July 18 - 3:00pm EDT   Shuttle has switched its attention back to AMD with the launch of one of its first small form factor barebones systems designed with AMD's Phenom processor in mind. The SN78H7 can handle at least some versions of the tri-core and quad-core AMD chips and comes with a 300W power supply to handle both the processor as well as peripherals attached to the system. The mainboard also comes with GeForce 8200 video built-in that can take on most of the workload for processing Blu-ray movies in home theater systems as well as providing enough 3D power for Vista Home Premium. [full story]

July 1 - 8:25am EDT   AMD this morning quietly released new speed grades of its Phenom X4 quad-core processors that include the company's fastest-ever as well as as two low-power versions. The Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition runs at 2.6GHz and is targeted at hobbyist gamers with a relative freedom to overclock the chip past spec with enough cooling. The processor is otherwise the same as earlier enthusiast chips with 140-watt power use and 512KB of Level 2 cache per core. The new Black Edition ships for $235 per chip in batches of 1,000 and should be available today. [full story]

June 30 - 1:50pm EDT   Gateway today revamped both its notebooks and its desktops with a technology upgrade to keep them current ahead of the back-to-school season. The 15.4-inch budget M series, retail-only 14-inch T series, and the 17-inch P series all get newer generation Core 2 Duo processors, more storage, and in some cases more memory. The example M-6848 and T-6836 updates (both $800) both have 2GHz Core 2 Duos as well as 250GB hard drives, 4GB of memory and a 64-bit edition of Windows Vista Home Premium to support the extra RAM. [full story]

June 13 - 10:15am EDT   Intel is prepping a surprise launch of a new budget line of quad-core processors in a matter of weeks, say component makers in Taiwan. A variant of the Core 2 Quad to be called the Q8000 series will slot below full-featured Q9000 chips and offer both a lower clock speed as well as drop a pair of features to upsell certain customers to better parts. VT technology that helps accelerate virtual machines will be absent, as will TXT (Trusted Execution Technology) used to help lock down PCs at some businesses. The goal is to undermine AMD's three-core Phenom X3 processors. [full story]

May 19 - 9:15am EDT   AMD this morning hoped to wipe out some of the confusion surrounding games with the advent of its AMD GAME! platform. A more precise parallel to the company's LIVE! platform for media center PCs, the new concept would certify systems as capable of a minimum gaming experience based on their choice of AMD parts. The platform will always be "balanced" and guarantee that users get both a strong processor and a good dedicated video chipset. Buyers can pick up a game meeting a given GAME! standard knowing the system won't lag or drop frames based on a sub-par component, AMD says. [full story]

May 6 - 9:20am EDT   Gateway this morning revamped the core of its desktop line to take advantage of newer processors. The FX7026 and the higher-end FX541 series replace earlier models in Gateway's gaming line and all focus on quad-core as well as fast 3D. The base FX7026 starts off with a 2.5GHz Core 2 Quad, 4GB of RAM, and a factory-overclocked GeForce 8800 GT for video. It also includes Western Digital's new 640GB Caviar drive at its $1,100 price point. The FX541 series adds an SLI-capable mainboard with two GPU slots; a stock $1,200 model is similar to its lower-end sibling, while the FX541XT at the very high end includes an overclocked but unnamed CPU as well as dual GeForce 8800 ... [full story]

April 30 - 2:00am EDT   Hoping to garner a greater mobile marketshare, AMD says that around 100 laptop designs will be based around the Puma laptop chip platform, which is scheduled to launch in June. A company spokesman told PC World that the launch will feature twice as many designs as the launch of its last mobile platform. With plans to launch Puma during the Computex trade show, the platform will offer greater power efficiency, improved graphics, and AMD's upcoming Turion X2 Ultra "Griffin" processor. The report notes that Puma also includes a chipset with integrated graphics (an ATI Radeon HD3400) and integrated wireless connectivity (via a third-party chipset) supporting 802.11a, 802.11b, ... [full story]

April 28 - 1:00pm EDT   AMD on Monday announced it will be adding Business Class platforms to its line-up of multi-core CPUs. The maker's dual-core Athlon and triple or quad-core Phenom CPUs, coupled with AMD 780V chipset and optional ATI Radeon integrated graphics support are featured in the Business Class. The benefits of the new platforms will include up to 24-month image stability when installed in first-issue desktops, and a minimum 12 months in subsequent models. Furthermore, all are energy efficient thanks to Energy Star 4.0 rating. [full story]

April 28 - 10:55am EDT   HP on Monday added two new desktop PCs for business users to its range, with the Compaq dc5850 and Compaq dx2450. The two are some of the first HP PCs to use AMD's triple- and quad-core Phenom X3 processors. The latter is the value-oriented offering, and can be configured with a choice of AMD processors, ranging from the 2.1GHz Sempron, through the 2.8GHz Athlon and to the 2.5GHz Phenom. Four memory slots allow for expansion up to 4GB while NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards are offered as options. Operating systems are Windows offerings that include a range of Vista and XP Professional interfaces, as well as FreeDOS. [full story]

April 23 - 1:25pm EDT   Not long after HP and Gateway introduced older versions of the processor to a handful of desktop systems, AMD today unveiled an upgraded Phenom X3 CPU. The chip is a cheaper alternative to AMD's X4 technology, and is unusual in the industry for having a triple-core design, where most processor lines immediately skip from two cores to four. The new editions fix a TLB bug, which is said to be rare in earlier X3s but could potentially affect computers under high strain. [full story]

April 17 - 12:45pm EDT   AMD's Phenom X3 processors, which use an unusual triple-core design as opposed to standard dual- or quad-core arrangements, are now available in a select number of HP and Gateway systems. Gateway's GT5670 desktop uses a 2.1GHz X3 8400, along with 3GB of RAM, a 320GB SATA II hard drive, and 3GB of RAM; graphics are limited however to an integrated GeForce 6150 SE chipset, as opposed to a dedicated card like the 8800. Best Buy is charging $550. The X3 8400 uses 2MB of L3 cache memory. [full story]

April 15 - 6:50pm EDT   Alienware recently updated its Aurora gaming desktop to include an upgrade option for the AMD Phenom 9850 Black Edition processors, which feature the latter company's HyperTransport technology. The Phenom 9850 is a quad-core processor that provides users increased system bandwidth and true multitasking, while also supporting up to four ATI CrossFireX video cards. In addition, users can run either 32-bit or 64-bit applications without additional hardware, and the processor's Cool'n'Quiet technology reduces power consumption, heat output and noise. [full story]

April 11 - 3:50pm EDT   After announcing lower revenues for the start of 2008 and a 10 percent reduction of its workforce earlier this week, chip maker AMD on Friday said its senior vice president and chief technology officer, Phil Hester, has resigned. AMD said Hester's post will not be filled, and the company stresses the resignation is not related to its job cuts. The resignation comes at a difficult time for the chip maker, as it faces strong competition from Intel and is suffering delays in the release of its primarily newer versions of its Phenom and Opteron quad-core processors. [full story]

March 27 - 8:20am EDT   AMD on Thursday gave a boost to its Phenom processors by debuting a unique balance between budget and high-performance chips. The Phenom X3 8000 series is the first x86-based chip line to use three cores: by using quad-core Phenom X4 chips with one core disabled, the company drops the price while still providing better performance than a native dual-core design. The X3 can improve performance with single apps but scales much more rapidly for multiple apps, especially media-intensive ones, AMD says. [full story]

March 4 - 10:45am EST   AMD today stepped closer towards equality with Intel today by revealing the first working examples of its own 45 nanometer processors. Co-developed with IBM, the chips combine AMD's own existing quad-core technology with the smaller, more efficient chip design to improve the amount of performance without increasing power and heat as a result. The company is still hesitant to reveal full details but explains that there will be both desktop-oriented processors, codenamed "Deneb," as well as server-grade "Shanghai" chips available; these are expected to translate to both single- and dual-socket upgrades to the Phenom desktop line as well as more efficient Opteron processors ... [full story]