t-break: Tech @ Its Fastest » Intel

AMD A8-3870K Black Edition Review

Taimoor Hafeez — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:53:16 +0000

Late last year I reviewed the AMD A8-3850 APU, which the first high-end Llano based offering from AMD, giving desktop users a taste of how successfully integrated graphics can work with a quad-core processor. And while the performance in multi-threaded applications was decent, as were the onboard graphics, the chip still felt somewhat lacking compared to the direct competition, which is the Intel Core i3-2100.

So today I’ll be looking at the new flagship APU from AMD, the Llano A8-3870K. Apart from having a 100MHz increase over the A8-3850, the ace up the A8-3870K is the fact that it has unlocked core multiplier. Of course, given that the Llano APUs aren’t being targeted towards the hardcore gamer, you won’t find high-end motherboards geared towards overclocking. As such, currently overclocking the A8-3870K is only possible on those motherboards who have an updated BIOS which supports switching the multiplier.

Outside of the unlocked multiplier, the A8-3870K has the same HD 6550D GPU with 400 Radeon cores running at 600MHz speed as the A8-3850. Now one of the coolest things about the Llano APUs is that they are targeted mostly towards HTPC users and the extremely budget conscious gamer who doesn’t want to play Battlefield 3 at Ultra high settings. As such, if the built-in HD 6550D GPU isn’t enough, you can pair it with an AMD Radeon HD 6670 graphics card for asymmetrical CrossFire where both the Llano APU’s integrated HD 6550D and the discrete HD 6670 work in tandem.

Motorola Mobility to use Intel processors

Serge — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:45:23 +0000

Press Release:

Intel Corporation and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) announced that the two companies were entering into a multi-year, multi-device strategic relationship that includes smartphones which Motorola will begin shipping later this year using Intel® Atom™ processors and the Android™ platform.

The collaboration, which also covers tablets, will combine Intel’s leadership in silicon processor technology and computing innovation with Motorola’s mobile device design expertise to deliver products that have the high performance, long battery life and convenience necessary for increasingly mobile lifestyles.

“When great silicon and software technology meets great mobile and design innovation, amazing things can happen,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “Our long-term relationship with Motorola Mobility will help accelerate Intel® architecture into new mobile market segments. We expect the combination of our companies to break new ground and bring the very best of computing capabilities to smartphones and tablets, which in turn will help to create powerful new experiences that connect and enrich people’s lives wherever they may be.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Intel to deliver smartphones and tablets based on Intel’s Atom processor to consumers and businesses,” said Sanjay Jha, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Mobility. “Though there are 5 billion mobile subscribers in the world, less than 800 million are using a smartphone today. With Android as the leading smartphone OS globally and advancements in computing technology we see tremendous opportunity for the converged devices market.”

Smartphones and tablets are quickly becoming an indispensible part of people’s daily lives — making them constant companions. The strategic relationship between Intel and Motorola Mobility will expand opportunity for continued innovation in these areas as they work closely to leverage Intel’s low power system-on-chip (SoC) roadmap for Motorola Mobility’s converged mobile device portfolio. The companies will collaborate across hardware, software and services to deliver complete solutions and disruptive new user experiences that offer long battery life, increased computing performance, advanced imaging and video capabilities, and seamless wireless connections.

Motorola to make Intel Atom powered smartphones

Taimoor Hafeez — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:22:00 +0000

During this year’s CES, Intel has announced a new multi-year, multi-device partnership with Motorola Mobility whereby the Motorola’s next generation of smartphones will be powered by Intel’s Atom processors.

Currently Motorola uses both Texas Instruments and Qualcomm for its existing smartphones. This new partnership will mean that Intel will also enter the processor supplying fleet for Motorola Mobility, which might soon end up getting acquired by Google once the deal is approved by US federal regulators.

For now, we’re expecting to see the new Motorola handsets to come out in the 2nd half of this year. These handsets will be powered by the Intel Atom Z2460 processor with hyper-threading blitzing at 1.6 GHz, and will most likely be running Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Intel rumored to release Ivy Bridge CPUs in April 2012

Taimoor Hafeez — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:16:35 +0000

DigiTimes is reporting that according to Taiwanese PC makers, Intel will be releasing their upcoming Ivy Bridge processors on around 8th April 2012. There will be a total of 25 different models of both desktop and laptop processors released, ranging from core-i7s to core-i5s.

Source: Wikipedia

Ivy Bridge improves on Sandy Bridge by way of process, bringing it down to 22nm from the existing 32nm die size, as well as several new improvements, such as PCIe 3.0 support, higher CPU multiplier, 4K resolution video playback and more. Obviously the desktop processors aren’t the only ones benefiting from this improvement, with mobile Ivy Bridge processors also releasing alongside their desktop variants.

“Notebook CPUs Core i7-3920Qm, 3820QM and 3720QM will be released in April priced at US$1,096, US$568 and US$378, respectively. Other models including Core i5-3520M, 3360M, 3320M and ultrabook CPUs Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U will be unveiled later.”

As usual, new processors also mean new chipsets, and Intel will be releasing most of them in April, with a few in May.

“Desktop chips to be released in April will include Z77, H77, Z75 and B75, with Q77 and Q75 coming on May 13, the sources indicated. Meanwhile, Intel will also release notebook chips HM77, UM77, HM76 and HM75 in April before launching QS77 and QM77 in May.”

Intel’s Atom powered smartphones and tablets shown off

Taimoor Hafeez — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:04:34 +0000

Intel has been behind the curve when it comes to mobile processors in smartphones and tablets. While their success in the desktop and mobile processors for laptops is undeniable, other manufacturers like ARM, Texas Instruments and Nvidia have taken up huge chunks of this incredibly growing market.

Recently Intel provided reference design smartphones and tablets to various manufacturer with their ‘Medfield’ processor powering Android Gingerbread. ”We expect products based on these to be announced in the first half of 2012,” said Stephen Smith, vice president of Intel’s architecture group to Technology Review who were lucky enough to check out the prototype in person.

“The phone was powerful and pleasing to use, on a par with the latest iPhone and Android handsets. It could play Blu-Ray-quality video and stream it to a TV if desired; Web browsing was smooth and fast. Smith says Intel has built circuits into the Medfield chip specifically to speed up Android apps and Web browsing.” Apparently the Medfield was optimized to improve the browsing experience on Android smartphones, as well as running apps faster.

As far as the Medfield powered tablet is concerned, it was seen running Android Ice Cream Sandwich. While the screen size was slightly larger than the iPad 2, it was just as thin and light. “They can use as much or as little of the reference design as they like,” says Smith.

“This is our first offering that’s truly a single chip,” says Smith. The 32nm process is smaller than the currently popular 40nm process used by ARM processors, which means the Medfield runs much cooler and with lesser energy draw than its current competitors.

We will probably start production prototypes from various manufacturers as early as next month during CES, with large scale retail units out in the next 6 to 7 months. Could, the Medfield powered Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet be the one hinted by Eric Schmidt as Google’s tablet of choice coming out in the next 6 months?

Intel DX79SI Motherboard Review

Taimoor Hafeez — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:23:00 +0000

You’d be surprised to know that not a whole lot of people know Intel makes motherboards. The brand name is synonymous for processors of all kinds, and in recent years, some very high quality SSDs. But ask someone about an Intel motherboard and they’ll look at you confused.

Well, they do, and today I’ll be looking at their latest high-end DX79SI motherboard designed for the enthusiast community. Price at around $280, the DX79SI is not out to compete with the likes of ASUS RoG series or Gigabyte’s G1 series of motherboards. Instead, it’s content with providing you with a strong platform on which to work, but probably not exceed expectations.

The packaging itself is appropriate, with the Extreme Series skull on the top, underneath which is a see-through packaging to admire the motherboard itself. Inside you’ll find the usual manuals and CD, along with 4x SATA cables, one 2-way and one 3-way SLI bridge and a Bluetooth/WiFi module (not included in our test board). Oh, and a slim Extreme Series mouse pad.

Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler Review

Taimoor Hafeez — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:42:41 +0000

The original Noctua NH-D14 was an instant hit at our office, and with the advent of Intel’s Socket LGA 2011 CPUs, it was time to see what Noctua had in store.

For this version, Noctua went with the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, and for all intents and purposes, the Noctua NH-D14 is just the regular NH-D14 with a new mounting for the new Sandy Bridge-E CPUs. And while the general 6-heatpipes in dual-radiators ‘tower design’ remains the same, the fans themselves have had a slight change.

What we have in the NH-D14 SE2011 are the new NF-P14 (140mm) and NF-P12 (120mm) FLX fans with PWM controls, making them incredibly easy to control the speeds automatically or manuall (in BIOS as well as any 3rd party programs). That’s exactly the kind of upgrade you’d expect in their latest flagship product.

First thing’s first, the Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 is a pretty big CPU cooler, as in 160mm tall and 158mm wide, so make sure your motherboard supports the girth. Once you ensure that the area around the NH-D14 SE2011 is adequate, you need to ensure that the ram modules you’re planning to put aren’t more than 44mm. Height specifications are something you can easily check on a manufacturer’s page before buying the ram you’re interested in. Our G.Skill RipJaws Z 4x4GB DDR3-1600MHz kit fit nicely on the testbed.

Hard Drive shortages will cost Intel $1bn

Taimoor Hafeez — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:02:14 +0000

The Hard Drive shortages caused by the flooding in Thailand has hit the entire PC industry, and very few manufacturers have escaped unscathed. And a big company like Intel is no exception to the norm.

In a press release issued earlier today, Intel has stated that they have revised their fourth quarter revenue results in light of how hard the PC industry is hit by the hard drive shortages. As such, their new revenue for Q4 is expected to be $13.7 billion (plus or minus $300 million), down from the original estimates of $14.7 billion (plus or minus $500 million).

Even so, they expect the hard drive shortages to continue well into the first quarter of 2012, with the supply chain easing around the first half of 2012 and things returning to normal by then.

“The company expects hard disk drive supply shortages to continue into the first quarter, followed by a rebuilding of microprocessor inventories as supplies of hard disk drives recover during the first half of 2012.”

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook Review

Abbas Jaffar Ali — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:32:29 +0000

The Ultrabook is the latest initiative from Intel and power players in the PC industry to bring a MacBook Air like of machine to the PC World- something that is extremely thin and light, yet quick enough to be used as a daily machine. One of the launch partners for the Ultrabook is Acer. In fact, in the UAE, Acer was the first company to get the Ultrabook out the door and they managed to sell every single unit they had during GITEX earlier this year.

Acer was kind enough to send an Aspire S3 to me and that is precisely what I am writing this review on. My primary machine is an 11” MacBook Air that I have been using for a good six months so I should hopefully be able to offer a fair comparison. Lets find out how Acer has done with their Ultrabook that came packaged in a slim green and white box with a small sized charger, a quickstart guide and warranty information.

Looks-wise, the Acer S3 is definitely striking. Measuring 13mm to 18mm and weighing just 1.35kgs, the Aspire S3 will definitely make heads turn. The brushed Aluminum lid certainly gives it a premium feel and finish. The rest of the laptop is made up of magnesium alloy which is a big step-up from the plastic chassis that we see many laptops equipped with. However, it is not a Unibody design that is constructed from a single slab of metal like the MacBook Air which tends to give the machine better protection as well as a better finish.

Intel calls Windows 8 ‘one of the best things ever’

Faisal Hashmi — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:20:21 +0000

Everyone knows that Windows 8 is an extremely important and risky affair for Microsoft itself, but looks like there’s someone else for whom the upcoming operating system may be even more important – Intel.

News.com reports that during a conference, Intel’s CEO Paul Otellin gushed about the operating system and its significance to Intel:

“I think it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to our company.”

Calling it a ‘very good operating system’, he continues:

“What Microsoft is doing is making that seamless for them. And they have a new experience, which they call Metro, that’s the interface up there. But for Intel-based machines, there is also one button that basically takes you back to your classic Windows experience and that’s a software button essentially.”

The partnership between Microsoft and Intel has definitely worked wonders so far and since they are an equal part of the risky new operating system, it makes sense why it would be important for them that the operating system doesn’t flop out with audiences. But so far, it looks promising and looks like Microsoft is adamant not to make it Windows Vista 2.

Thoughts?