods of delivering user content, presenting contextual advertising, and gathering user information.
However, Intel's Kim was careful to point out that the latest generation of smart-TV technology was intended to complement existing networks and providers rather than attempt to replace it entirely. "We thought it was important to embrace the broadcast legacy infrastructure," said Kim. "These players invested billions into infrastructure, and they're not going to throw it away."
Google is holding its annual developer conference, Google I/O, on Wednesday and Thursday in San Francisco.
Intel's churning out the mobile chips like nobody's business -- no sooner does it admit the existence of Core i5
and Core i3 ULV CPUs
, the chipmaker finds itself with more explaining to do.
That's because dedicated Hewlett-Packard fans just found references to three new standard-voltage Core 2010 chips in the service manuals for the new HP Envy 17 and Core i3 ULV CPUs, the chipmaker finds itself with more explaining to do.
and Envy 15
gaming laptops. The i7-840QM appears to be Intel's new top-of-the-line quad-core CPU, sporting a 1.86GHz clock that turbos up to 3.20GHz (or 3.20MHz, if you believe the above screencap) and 8MB of L3 cache; the i7-740QM is two steps down with 1.73GHz / 2.93 GHz clocks and a 6MB L3 cache; and the i5-450M appears to be indistinguishable from the existing i5-520M with 2.4GHz / 2.93 GHz clocks and 3MB of L3 to help it along. Given the megahertz typo above and the fact that none of these new processors appear anywhere else in the documentation, we wouldn't be surprised if these specs weren't rock-solid... but if they are, the new Envy may well live up to its name. Full PDF available below.
Well, it looks like Intel will finally be delivering that ultra low voltage Core i5
chip this summer. Though it was revealed back at CES, MSI's saying the Core i5 520UM CPU will be ready by June, and that it'll be subbing the 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU and ATI discrete graphics in its X-Slim Series for the more electrically efficient processor.Acer also appears to be doing the same with its Aspire TimelineX 1830T. While MSI didn't provide us with firm benchmark scores, they did pass on word that the Windows rating score is higher on the i5-powered X360 than the previous version, and the endurance is quite good -- they expect 7 to 8 hours with an eight-cell battery. The company hasn't determined pricing on the X360 but predicts that it will go for around $700 to $900 depending on the config when it hits shelves in the June / July time frame.
| |
Nearly a year after the company launched its Nehalem processor into the Xeon space, Intel on Tuesday announced the Xeon 5600, the so-called "Westmere EP." The Xeon 5600 is available in configurations up to six cores, as well as low-power derivatives. According to Intel, the chip – Intel's first 32-nm Xeon – offers 60 percent more performance than the 45-nm Xeon 5500 that Intel announced last March, and includes support for AES New Instructions as well as Trusted Execution Technology, which examines all of the processing components and checks them against a known, trusted profile.
In all, the Xeon 5600 is designed to accelerate and secure cloud computing environments, a small but growing segment of the IT industry. Intel has found selling security to be a challenge, as Intel's chief technology office Justin Rattner acknowledged to a group of researchers last week. But Intel executives also said that the pitch is a lot more relevant when a specific problem is addressed.
"If you talk to a specific IT manager, and start telling them a solution is more secure, with all that hand-waving, well... " said Boyd Davis, general manager of server platforms group marketing at Intel. "But if can sell them a specific solution to a specific problem, than that goes over better. But if you just toss a solution over the wall, it can fall flat."
Selling a solution will require assistance from software and other solutions partners, Davis said, which will arrive in the coming weeks and months. Systems based on the Xeon 5600 are expected from Cisco, Dell, Fusjitsu, HP, IBM, and Oracle, among others, and software vendors including Citrix, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat, and VMWare will support the new processor.
Two versions of the chip will be produced: a four-core, frequency-optimized version running at 3.46-GHz at 130 watts, and a six-core, 3.33-GHz version. Other versions will ship in a 2.93-GHz, 6-core, 95-watt configuration, as well as a standard 2.66-GHz, 4-core, 80-watt configuration.
The Xeon 5600 will drop in to an existing Xeon 5500 configuration, allowing access to the additional AES instructions. The Trusted Execution Technology will require a more complete upgrade.
Two low-power-optimized versions will also be available: the six-core E5645 and L5638, as well as the four-core L5618 and E5620 chips. Another version, the L3406, will be able to power microservers running at as little as 30 watts. In a live demonstration via VoIP, Intel showed off a pair of Xeon 5600 servers running off a portable solar cell in the Las Vegas desert. In total, both servers required 200 watts.
However, Intel also addressed the more traditional metrics of performance and consolidation, which have typically driven server upgrade strategies. Although the Xeon 5500 represented a significant upgrade, Intel claims that the Xeon 5600 can replace up to 15 single-core servers, paying back the investment in as little as five months.
According to Intel, a Fujitsu Primergy RX300 S6 system established a world-record Java performance of 928,393 bops, up 46 percent from the prior generation, world record ERP performance (SA-SD 2-Tiwe ERP 6.0 Unicode of 4,860 benchmark users) and a SPECWeb2005 score of 104,422, up 25 percent from the prior generation.
"In five years, we'd like a company's low-end hardware to be a [Xeon] 5600," Davis said.
(from internet)
In all, the Xeon 5600 is designed to accelerate and secure cloud computing environments, a small but growing segment of the IT industry. Intel has found selling security to be a challenge, as Intel's chief technology office Justin Rattner acknowledged to a group of researchers last week. But Intel executives also said that the pitch is a lot more relevant when a specific problem is addressed.
"If you talk to a specific IT manager, and start telling them a solution is more secure, with all that hand-waving, well... " said Boyd Davis, general manager of server platforms group marketing at Intel. "But if can sell them a specific solution to a specific problem, than that goes over better. But if you just toss a solution over the wall, it can fall flat."
Selling a solution will require assistance from software and other solutions partners, Davis said, which will arrive in the coming weeks and months. Systems based on the Xeon 5600 are expected from Cisco, Dell, Fusjitsu, HP, IBM, and Oracle, among others, and software vendors including Citrix, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat, and VMWare will support the new processor.
Two versions of the chip will be produced: a four-core, frequency-optimized version running at 3.46-GHz at 130 watts, and a six-core, 3.33-GHz version. Other versions will ship in a 2.93-GHz, 6-core, 95-watt configuration, as well as a standard 2.66-GHz, 4-core, 80-watt configuration.
The Xeon 5600 will drop in to an existing Xeon 5500 configuration, allowing access to the additional AES instructions. The Trusted Execution Technology will require a more complete upgrade.
Two low-power-optimized versions will also be available: the six-core E5645 and L5638, as well as the four-core L5618 and E5620 chips. Another version, the L3406, will be able to power microservers running at as little as 30 watts. In a live demonstration via VoIP, Intel showed off a pair of Xeon 5600 servers running off a portable solar cell in the Las Vegas desert. In total, both servers required 200 watts.
However, Intel also addressed the more traditional metrics of performance and consolidation, which have typically driven server upgrade strategies. Although the Xeon 5500 represented a significant upgrade, Intel claims that the Xeon 5600 can replace up to 15 single-core servers, paying back the investment in as little as five months.
According to Intel, a Fujitsu Primergy RX300 S6 system established a world-record Java performance of 928,393 bops, up 46 percent from the prior generation, world record ERP performance (SA-SD 2-Tiwe ERP 6.0 Unicode of 4,860 benchmark users) and a SPECWeb2005 score of 104,422, up 25 percent from the prior generation.
"In five years, we'd like a company's low-end hardware to be a [Xeon] 5600," Davis said.
Intel has just rolled out its fastest chip, the Intel Core i7-980X (codenamed "Gulftown"). We build a desktop PC worthy of its crazy-fast performance.
DIY PC builders, rejoice! If you always need to have the most cutting-edge system—cost be damned—then the news of Intel's latest chip probably has you reaching for your credit card. The new Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU is a six-core chip that promises crazy-fast performance (and a heft $1,000 price tag), the kind that will have you seriously considering scrapping the Core i7-975 system that you just built. We wanted to put together a system worthy of such power. This system is equally appealing to a casual user who's willing to invest in building a state of the art PC that will last you at least 5 to 7 years and possibly longer.
The aforementioned six cores of the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition are the most on any commercial CPU right now; and because of Intel's Hyper-Threading technology, the CPU actually functions as if it has 12 cores. Each core is capable of handling two simultaneous data threads so you will be hard-pressed to tax this chip to its limit. On top of that, the Intel's Turbo Boost technology will turn off unused cores and route power to the cores that are actually being used.
So what does this mean in terms of performance? The Core i7-980X Extreme Edition clocks in a 3.33 GHz but as with all of Intel's Extreme CPUs, it is made to be pushed. In fact the early OEM systems that we have in the Labs have been pushed to speeds of 4.1 GHz and 4.3 GHz. Videos that used to take minutes to render now render in seconds. In real-time strategy games like Napoleon: Total War, which have massive amount of action going on the screen at once, the effects of the chips is immediately visible. What were once blobs of slow moving armies are now individually moving soldiers running together.
Putting it Together
If you're going to drop a grand on a processor, then it stands to reason that you really should go all out on the rest of the system components, as well. Thus, I matched the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition with one of the highest-end graphics cards on the market today, theATI Radeon HD 5970. The card gives you 4.64 teraflops of power from each of its two GPUS and each GPU is supported by 1 GB of GDDR5 RAM. Equally important is the fact that this is one of the few cards currently supporting DirectX 11. There are only a few games that use the DX 11 but more are coming to market every day. One important thing to note: The card is almost a foot long (yes, you read that right). So if you are thinking about using a different case than the NZXT Tempest EVo I went with, I advise you it measure in and out beforehand.
The Core i7-980X uses the LGA 1366 socket, so I chose the Asus P6T motherboard to go with it. It's a solid board with six DIMM slots for DDR3 memory and plenty of ports. Most importantly, you must go to the ASUS or Intel Website and download the new drivers for this card to make sure this board will work with the Core i7-980X chip. In terms of memory, I chose the three fast, reliable 2GB CSX Diablo DDR3, 2000 MhH memory sticks (for a total of 6GB). Should you need it, the motherboard can take a maximum of 12 GB.
To run such a powerful graphics card with this kind of power, you're going to need a serious power supply to support it. I went with theUltra X4 1050W ATX Power Supply. It is also modular so you can select only the cords you need. This is a good thing, considering the amount of components you'll pack into the case.
As for storage, I chose two drives: one solid state drive (SSD) and a traditional spinning hard drive. The 256GBCrucial Real SSD C300 is big enough to fit plenty of data and some applications on along with the operating system, but we are going to use it mainly as a place to store Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. This gives us a quicker boot time and frees up the gigantic 2 TB, 7,200rpm Seagate Barracuda XT to store just about everything else.
This PC is very pricey but will serve you well for several years. It's ready for all of the DX 11 games that are coming, and the CPU is powerful enough to handle really any software on the market today.
Parts:
Case:NZXT Tempest EVo - $100 Street
Motherboard: Asus P6T - $210 Street
Chip: Intel Core i7-980X - $999 List
HD (Spinning):Seagate Barracuda XT (2TB) - $300 Street
HD (SSD):Crucial Real SSD C300 (256 GB) - $759 Street
Blu Ray Drive:Lite-on 4x - $109 Street
Graphics Card:ATI Radeon 5970 - $699 Street
RAM: 3 CSX Diablo DDR 3 (2GB) - $150 list
Power Supply:Ultra X4 1050W ATX Power Supply - $280 list
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate - $220 direct
Step 1) Open up the side of the case. Set the case on its side on a flat surface.
Step 2) Insert the motherboard risers into the case.
Step 3) It's time to install the CPU. First, release the socket lever by moving it slightly sideways, then raise it to a 90-degree angle. Line up the chip, but don't force the chip into place. When you have the CPU lined up, bring the lever down and lock it back into place to make sure that the CPU is held securely.
Step 4) Place a dollop of thermal paste on top of the chip. The compound conducts heat well and increases cooling efficiency by filling in the small spaces between the CPU and the surface of the heat sink.
Step 5) Install the cooler on top of the CPU and clip it onto the motherboard. Yes I know it's huge, but it is actually better than pervious intel coolers.
Step 6) Insert the RAM. The memory slots you use (you'll see several) will depend on your memory configuration, so consult the manual before you install the sticks. The RAM modules are designed so that you can't put them in backward—if one isn't going in, don't force it.
Step 7) Install the power supply.
Step 8) Set the motherboard on the risers and screw it into place.
Step 9) Open the front panel of the case and then take out the temporary face plates.
Step 10) Install your graphics card and hard drives. Be very careful with a card this size, it can easily catch on assorted cords in the case.
Step 11) Slide your optical drive into the front of the case.
Step 12) Now that all the hardware is installed, it's time to start wiring. Find the 20-pin power socket on the motherboard, and plug in the matching power-supply connector. Do the same with the power plug that mates with the four-pin socket near the CPU. Finally, connect all of the leads from the external USB ports, indicator lights, the status display, and audio jacks to their appropriate motherboard partners. Next, do the same with the leads from the internal drives.
Step 13) Your work assembling the hardware is done. Now you're ready to load Windows 7 and get to work.
(from internet)
The aforementioned six cores of the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition are the most on any commercial CPU right now; and because of Intel's Hyper-Threading technology, the CPU actually functions as if it has 12 cores. Each core is capable of handling two simultaneous data threads so you will be hard-pressed to tax this chip to its limit. On top of that, the Intel's Turbo Boost technology will turn off unused cores and route power to the cores that are actually being used.
So what does this mean in terms of performance? The Core i7-980X Extreme Edition clocks in a 3.33 GHz but as with all of Intel's Extreme CPUs, it is made to be pushed. In fact the early OEM systems that we have in the Labs have been pushed to speeds of 4.1 GHz and 4.3 GHz. Videos that used to take minutes to render now render in seconds. In real-time strategy games like Napoleon: Total War, which have massive amount of action going on the screen at once, the effects of the chips is immediately visible. What were once blobs of slow moving armies are now individually moving soldiers running together.
Putting it Together
If you're going to drop a grand on a processor, then it stands to reason that you really should go all out on the rest of the system components, as well. Thus, I matched the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition with one of the highest-end graphics cards on the market today, the
The Core i7-980X uses the LGA 1366 socket, so I chose the Asus P6T motherboard to go with it. It's a solid board with six DIMM slots for DDR3 memory and plenty of ports. Most importantly, you must go to the ASUS or Intel Website and download the new drivers for this card to make sure this board will work with the Core i7-980X chip. In terms of memory, I chose the three fast, reliable 2GB CSX Diablo DDR3, 2000 MhH memory sticks (for a total of 6GB). Should you need it, the motherboard can take a maximum of 12 GB.
To run such a powerful graphics card with this kind of power, you're going to need a serious power supply to support it. I went with the
As for storage, I chose two drives: one solid state drive (SSD) and a traditional spinning hard drive. The 256GB
This PC is very pricey but will serve you well for several years. It's ready for all of the DX 11 games that are coming, and the CPU is powerful enough to handle really any software on the market today.
Parts:
Case:
Motherboard: Asus P6T - $210 Street
Chip: Intel Core i7-980X - $999 List
HD (Spinning):
HD (SSD):
Blu Ray Drive:
Graphics Card:
RAM: 3 CSX Diablo DDR 3 (2GB) - $150 list
Power Supply:
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate - $220 direct
Step 1) Open up the side of the case. Set the case on its side on a flat surface.
Step 2) Insert the motherboard risers into the case.
Step 3) It's time to install the CPU. First, release the socket lever by moving it slightly sideways, then raise it to a 90-degree angle. Line up the chip, but don't force the chip into place. When you have the CPU lined up, bring the lever down and lock it back into place to make sure that the CPU is held securely.
Step 4) Place a dollop of thermal paste on top of the chip. The compound conducts heat well and increases cooling efficiency by filling in the small spaces between the CPU and the surface of the heat sink.
Step 5) Install the cooler on top of the CPU and clip it onto the motherboard. Yes I know it's huge, but it is actually better than pervious intel coolers.
Step 6) Insert the RAM. The memory slots you use (you'll see several) will depend on your memory configuration, so consult the manual before you install the sticks. The RAM modules are designed so that you can't put them in backward—if one isn't going in, don't force it.
Step 7) Install the power supply.
Step 8) Set the motherboard on the risers and screw it into place.
Step 9) Open the front panel of the case and then take out the temporary face plates.
Step 10) Install your graphics card and hard drives. Be very careful with a card this size, it can easily catch on assorted cords in the case.
Step 11) Slide your optical drive into the front of the case.
Step 12) Now that all the hardware is installed, it's time to start wiring. Find the 20-pin power socket on the motherboard, and plug in the matching power-supply connector. Do the same with the power plug that mates with the four-pin socket near the CPU. Finally, connect all of the leads from the external USB ports, indicator lights, the status display, and audio jacks to their appropriate motherboard partners. Next, do the same with the leads from the internal drives.
Step 13) Your work assembling the hardware is done. Now you're ready to load Windows 7 and get to work.
(from internet)
The new Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (codenamed "Gulftown") is a six-core CPU that promises a whole new level of performance.
Another boost in performance is the result of the larger 12MB L3 cache on the processor (up from 8MB on the Core i7-975). The L3 cache is a holding cell for the data the CPU is processing, and more L3 cache means that the CPU has to access the relatively slower DDR3 memory less often. The cache will help speed up single-threaded tasks like gaming, though as seen in our testing, the choice of GPU is still more important to the hardcore gamer..
Not surprisingly, the Core i7-980X will show up on gaming PCs first, like the Maingear Shift and Falcon Northwest Mach V (Core i-980X). Well-heeled gamers are exactly the type of consumer who will crave a $6,000+ system with a $1,000 processor and $1,500 worth of graphics cards. Gaming system builders have a lot of experience combining the extra overhead in the CPU's thermal envelope with liquid cooling to bump the stock 3.33GHz clock speed up to as much as 4.3GHz while running heavy loads. The overclocked processors still cool down while idle, so they're not running at full speed all the time.
So, is it worth it? Yes and no. Our performance tests with the Falcon Northwest Mach V and Maingear Shift show a significant performance bump in multi-threaded tasks like CineBench R10 (a doubling of performance from the mid-range Core i7-870). There's also a significant speed bump for the PCMark Vantage test, which is multi-threaded and measures day-to-day tasks. However gaming tests still depend more on the graphics you put into the system, with the credit going to multi-GPU systems rather than multi-core CPUs. The multimedia tests are starting to reach a plateau of diminishing returns: while the scores are still getting faster, having an ultra-fast quad core and SSDs are "enough" for tasks like Windows Media Encoder and PhotoShop CS4. Throwing two more cores at the multimedia tasks won't help at this time. Maybe they will help when Adobe releases CS5, time will tell.
The Intel Core i7-980X shows that Intel continues to push the performance envelope, at least incrementally. Six cores processing twelve threads is a monumental achievement, but again software technology needs to catch up so users can properly utilize all the cores they paid for. Sure, buying an i7-980X will get you the fastest possible results now, but think of the processor as a hedge against future technological and software upgrades. Someday you will be able to utilize this processor fully, rather than "you will be able to use the full potential of this processor now."
(from internet)
It's official. Intel CEO Paul Otellini launched a volley of 32-nanometer cannonballs at rival AMD with the official release of the company's latest dual- and quad-core Clarkdale and dual-core Arrandale processors. The launch -- spanning 27 different chips and seven individual chipsets -- marks the first time Intel has opted to stash a graphics processing unit alongside the CPU on consumer platforms. What does that mean? Smaller motherboard form factors, lower power consumption, and better cooling for the integrated chips. Expect to be able to get your hands these new CPUs as early as late January.
The benefits the move brings to the living rooms of aspiring PC purchasers include advanced optimizations for HD playback and new supported features--picture-and-picture Blu-ray capabilities and dual-monitor support via HDMI or DisplayPort connections, to name a few.
Unique to the Arrandale lineup is the ability to switch between integrated and discrete graphics on-the-fly. Although both Clarkdale and Arrandale processors feature lower power consumption than previous Intel CPUs, combination of speedy discrete graphics and a low power overhead improves laptop gaming performance while still keeping the best interests of the battery in mind.
Intel has stuck with the Turbo functionality from its Lynnfield family of CPUs to deliver automatic overclocking for supported Clarkdale and Arrandale processors. That said, the Core i7 line of processors for both desktop and mobile still deliver Intel's best performance in terms of raw speeds.
However, the more inexpensive Clarkdale and Arrandale CPUs should definitely do their part to help usher out the company's Core 2 processor family. And in some ways, Clarkdale and Arrandale chips even do a fair job of competing against the prices and performances of a few of their more multi-core, Core i7 cousins.
(from internet)
The benefits the move brings to the living rooms of aspiring PC purchasers include advanced optimizations for HD playback and new supported features--picture-and-picture Blu-ray capabilities and dual-monitor support via HDMI or DisplayPort connections, to name a few.
Unique to the Arrandale lineup is the ability to switch between integrated and discrete graphics on-the-fly. Although both Clarkdale and Arrandale processors feature lower power consumption than previous Intel CPUs, combination of speedy discrete graphics and a low power overhead improves laptop gaming performance while still keeping the best interests of the battery in mind.
Intel has stuck with the Turbo functionality from its Lynnfield family of CPUs to deliver automatic overclocking for supported Clarkdale and Arrandale processors. That said, the Core i7 line of processors for both desktop and mobile still deliver Intel's best performance in terms of raw speeds.
However, the more inexpensive Clarkdale and Arrandale CPUs should definitely do their part to help usher out the company's Core 2 processor family. And in some ways, Clarkdale and Arrandale chips even do a fair job of competing against the prices and performances of a few of their more multi-core, Core i7 cousins.
(from internet)
