Are tiny processors the future of green data centers?

Think virtualization in a data center, and you most likely think of the latest generation of multi-core chips, such as Intel's recently released Nehalem-EX processor, which comes with eight cores a a whopping 2,300,000,000 transistors. But the future of green data centers may be in the opposite end of the spectrum, with server clusters built using many small, power-efficient processors.
##CONTINUE##
The Power of Software blog gives a very good rundown about the possibility of using small computers and processors instead of large ones like the Nehalem-EX. It mentions the Dell XS11-VX8, also called "Fortuna." The Via Nano powers Fortuna, and it's a 64-bit chip that offers hardware virtualization for Hyper-V. Amazingly, it uses only 29 watts when at full load, and 15 watts when idling, according to the blog --- less power than a UPS uses. Load up plenty of these devices and you can get plenty of computing power, while using not much electricity.

There's been talk for a while that the low-power Atom chip, used primarily to power netbooks, can be used for data centers as well. The blog points out that Microsoft Research has already built two server clusters using Atom processors controlled by the Marlowe control system that in the blog's words, "can place servers into the sleep or hibernate low power states and then wake them up. This dynamic state control enables groups of computers to respond to changes in load very rapidly."

Will you be using Atom chips and Fortuna today or in the near future to power your data center? Most likely not. But don't be surprised if you do a little further on. Just as smaller servers replaced big iron mainframes, one day devices like Fortuna and the Atom chip may power data centers, and save plenty of electricity while doing so.

-----------------------------
BY Preston Gralla
Source：Reuters

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved.

High-End Processors: Are They Worth All the Fuss?

It's no surprise that chip sales are down considering the havoc the economy has already wreaked on the server and storage industries. The real question is why AMD and Intel continue to devote so much of their dwindling resources into developing high-end processors.
##CONTINUE##
iSuppli just came out with its first-quarter microprocessor market figures, and was we've all grown accustomed to by now, the numbers are not good. Overall revenues are down more than 20 percent compared with a year ago, with only low-end, notebook processors like the Atom showing any signs of life at all. The overall market, which includes everything from x86 to RISC processors, dropped from $8.6 billion in the first quarter last year to $6.9 billion in the first quarter of 2009.

Nonetheless, it was a sweet victory for AMD, at least, in that the company saw its market share inch up a bit vs. Intel. AMD's revenues contributed 12.8 percent of the overall market, a 2.3 percent gain, while Intel lost 2.5 percent to come in at 79.1 percent. While Intel continues to dominate, it is the first loss of market share for the company in four quarters. Keep in mind, though, that it still represents a net loss in sales for both companies.

While all sectors of the microprocessor industry are struggling, the high-end devices are placing the largest drag on the market. With capital budgets at top enterprises essentially frozen due to the recession, and with the success of hardware-extending technologies like virtualization, it's no surprise that top-end devices like the multicore Xeon and Opteron lines are seeing lean times.

That's why it's puzzling to see both companies waging a pitched battle in the high-end space. AMD recently introduced its six-core Opteron, the Istanbul, said to outperform the current top-of-the-line Shanghai chips by some 30 percent while keeping the same power envelope. The chips are designed for up to 8-socket servers and offer 6 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core. And by next year, the company is eyeing a 12-core device called the Magney-Cours.

These chips are intended to counter Intel's efforts in the race to load up on cores. The company is gearing up for the eight-core Nehalem EX, a 45nm device that supports up to 16 threads and 24 Mb of cache and is loaded with more than 2 billion transistors.

Clearly, these devices are aimed at weaning high-performance computing (HPC) shops off of their RISC/mainframe platforms and onto x86 clusters, but that could prove to be a risky gamble. Once the economy pulls out of recession, there will likely be an uptick in activity, but it could be quite a while before a real market re-emerges. IBM is still maintaining a comfortable mainframe business, and the technology, old as it is, shows a lot of promise in new cloud-based infrastructures. And besides, wasn't usurping the mainframe the rationale behind the Itanium?

To be fair, both companies are aggressively pursuing the laptop and mobile market: Intel with the Atom line and AMD with a new family of Neo processors aimed at the ultrathin market. But even though the margins on these lower-end devices can't possibly be as good, there's something to be said about pursuing opportunity wherever it leads.

And from the view in June 2009, it seems that expensive core enterprise systems have had their day. Low-cost endpoint hardware is where the action will be for some time to come.

-----------------------------
BY Arthur Cole
Source：ITBUSINESSEDGE

Copyright © 2009 NarrowCast Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Intel Scheduled to Launch Atom N450 in October

Intel is poised to phase out their Atom N270 CPU soon, thanks to the launch of its successor – the Atom N450.
##CONTINUE##
The Atom N450 (codenamed Pine Trail) will be a single core CPU with built-in northbridge functions, and will work in concert with the brand new NM10 (Tiger Point) chipset. Intel will issue the last order notice for the N270 in Q1 of 2010, and the CPU will fully phase out by Q2 of 2010.

It’s expected that the N450 will launch in October of this year at the very earliest.

-----------------------------
BY Andy Salisbury
Source：MAXIMUMPC

© 2009 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Intel’s next-gen netbook chips revealed

Due before year’s end, Atom 400- and 500-series ‘Pineview’ processors clock remain pegged at 1.66GHz but boost performance and battery life due to a streamlined two-chip design.
##CONTINUE##
Intel’s next generation of Atom processors will remain true to the philosophy of emphasising efficiency over raw power.

First firm details of the new Pineview processors have started coming through, with three chips all pegged at the same 1.66GHz as the current Atom N280 (which is a tweak of the original 1.66GHz N270 found in most netbooks).

The netbooks of 2010, which we can expect to see before Christmas, will shift to the Atom N400. The spec sheet reads like the safest form of Hollywood sequel – just serve up more of the same. That means a single core 1.66GHz backed by 512Kb of cache with a 2GB memory ceiling with RAM clocked at 667MHz.

The real gains will come with the move from today’s three-chip design shift to a streamlined two-chip system. The N400 integrates the processor, graphics and memory controller onto a single 45nm chip.

Intel’s choice of graphics engine shifts from the GMA950 to the GMA500 used in the chipset of the Atom Z500 series, although this will be clocked at 200MHz against the GMA950’s 133GHz. Manufacturers will also be able to add an optional off-package HD graphics decoder chip from Broadcom to handle video up to 1080p HD.

The CPU is paired to Intel’s NM10 Express chipset (codenamed ‘Tigerpoint’) for I/O via a point-to-point Direct Media Interface (DMI) link. That combo is known as the Pinetrail platform, which will be available in both mobile (Pinetrail-M) and desktop (Pinetrail-D) versions.

The two-chip design makes for substantially smaller package size and lower power consumption. The current three-chip Atom system totals 2601mm², compared to just 773mm² for Pineview-M.

The package isn’t only a third of the size, it also draws half the power: the CPU’s own drain drops from an average 4 watts to 2 watts while overall TDP (Thermal Design Power) falls from 16 watts to 7 watts. This will lead to longer battery life, an increase in fanless systems and potentially slimmer netbook designs.

Intel will also seek to promote two desktop versions of the new processors into low cost all-in-one designs, primarily as desktop PCs but also into systems like home servers which can benefit from their reduced size and thermals.

The single-core Atom D410 and dual-core Atom D510 are identical to the N450, bar the D510’s twin cores and subsequent doubling of cache to 1MB.

-----------------------------
BY David Flynn
Source：apc

© 1997-2009 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved.

Nvidia CEO on x86 Project: "Haven't Found It Yet"

Is Nvidia working on a CPU?
##CONTINUE##
With both Intel and AMD working towards integrating GPU and CPU together, Nvidia is left standing on its own with its graphics specialty. This lead to rumors that Nvidia was looking to get into the x86 processor business and going head to head with its already-big competitors.

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang told the New York Times that if such a project was going on at his company, he hasn’t found it yet.

“If we have such a product, I haven’t found it yet,” Mr. Huang said. “It’s just not important right now.”

Obviously even if there was work on an x86 CPU at Nvidia (and the CEO managed to find it), Huang still wouldn’t be one to reveal the news in a single interview.

If Nvidia isn’t working on a special x86 project in house, it could partner with Via Technologies, which does hold an x86 license from Intel – a key piece to the puzzle. Nvidia is rumored to be investing heavily into Via – something also denied by Huang. At any rate, we’ll know for sure at Via’s investor meeting later this month.

-----------------------------
BY Marcus Yam
Source：Tom's Hardware US

Tom's Hardware is part of Bestofmedia Network – Copyright ©2009 Bestofmedia. All Rights Reserved.

Mobile Chipsets: WTF Are Atom, Tegra and Snapdragon?

Low-power processors aren't just for netbooks: These computers-on-a-chip are going to be powering our smartphones and other diminutive gadgets in the forseeable future. So what's the difference between the Atoms, Snapdragons and Tegras of the world?
##CONTINUE##
Intel Atom
The current reigning king of low-cost, low-power processors, Intel's Atom flat-out dominates the netbook market. Its single- and dual-core processors are also some of the most powerful on our list, despite having abilities roughly equal to, in Intel's own terms, a 2003-2004 vintage Celeron. Based on the x86 architecture, the Atom is capable of running full versions of Windows XP, Vista (though not all that well), and 7, as well as modern Linux distros and even Hackintosh. While it requires far less power than a full-power chip, it's still more power-hungry than the ARM-based processors on our list, requiring about 2 watts on average. That's why netbook battery life isn't all that much longer than that of a normal laptop.

You can find the Atom in just about every netbook, including those from HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, Sony, Toshiba, MSI, and, well, everyone else. The 1.6GHz chip is the most popular at the moment, but Intel is definitely going to keep improving and upgrading the Atom line. However, you're unlikely to catch an Atom in a handset; it's low-power, yes, but low-power for a notebook. Battery life on an Atom handset would be pretty atrocious, which is why Intel's sticking to netbooks for now.

Qualcomm Snapdragon
Based on ARM, which is a 32-bit processor architecture that powers just about every mobile phone (and various other peripherals, though never desktop computers) out there, Snapdragon isn't competing directly with the Intel Atom—it's not capable of running full versions of Windows (only Windows Mobile and Windows CE), it's incredibly energy-efficient (requiring less than half a watt), and is designed for always-on use. In other words, this is the evolution of the mobile computing processor. It's got great potential: Qualcomm is trumpeting battery life stretching past 10 hours, smooth 1080p video, support for GPS, 3G, and Bluetooth, and such efficiency that a Linux-based netbook can use Snapdragon without a fan or even a heat sink. Available in single core (1GHz) or dual-core (1.5GHz), it can be used in conjunction with Android, Linux, and various mobile OSes.

Unfortunately, Qualcomm is still holding onto the notion that people want MIDs, and is championing "smartbooks," which are essentially smartphones with netbook bodies, like Asus's announced-then-retracted Eee with Android. Snapdragon's got promise, but we think that promise lies in super-powered handheld devices, not even more underpowered versions of already-underpowered netbooks.

We're frankly not sure when we'll see Snapdragon-based devices sold in the US. We're sure Snapdragon will end up in smartphones at some point, as at least one Toshiba handset has been tentatively announced, but the only concrete demonstrations we've seen have been in MIDs, and Snapdragon themselves spend all their energy touting these "smartbooks." Snapdragon's Windows Mobile compatibility suggests we may see it roll out with Windows Mobile 7, if Tegra hasn't snapped up all the good handsets.

Nvidia Tegra
Nvidia's Tegra processor is very similar to Snapdragon—both are based on ARM architecture, so both are designed for even less intense applications than the Atom. Like Snapdragon, Tegra isn't capable of running desktop versions of Windows, so it's primarily targeted at Android and handheld OSes, especially forthcoming versions of Windows Mobile. What sets Tegra apart from Snapdragon is the Nvidia graphics pedigree: The company claims smooth 1080p video, like Snapdragon, but also hardware-accelerated Flash video and even respectable gaming (though no, you won't be able to run Crysis). They also go even further than Qualcomm in their battery life claim, suggesting an absolutely insane 30 hours of HD video.

While Snapdragon tends to be loosely associated with Android, Tegra is an integral part of Microsoft's plan for next-generation Windows Mobile devices. Instead of focusing on "smartbooks" and MIDs, which we think are part of a dead-end category, Tegra's commitment to pocketable handhelds could spell success. We've seen proof-of-concept demonstrations of Tegra already, but its real commercial debut will come with Windows Mobile 7—and if WM7 doesn't suck, Tegra could take off.

Others
We haven't included certain other processors, especially VIA's Nano, due to intent: The Nano requires lower power than full-scale processors, but at 25 watts, it's not even really in the same league as Atom, let alone Snapdragon or Tegra. The VIA Nano is really targeted at non-portable green technology, and looks like it'll do a good job—it outperformed Atom in Ars Technica's excellent test, and stands up to moderate use with ease. AMD's Puma (Turion X2) is in a similar boat: It's certainly markedly more energy-efficient than AMD's other offerings, but as it's targeted at laptops (not netbooks) with a screen size greater than 12-inches, it's not quite right for our list here.

These low-power processors aren't just, as we so often think, crappier versions of "real" processors. They've got uses far beyond netbooks, especially in the near future as the gap between netbooks and smartphones narrows.

-----------------------------
BY Dan Nosowitz
Source：GIZMODO

AMD Challenges Intel With Dual-core Neo Chip

Advanced Micro Devices on Monday said it had started shipping the dual-core Athlon Neo processor for thin and light laptops, upping the ante in its battle with rival Intel, which offers processors for similar laptops.
##CONTINUE##
The new Neo chip will be an upgrade over the single-core Neo processor launched by AMD in January. Laptops with the dual-core processor will offer faster processing and graphics performance, said David Schwarzbach, senior manager for platform marketing at AMD.

Neo chips are designed for thin and light laptops that can deliver full functionality at affordable prices, AMD says. AMD fits Neo chips into a category of consumer PCs it calls "ultrathin" laptops, which falls between netbooks and expensive ultraportable laptops like Apple's MacBook Air. AMD contends that netbooks, though cheap, provide limited functionality, while ultraportables are too expensive, with prices above US$1,500.

Some ultrathin laptops in the market today come with screen sizes between 12.1 inches and 14 inches, and weigh between 3 pounds (1.36 kilograms) and 4 pounds. AMD said dual-core Neo will be in laptops priced between $750 and $999. The chip operates at a clock speed of around 1.6GHz and draws up to 18 watts of power. Pricing for the chip wasn't immediately available.

Laptops with the new Neo chips are being shown at the Computex trade show in Taiwan. Hewlett-Packard -- which already ships the Pavilion DV2 laptop with a single-core Neo -- will refresh the laptop with the new chip, Schwarzbach said. HP's laptop will become available on Monday, while other Neo-based laptops will become available in September.

Ultrathin laptops are as portable as netbooks and provide adequate performance to run most applications, like high-definition multimedia, casual gaming and productivity applications, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64. If ultrathin laptops become hot, the losers could be PC makers like Sony, Toshiba and Apple, who have been overcharging consumers for expensive ultraportables, Brookwood said.

AMD's Neo could potentially face competition from Intel's low-power processors for ultrathin laptops -- also called CULV (consumer ultra-low voltage) processors -- that may be introduced at Computex. Laptops with Intel's CULV chips -- like Lenovo's IdeaPad U350 and MSI's X-Slim laptops -- have already been announced.

The updated Neo chip will be part of AMD's upcoming Congo platform for ultrathin laptops. The platform will include integrated graphics based on the Radeon 3200 graphics core, a major upgrade from the earlier Radeon 1200 integrated graphics. That should enable faster decoding of high-definition content and provide a better multimedia experience, Schwarzbach said.

Most netbooks offer limited graphics capabilities, which could draw users to ultrathin laptops, Insight 64's Brookwood said. On a platform level, AMD holds an advantage over Intel on graphics capabilities, Brookwood said.

"When it comes to integrated graphics, it's hardly a contest between Intel and AMD. AMD wins hands down," Brookwood said.

By contrast, Intel's chips offer better performance-per-watt than Neo chips, Brookwood said. Intel's chips are manufactured using the 45-nanometer process, which brings more energy efficiency to laptops than the older 65-nm process used by AMD for Neo chips. But the dual-core Neo could help laptop users do more tasks simultaneously than Intel's single-core CULV chips.

But processor speed won't be a major factor in driving adoption of ultrathin laptops, Brookwood said. The thin and light size will appeal more to consumers, and the battle could be around pricing and style.

"Nobody will buy these products to edit movies or to do a lot of Photoshop-like work," Brookwood said.

AMD on Monday also announced dual-core desktop chips that are manufactured using the 45-nm process. The Phenom II X2 550 runs at a clock speed of 3.1GHz and includes 7MB of cache. It is priced at $102. The dual-core Athlon II X2 250 processor operates at a speed of 3.0GHz and includes 2MB of L2 cache. It is priced at $87. Both processors will come as part of a chip package that supports faster DDR3 memory.

-----------------------------
BY Agam Shah, IDG News Service
Source：PCWorld

© 1998-2009, PC World Communications, Inc.

Intel struts its stuff with 8-core Nehalem-EX and 3.33GHz Core i7

At this week’s Computex techfest Intel will showcase a V8 version of its Nehalem server chip runs sixteen threads backed by 24MB of cache, plus two top-end Core i7 superslabs.
##CONTINUE##
While the rumoured Core i5 looks set to be nudged back a few months, Intel is full steam ahead on its more muscle bound Nehalem-class processors.

For sheer bragging rights the chip colossus can point to Nehalem-EX, its next-generation Xeon server processor. The current Xeon 5500-series ‘Gainestown’ server processors top out at four cores per CPU, and thus a maximum of eight threads, but the EX ‘Beckton’ powerplant doubles down that to eight cores and sixteen threads. It also sports a whopping 24MB of cache, three times that of the beefiest 5500.

If you want one more Big Number to toss around, try a count of 2.3 billion transistors – or one for every three people living on this plant.

Meanwhile, back on the desktop, two new Core i7 flagships are set to sail.

The Core i7-950 replaces the original Core i7-940 with which Intel launched the series in November last year – six months is a long time at the bleeding edge of technology. The specs are identical bar the clock speed, which bumps from 2.93GHz to 3.06GHz; the price tag also heads north, from the 940’s US$562 to US$649.

The i7-965 Extreme Edition, also part of the i7’s coming-out party, becomes wallflower as the i7-965 takes to the floor. Once again all the specs remain the same but for the clock speed, which the overclocker-friendly CPU boosts to 3.33GHz with an unlocked 25X bus multiplier and partners with a US$1,100 sticker.

There’s no news yet on the fate of the entry-level i7-920, final member of the original i7 trio.

-----------------------------
BY David Flynn
Source：apc

© 1997-2009 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved.

Intel's Lynnfield chips to arrive in early September

After an intentional delay to cope with overstock problems, a number of sources in Taiwan have reportedly confirmed today that Intel's next generation Lynnfield chips and P55 motherboards will arrive in stores on September 1st. The so-called Core i5 parts come as mainstream variants to the Nehalem micro architecture, though unfortunately the use of a new socket (LGA-1156) sort of defeats the whole ‘more affordable’ idea for users seeking to simply upgrade to a faster processor.
##CONTINUE##
However, there are some fundamental architectural differences between Core i7 and the new Lynnfield chips that Intel believes warrant this socket change. Namely that the cheaper Core i5 will feature an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller, rather than triple-channel DDR3 on the higher end platform, and a DMI controller instead of QPI for communication with the Intel P55 (Ibexpeak) chipset.

Pictures and benchmarks of a prototype Lynnfield processor first appeared online earlier this week, giving us a peek at the level of performance these chips will offer, and now Anandtech has secured a Lynnfield sample as well and posted a more in-depth review. Meanwhile, there has been no shortage of P55-based motherboard previews around the web.

-----------------------------
BY Julio Franco
Source：TechSpot.com

Copyright © 1998-2009 TechSpot.com
TechSpot is a registered trademark
Powered by StoryTeller
All Rights Reserved.

Intel aims for RISC market with next generation of Xeons

Intel has been giving details of its next generation Xeon multicore processing platform codenamed Nehalem EX.
##CONTINUE##
The new processor range will extend the number of cores per chip to eight and Intel is promising a big boost in performance over existing Xeon 7400 processors. The new platform will double the existing memory capacity, with 16 memory slots possible per processor socket, and have four high-bandwidth QuickPath links of the type currently seen in other Xeon processors.

“With around 2.3bn transistors the new chip is one of the most complex pieces of technology built by humans,” said Boyd Davis, general manager of marketing for Intel’s server platforms.

“We expect this to be a dramatic leap forward. This really goes after markets served by RISC processors. It’s going to have a significant impact on the whole server market.”

The new line will extend from dual core up to eight cores per processor. It will go into production later this year with the first models available in early 2010.

Intel is already saying it has wide support from OEMs. Over 15 server designs have already been registered between eight OEMs and IBM has been showing off a server it has already built using the chips.

“We’re the first to demonstrate the EX in production,” said Alex Vost, vice president of IBM’s System X and blade business.

The prototype X5 system uses eight, eight-core processors to give a total of 64 cores running 128 software threads.

Davis said that Intel was confident the new high end chips would not be a threat to Itanium, which will have a new processor out next year as well, but was aimed at taking more business away from RISC systems.

“Nehalem EX’s core platform attributes make it very capable of further disruption to parts of a declining RISC market,” said Vernon Turner, an analyst from IDC, in a recent report.

The Xeon 5500, formerly the Nehalem ES, is selling well the company said. By August 2009 Intel is forecasting it will make up over 50 per cent of its dual core shipments.

A video interview with vnunet.com on the new processor lie can be found here.

-----------------------------
BY Iain Thomson in San Francisco
Source：vnunet.com

© Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in England and Wales with company registration number 04038503.

威盛“钻空子”竞争 抢占英特尔低功耗市场

吴忆盼称，威盛将会利用英特尔的这些限制来寻求突破点。“威盛没有包袱，可以从这些限制里，帮助客户差异化，市场需要有不同的选择。”据了解，在上网本领域，因为英特尔凌动芯片对12寸上网本的严格限制，三星新推出的12寸上网本已经采用了威盛的芯片。
##CONTINUE##
5月26日消息，威盛电子CPU事业部产品行销总监吴忆盼今天在小型媒体沟通会上表示，威盛看好英特尔新推出的主打11-13英寸笔记本市场的CULV低功耗平台，称其扩大整体低功耗产品市场份额。吴忆盼表示，威盛将利用英特尔在各产品线上的限制，“钻空子”差异化竞争。

英特尔CULV平台将扩大整体低功耗市场
与其他芯片厂商相比，威盛处理器早在2000年左右就开始主打“低功耗”。吴忆盼坦言，“威盛做了八九年，市场不是很重视，客户也觉得不重要，当时大家的焦点还在于处理器的速度。PC领域可能只有个位数的比例要求低功耗。但在最近一两年里，借助英特尔的凌动，整个上网本低功耗市场被打开了。”

不久前英特尔推出名为“CULV”的新的低功耗平台，定位11至13英寸的笔记本，介于低端“凌动”平台和今年第三季度即将推出的高端“Calpella”平台之间。英特尔的CULV平台被IDC称为是微软新操作系统Windows 7之外，拉动今年下半年PC市场的另一动力。

对于威盛如何看待英特尔的CULV平台，吴忆盼称，英特尔的新低功耗平台将低功耗的概念从上网本延伸到主流笔记本领域，“整个低功耗市场的饼做大了，威盛发挥的空间也就越大。”

差异化与英特尔竞争
“从制程、设计上，我们不会去跟英特尔比，我们会采取差异化的策略，”吴忆盼表示。

在PC领域，英特尔占据了80%左右的市场份额，芯片产品涵盖了高中低各个层次。但产品丰富之后，各个产品线也容易互相干扰，比如采用“凌动”的上网本对传统笔记本市场的侵蚀。

为了避免左右手互搏，英特尔在性能、价格、屏幕尺寸等各方面对其产品进行了严格的区隔。基于Atom(凌动)处理器的上网本屏幕尺寸最好在11英寸以下，绝对不能超过12英寸，而基于CULV平台的笔记本被限制在11英寸至13英寸。 今年第三季度即将推出的高端平台“Calpella”以14、15.6、17.1及18.4等大尺寸为主。

吴忆盼称，威盛将会利用英特尔的这些限制来寻求突破点。“威盛没有包袱，可以从这些限制里，帮助客户差异化，市场需要有不同的选择。”据了解，在上网本领域，因为英特尔凌动芯片对12寸上网本的严格限制，三星新推出的12寸上网本已经采用了威盛的芯片。

-----------------------------
文章出处：网易科技
作者：N/A

Intel Lynnfield Core i5 hits the bench early

Intel is expected to update its processor lineup with the introduction of more affordable Nehalem derivatives later this year. Although an official launch isn’t planned until sometime around September or October, we know samples have already been sent to partners, and now it appears that the very first pictures and benchmarks of a so-called Core i5 part have made their way onto the web.
##CONTINUE##
The aforementioned details were made public in a recent post on Asian hardware site Xfastest, which included 3DMark Vantage scores and results from the suite of CPU tests in Everest Ultimate Edition. Tests were done on a reference Intel motherboard; and the 2.66GHz Core i5 part seemed to yield better results than a Phenom II X4 955 running at 3.2GHz.

This is particularly bad news for AMD, seeing as their Phenom II X4 955 currently sells for around $245, while the Core i5 is expected to cost $196. Performance differences weren't that large, though, and seeing that these are the first benchmark results made public, we should probably hold judgment until we can perform our own tests or a more thorough review of the chip is leaked online. Also, by the time Intel officially takes the wraps off its Core i5 processors, AMD is expected to have several new 45nm quad-core models in the market.

-----------------------------
BY Jose Vilches
Source：TechSpot.com

Copyright © 1998-2009 TechSpot.com
TechSpot is a registered trademark
Powered by StoryTeller
All Rights Reserved.

Intel delays next-gen Itanium again - second time this year

Following the February delay of Tukwila, Intel’s upcoming next-gen 65nm, quad-core, 30MB on-die cache (total), HyperThreading-enabled Itanium with quad on-die memory controllers (each with double-data correction), Intel has sought to do a repeat, this time delaying the product to EOMs until at least 1Q’2010.
##CONTINUE##
While the previous delay was to reportedly to address memory controller enhancements, including use of Intel’s QuickPath Interconnect (QPI), the current issue relates to CPU scaling.

Intel wrote in a statement:

During final system-level testing, we identified an opportunity to further enhance application scalability.

About Itanium

Itanium is Intel’s super high-end 64-bit CPU for enterprise applications. It uses a completely different ISA than any other type of CPU, called EPIC, which stands for Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing. The architecture itself is geared toward heavy computation with some amazing chip-level abilities which are not present in the more common x86 hardware space, such as predication (where an instruction can be executed or not based on some flag being either raised or lowered — such flags are usually the result of a previous operation), speculative execution, and all in a bundled instruction environment designed to maximize on-die resources at compile-time (since compilers typically know considerably more about the code they’re generating than do any runtime-level speedups).

Itanium was predicted in 2005 to become a $10 billion annual business by the end of the decade. However, constant delays and continued R&D into the traditional x86 architecture has forced its use to be reduced notably (as the graph above indicates), even as of 2007. In 2005, Sun Microsystems’ co-founder, Andy Bechtolsheim, had declared Itanium basically dead.

Since then, and with the recent advances seen in Intel’s Nehalem (and upcoming Nehalem-EX) Xeon server CPUs, the reality is Itanium may not be long for this world as there does not seem to be any practical reason to continue using it, except for the absolute super-high-end of compute needs, where Itanium does still shine.

Tukwila, the 65nm die shrink and significant core revamp, will provide four memory controllers for DDR3, allowing a maximum of 96GB/s of interprocessor bandwidth, and 34GB/s peak memory bandwidth (per physical CPU/socket), with each socket having its own dedicated memory network at the same speeds.

The follow-on Itanium, Poulson, will skip the 45nm process and go straight to 32nm, indicating a release date sometime 2011 or after. A possible follow-on beyond Poulson will be Kittson, though it is still speculative at this point.

WSJ via HotHardware.com.

Rick’s Opinion

Seems odd for this kind of scaling delay considering that such revisions could be implemented in later products, or very likely, through future BIOS updates. In fact, Intel has released products with known issues, those that were later addressed and fixed in stepping upgrades, allowing for better performance, faster clocking, cooler operations, higher manufacturing yields, etc.

These were admittedly in their much higher volume x86 lines of CPUs. However, considering the limited runs Itanium will be supporting… I’m not entirely sure how delaying Itanium further will help Intel. Perhaps this second delay this year relates to the recent EU fine of $1.45 billion, causing some money to be pulled from unnecessary R&D? Just a thought.

-----------------------------
BY Rick Hodgin
Source：Geek.com

© 1996-2009 Geek.com, LLC - All rights reserved.

Intel walks down Pine Trail with next-gen Atom announcement

Intel formally announced its Pine Trail platform, which is the next version of its successful Atom line. Pine Trail, which will launch in the last quarter of 2009, cuts the number of chips in the Atom chipset down to two by putting the GPU and CPU on the same die.
##CONTINUE##
Intel renewed its netbook push Tuesday with the formal announcement of its next-generation Atom platform, codenamed Pine Trail. The details of Pine Trail, including the late 2009 launch date, had already been widely leaked, and today's disclosure provided little new information. But for those who haven't followed the Pineview leaks, I'll break down the details of what was announced.

Pine Trail's CPU, Pineview (confusing, I know), is a more highly integrated version of Atom that puts the memory controller and GPU on the same die as the CPU. As the diagram below shows, this move will shrink the number of chips in the Atom platform from three to just two.

Pine Trail architecture; Image source: Intel

The reduced number of chips results in a cheaper platform with a lower power draw. So Pineview-based netbooks and MIDs will have improved battery life; or alternately, Intel could choose to increase the clockspeed and performance of the processor core and keep the overall platform within the same power envelope. Given that Atom's performance is still on the low end of "acceptable" (depending on your needs), my bet is that many netbook makers will push for the latter option.

The Pineview processor is a 45nm part, but the process node for the I/O hub isn't clear. (It's probably still some legacy process, like 130nm or 90nm). Also unclear is the type of memory controller included, though previous rumors suggested it's a single-channel DDR2 controller. Older rumors also have single- and dual-core variants in the works, though no mention was made of core counts in today's disclosure.

In moving the GPU onto the same die as the CPU core, Intel arguably pushes Atom into SoC territory. Of course, Pineview will still require a separate I/O hub chip (a southbridge), but this CPU/GPU combination is new territory for Intel, and it will give us a taste of what Moorestown will be like when it launches. (Atom and Moorestown will both be based around Intel's Lincroft CPU core, and presumably they'll have the same GPU core, as well.)

Pineview and NVIDIA

Pineview's announcement raises two issues with respect to the ongoing Intel/NVIDIA brawl. First, Pineview is a two-chip Atom solution, but so is NVIDIA's Ion, and Ion has been out for a while. Even worse for Intel is the fact that, from a performance perspective, Ion is just plain better. Think about how these rival two-chip platforms stack up against one another: Pineview pairs a single Atom core with a GPU core of questionable quality, while Ion pairs two Atom cores with a really great mobile GPU (9400M). I can tell you which one I'd rather have, but then again I'm probably less concerned about battery life than the average netbook user so I lean more towards the performance option.

I'm sure Pineview will have less power draw than Ion, making it preferable for many netbook users, but the real killer for NVIDIA is that Pineview will widen the price gap between Atom and Ion even further. NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun is griping today about how Intel sells its three-chip Atom platform for $25, but charges $45 if you unbundle it and just buy the processor alone. When Pineview comes out, Intel will still probably charge $45 for a standalone Atom, while dropping the price of the two-chip platform even further. This will place NVIDIA at a severe price disadvantage, and will seriously hamper the company's ability to gain traction with Ion in the netbook market, which is mainly cost-sensitive and not performance-sensitive.

Of course, that still leaves the HTPC market for NVIDIA to dominate with Ion, but that market is significantly smaller than the netbook market.

The second problem with Pineview from NVIDIA's perspective is that once the GPU moves onto the (Intel-owned) CPU die, it's totally shielded from real competition. In this respect, an on-die GPU is sort of the ultimate in Intel vendor lock-in. But I do wonder if Intel's TSMC deal doesn't complicate this picture.

Intel's stated goal in porting Atom to TSMC is to let SoC customers combine their third-party IP with Atom to produce custom SoCs. What will Intel do if NVIDIA, a TSMC customer, decides that it wants to have a go at Moorestown by trying to combine an Atom core with its own graphics and I/O hardware?

At the time of the TSMC announcement, Intel stressed that it would retain "full control" over who gets to use Atom, and that customers would deal with Intel on building and buying any outsourced Atom variants—TSMC is just the fab in this arrangement, and has no customer-facing role. So someone (NVIDIA, or a third party who wants an NVIDIA/Atom combo) would have to approach Intel about such a part, and I'm sure Intel would have none of it. But in light of the chipmaker's recent antitrust troubles, can they afford to openly punish rivals like that? I don't know the answer to this question, but I suspect that we may eventually find out.

-----------------------------
BY Jon Stokes
Source：ars technica

© 2009 Condé Nast Digital, All rights reserved.

威盛首次打入戴尔电脑供应链

戴尔新款低功耗服务器决定采用威盛Nano处理器(CPU)，切入400美元以下低价服务器市场。这是威盛处理器首度打入第二大PC商戴尔的供应链，也是威盛继获得惠普、三星等PC商处理器订单后，再度在一线品牌客户取得突破。
##CONTINUE##
分析师表示，戴尔新款低功耗服务器采用威盛的1.3GHz、1.6GHz版本Nano处理器，锁定提供虚拟主机服务的网站代管公司；该产品试验味道较浓，却是威盛第一次进入服务器市场，为近期处理器产品布局一大突破。

值得注意的是，服务器处理器一向是英特尔和AMD的主要市场，戴尔这款低端服务器产品销售量若能打开，对威盛后续布局低端服务器市场将有助益。

威盛此前依靠收购美国国家半导体处理器部门进入该领域，期间由于人才流失、销售低迷，威盛也一直在避免正面与英特尔冲突，相对于英特尔与AMD，威盛近几年在处理器市场占有率仅为1%-2%。

但威盛依靠低功耗及低价优势，去年以来陆续拿下一线品牌企业的订单，惠普去年就采用威盛C7-M处理器推出低价电脑。

威盛去年推出的新款低功耗处理器Nano，由于产品性能及省电明显优于前一代产品；三星首度采用威盛处理器应用在12寸笔记本产品线，主要是英特尔当时严格限制客户仅能将省电的Atom处理器应用在7寸到10寸产品，使三星转而采用威盛产品。

这次威盛打入戴尔供应链，进入低端服务器市场。分析师认为，这款服务器售价约400美元，只是普通服务器售价的零头数字，效能也不强，但因威盛处理器的架构，使服务器得以维持低功耗和低价，只是初期该订单对威盛的营收贡献有限。

-----------------------------
文章出处：新浪科技
作者：李达

Intel's Atom: Too much of a good thing?

Intel Corp's increasingly popular Atom may turn out to be a double-edged sword, assuring the leading chipmaker a big footprint in an exploding netbook market but potentially taking a chunk out of its margins.
##CONTINUE##
Intel has embraced netbooks -- ultra-light notebook computers that cost a few hundred dollars and were popularized by Taiwanese companies like Asustek, which launched the phenomenon 2007 with Intel's Celeron chip.

Now, Intel's Atom processor is set to ride a potential doubling of demand for the mini-laptops in 2009, while that for traditional notebook computers decreases.

Analysts say it's too early to gauge impact, but Intel data shows the margin for the Atom, which has 85 percent of the netbook market, is about 11 percentage points below the margin for dual-core processors.

Executives and industry experts argue netbooks will never become mainstream because of their inability to run much beyond word processing. But analysts say the ample power of Intel's Atom may cannibalize the market for its higher-end processors.

In the face of a prolonged recession, analysts say, consumers may ultimately choose netbooks as their primary PCs.

Many wonder whether beefier chips are necessary: a standard Intel Core 2 Duo processor costs $133 versus $43 for the Atom and $53 for the older Celeron, according to BernsteinResearch.

Long-time Intel partner Microsoft in January partly blamed netbooks for disappointing earnings, but analysts hesitated to draw sweeping conclusions.

"It's really going to be hard to say until we have a couple of quarters of data to look at. Right now all you get is anecdotal stuff," said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood.

"If sales of notebooks were to trail off and netbooks were to continue to zoom, then that would suggest you're losing sales. And that's big."

LITTLE COMPUTERS THAT COULD

Worldwide shipments of netbooks have rocketed while demand for PCs has fallen. Netbooks went to 8 percent of the portable market in 2008 from nearly zero, according to IDC.

Intel's Atom revenue should mirror this. Barclays Capital's Tim Luke sees it rising $260 million to $760 million in 2009.

But the average selling price of its notebook chips will slide. In 2009, it's expected to fall to $80 from $90 in 2008 due to more Atoms sold, Luke wrote.

Intel and Microsoft say netbooks are not capable of performing all of the tasks of a PC. They say Atom-powered netbooks are not an alternative to or replacement for notebook PCs, so their sales should simply add to turnover.

Chief Executive Paul Otellini said in April the netbook, handheld and embedded markets will be "at least as big as the PC market for us in the not too distant future."

"The screens are small and the keyboards are small. They're not going to take over PCs," said Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, famous for Moore's Law, which states the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every 18 to 24 months.

Intel spokesman Bill Calder said it's hard to compare margins for new products like Atom with established ones. Cheaper manufacturing costs and the sheer volume of sales would boost Intel's overall net profit, he said.

But with netbook demand ballooning, it will be hard for Intel to regain the gross margins it had prior to the economic downturn -- in the mid to high 50s percentage range -- said Patrick Wang at Wedbush Morgan Securities. Intel in April posted first-quarter gross margins of 45.6 percent.

And as more applications move online to remote data centers, the device matters less than a speedy Internet connection.

"As the Atom and other low-cost computing platforms continue to advance, we believe they will become more viable as a primary PC," BernsteinResearch analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote.

An Atom-powered netbook can already meet the needs of more than half of consumers, analysts say.

"A Porsche 911 wasn't designed to be driven at 55 miles-per-hour," Brookwood said.

"A lot of today's computers have been designed to do really intensive tasks: image processing, manipulation, lots of things going on concurrently. Then you get someone driving them 55 miles per hour: going to Facebook, maybe watching a video, checking their email, surfing the Web."

"And the processor is getting used at only 5 or 10 percent of its rated capabilities."

An experiment in Australian schools may show precisely how effectively Atom-powered netbooks might replace notebook PCs.

The state of New South Wales plans to buy more than 200,000 Lenovo netbooks for students and plans to have the basic machines run top-end applications like the graphics-intensive Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. These are tasks the netbooks should not be able to handle easily, some analysts say.

"It's absolutely something to watch," JMP Securities' Alex Gauna said, when he learned about the experiment. Intel "wants you to pay up for performance and the netbook allows you to pay down for good enough performance."

-----------------------------
BY Clare Baldwin
Source：Reuters

Editing by Edwin Chan and Steve Orlofsky

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved.

Intel's Atom Chip Finding Its Way Into Servers

Intel's Atom processor is starting to find its way into some types of servers, bringing a new low-power option for end-users but raising a potential business challenge for Intel.
##CONTINUE##
Hewlett-Packard has adopted the Atom for its new MediaSmart LX195 server for entertainment use at home, while a smaller vendor, Super Micro Computer, will use Atom in two storage backup servers announced this week.

Tranquil PC of the U.K. already sells Windows Home Server PCs running on Atom, and Microsoft has been experimenting with Atom chips to build energy-efficient servers for its vast data centers.

Atom chips were designed for use in small, low-cost laptops and desktops -- known as netbooks and nettops -- for basic tasks like word processing and browsing the Web. They are suitable for those devices in part because they draw little power and don't generate much heat.

Those same qualities can make them attractive for some types of servers. While not as powerful or versatile as traditional server chips, Atom chips don't need a fan for cooling, which saves on energy costs, and they are also less expensive to buy, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst with Insight 64.

"If you're building a server that sells for a couple of hundred dollars, you don't want to have an expensive chip," Brookwood said.

The chips aren't well-suited to general-purpose servers, but they can work well for server appliances -- machines that perform a specific task, like Super Micro's storage appliance -- and for home media servers, Brookwood said.

Those systems are sometimes built today with low-end server or desktop chips. HP used the Atom for its MediaSmart server as an alternative to Intel's Celeron and Advanced Micro Devices' Sempron chips, for example.

The development presents a potential challenge for Intel. Its Atom chips sell for lower prices than most of its desktop and low-end server chips, and carry lower profit margins. If system makers started to use Intel chips more widely in servers, it could eat into Intel's profits.

"If the [product] mix were to change it could create problems for Intel," said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research.

But the threat posed by Atom is not serious today, and a larger shift in usage is unlikely to happen soon, he said. For now, Atom chips are more likely to take share away from Intel's Celeron processors, and the Celeron delivers lower margins even than the Atom, McCarron said. Atom chips are far less capable than Xeons, Intel's mainstay server chips, which are not seen as threatened today.

But data centers are looking to cut energy costs any way they can, and the wider use of very low-power chips is one possible answer. Atom chips could potentially be grouped together in racks to perform low-end server functions, said Dan Olds, principal analyst with Gabriel Consulting Group.

That's an idea Microsoft has been toying with. Its research group built an experimental server using 50 Atom-based netbook boards, according to a video it posted on YouTube.

Since the Atom was designed primarily for netbooks, Intel was surprised to see companies experimenting with it in the server arena, said Bill Calder, an Intel spokesman. The chip is intended mainly for portable and embedded devices, but Intel has been talking to its customers about other possible uses, he said.

Intel's aren't the only netbook chips finding their way into servers. Last week, Via introduced its first server product based on its Nano netbook chip, a motherboard for multimedia servers.

"We are seeing a growing level of interest in the Via Nano for low-power server applications," Richard Brown, Via's vice president of international marketing, said via e-mail. Via is talking to server makers and system designers about using Nano in rack servers and media servers, where its older C7 netbook chip is already used today.The Nano has a few features found in traditional server chips that make it attractive for servers, including 64-bit and virtualization support, Brown said.

HP hasn't announced a release date for the MediaSmart LX195, though it is available from online retailers like Newegg. Priced at US$399, it includes an Atom N230 chip, 1GB of RAM and a 640GB hard drive.

Super Micro's SuperServer 5015A-L and SuperServer 5015A-H appliances can serve as print or e-mail servers as well as a backup storage device, or be "cost-effective home or office workstations," wrote Michael Kalodrich, a Super Micro spokesman, in an e-mail. Pricing starts at around $200 and the appliances are available worldwide through partners, Kalodrich said.

They will use either the single-core Atom N230 chip, which draws 4 watts of power, or the dual-core Atom N230, which draws 8 watts of power. The chips run at clock speeds of 1.6GHz.

-----------------------------
BY Agam Shah, IDG News Service
Source：PCWorld

© 1998-2009, PC World Communications, Inc.

AMD nabs 20.9% processor market share

Seems the economy is giving AMD a much-needed helping hand.
##CONTINUE##
AMD have been struggling of late, caught in the middle of the road in performance and nowhere near Intel's Nehalem (not to mention lawsuits), relying on their Phenom II architecture to pull them through.

Good news abounds on the horizon however, as AMD have shown a significant improvement in market share compared to the Big Blue.

Q4 of 2008 had AMD's market share pinned at only 17%, but a jump has been shown in the last three months of Q1 2009 that brought the total up to 20.9%.

While this is being attributed to stock-clearance sales, one top mobo manufacturer is apparently making boards at a 3:7 ratio of AMD to Intel, a great sign that AMD might be back on the upswing thanks to ailing economic situations worldwide.

Head over to Tech Report for a little more, and cross your fingers that we get some competition going again between the two rivals - so we can get even cheaper tech in the long run.

-----------------------------
BY Justin Robinson
Source：atomic

Copyright © 2009 Haymarket Media. All rights reserved.

Intel's Atom not just for Netbooks anymore

Intel's mainstay Netbook chip is finding a home in desktops, underscored by recent announcements from Hewlett-Packard and Acer.
##CONTINUE##
On Wednesday, details emerged of HP's MediaSmart Server LX195, a home server packing a 1.6GHz Atom 230 processor. To date, HP has been using a Sempron processor from Advanced Micro Devices.

Asus was one of the first to bring out a head-swiveling Atom-based desktop--the Eee Box, which has been updated recently with ATI graphics.

Earlier this month, Acer rolled out the Acer AspireRevo, a small, slick box that augments the Atom with an Nvidia Ion chipset to boost graphics performance.

By design, Atom is a more power-frugal and, as a result, a slower processor than Intel's mainstream Core 2 chip architecture. But it's cheap--the Atom 230 is $29, whereas comparative Celeron chips are about $34 but draw much more power. And mainstream Core 2 Duo desktop processors start at about $110.

Intel has long maintained that Atom has a place in so-called Nettops and, last year, brought out the dual-core Atom 330 specifically for this market.

This strategy was validated this week in Taipei, where motherboard maker ASRock was showing a desktop with a dual-core Atom 330 processor and an Nvidia Ion chipset. Asus is also expected to update the Eee Box line with a dual-core Atom processor.

-----------------------------
BY Brooke Crothers
Source：cnet

Brooke Crothers is a former editor at large at CNET News.com, and has been an editor for the Asian weekly version of the Wall Street Journal. He writes for the CNET Blog Network, and is not a current employee of CNET. Contact him at mbcrothers@gmail.com. Disclosure.

©2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Core i7 a waste of money for gamers, says Nvidia

Intel’s Nehalem architecture might have generated a lot of excitement and rave reviews, but it turns out that Nvidia isn’t that impressed with its impact on gaming performance. In fact, yesterday the company described Intel’s claims about Core i7's gaming performance as “disingenuous” in a presentation to introduce Nvidia’s concept of an optimised gaming PC.
##CONTINUE##
In the presentation, Nvidia’s technical marketing director Tom Petersen said “I have a copy of Intel’s latest deck that they share with press and customers, and on there they have a slide that is called The Intel Core i7 920 Processor, where they claim that gaming performance goes up by 80 percent when you use a Core i7. Now, I was impressed by that claim, and I was trying to figure out how they could possibly say such a thing, and it turns out that Intel is basing that claim on only 3DMark Vantage’s CPU test.”

As Petersen points out, this test “is designed to show CPU difference, it doesn’t actually measure gameplay, it doesn’t actually measure anything about game performance. Sure enough, if you do that test you will see Core i7 running faster, but I think it’s a little disingenuous to call that game performance.”

To prove his point, Petersen outlined two types of PC, which he likened to cars - the Hummer and the Beamer. Petersen described the Hummer, saying that it “has got to be big, and it’s got to be expensive and of course it’s infused with Hafnium, which is kind of a dig at Intel. It has a Core i7, which is Intel’s latest, greatest CPU that they claim is the best for gaming.” The Hummer features a Core i7, 4GB of RAM, an X58 motherboard and a single GeForce GTS 250. Meanwhile, the Beamer swaps out the Core i7 CPU for a basic Core 2 Duo E8400, an nForce 750i motherboard and a pair of GeForce GTS 250 cards in SLI.

The cost difference between the two is massive, with a Core i7 965-based Hummer costing $1,501 US based on pricing from US etailer Newegg, and the Beamer costing just $715 US. Petersen also noted that even a Core i7 920 setup with a single GeForce GTS 250 would still cost more than the Beamer SLI rig at around $790 US. The prices were based on the core components only, and didn’t include features such as the case or PSU.

“You’re paying a pretty dear price to follow the Intel story of how to build the fastest PC for gaming”, said Petersen, as he showed a graph of how gaming performance scales with CPU upgrades. Petersen got his test results by adding together the frame rates from Crysis Warhead, Fallout 3, Call of Duty: World at War and Far Cry 2 at 1,920 x 1,200 (no AA or AF) and taking an average. With a Core 2 Duo E8400 and a GeForce GTS 250, the average was 41.6fps.

He then showed how this increased as you upgraded the CPU (the blue line in the graph above), and compared it to how the frame rate increased when you added another graphics card in SLI. The frame rate only increased to 42.4fps after upgrading to a Core i7 965, but jumped all the way up to 59.4fps after upgrading to a GeForce GTX 260 (216 stream processors) SLI setup.

This might seem obvious to those of us who know about how 3D acceleration works, but Petersen claims that the result is still “surprising to most people”. Petersen says that “it is a fact, that when you’re gaming and you’re running at resolutions of 1,920 x 1,200 or better, the Core 2 Duo is perfect for running all of today’s games. In real gaming, there’s no difference between a Core i7 and a Core 2 Duo.”

Petersen accepts that some gamers want the very best of everything, and likens the combination of a Core i7 and SLI graphics to a Ferrari. “If you’ve got money to burn, and you want to get the latest Core i7, and you want to get great graphics cards, then sure you can get the best of everything. There is some small benefit to having a Core i7 965 over a Core 2 Duo when you’re buying the best graphics cards and running at the highest resolutions, so a Core i7 has a place and it does have a benefit in what I’m going to call the Ferrari configuration. But the truth is that when you’re trading off money, there’s nothing like the Beamer configuration.”

“Particularly in today’s economic climate, people are concerned about getting the most value for their money,” says Petersen. As such, Petersen advises PC gamers to ignore Core i7 and instead set up a Core 2 Duo system using an nForce SLI motherboard. “With the leftover $800 I can go out and buy 16 games,” says Petersen, “it’s not even close.”

Is Nvidia just stating the obvious here, or do you think the general PC gamer thinks that they’ll get a big boost in gaming performance from a Core i7 CPU? Would you rather have a Core i7 system with one GPU, or a Core 2 Duo system with an SLI setup? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.

-----------------------------
BY Ben Hardwidge
Source：bit-tech

© bit-tech.net 2000-2009.