SGI has introduced the Altix UV, a new series of supercomputers geared for large databases or analysis operations. The computers are based on Intel's Nehalem platform, with support for configurations utilizing quad-, six, or eight-core Xeon CPUs. Devices can be scaled to integrate up to 2,048 cores, with architectural provisioning for up to 262,144 cores.
Intel today promised a version of its Xeon processor specifically tailored to high performance computing (HPC). The design will share the same architecture as the eight-core Nehalem-EX but drop to six cores in return for greater overall performance. Clock speeds should be higher and will still take advantage of the extra bandwidth of the new platform, making it a better pick for clusters and multi-processor servers.
AMD in its annual analyst event provided details of some of its future processors and platforms. The highlight for the semiconductor firm is "Bulldozer," a major revision for both desktops and notebooks that should be much more efficient at multithreaded codethan existing designs. It will be particularly optimized for pairing with graphics chipsets and will be supplemented by "Bobcat," a variant of Bulldozer tailored to ultraportables.
Notebooks rode a massive wave of demand in summer, according to new IDC data. Shipments of mobile processors attached to the systems jumped 35.7 percent compared to the spring and grew more than three times faster than for desktop processors, which advanced 11.4 percent at the same time. Server processors like Intel's Xeon and AMD's Opteron saw their sales grow by 12.2 percent over the period.
Tilera on Monday unveiled a new processor it hopes will unseat Intel from its overall lead in performance. The TILE-Gx100 counts on a massively parallel, 100-core architecture to handle many tasks at once and reportedly overcomes some of the problems of scaling inherent to many-core designs. Instead of using a data bus, the grid is treated as a mesh network with switches on each core to route data smoothly. The approach lets Tilera reach the core count without it stalling or without the added space dictated by the bus architecture.
Apple may have a temporary exclusive on Intel's fastest workstation Xeons early next year, a purported leak argues tonight. An unnamed source says Apple is readying a Mac Pro based on the Xeon version of Intel's Gulftown six-core architecture and that the Mac builder would have a short exclusive for the processors, launching its own workstations in the winter while everyone else would have to wait until the spring. What configurations would ship aren't known by the MacBidouille tipster.
A prematurely released copy of Intel's plans for a Wednesday keynote has surfaced a day in advance and has provided details of the company's plans for the near future. The release obtained by ZDNet has Intel executive VP Sean Maloney revealing that the company has started shipping its many-cored Larrabee graphics chip to developers ahead of a full release and demonstrating what it can do in real-time. The demo should show a custom build of the online shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars running with raytraced lighting, a feat which is technically difficult for any graphics hardware as it calculates the path of each ray of light rather than making "shortcut" calculations.
AMD started the week today with a new whole platform for Opterons targeted at servers and the very high end of the computer market. Previously nicknamed Fiorano, the six-core Opteron with AMD chipset takes the company's existing server and workstation chips but adds a new chipset, the S5650, designed to scale for very heavy workloads. The technology now supports virtualization in hardware down to the very basic I/O interfaces and also brings the much faster PCI Express 2.0 interface and AMD's latest HyperTransport point-to-point interface between the processor and the rest of the system.
Intel on Monday headed up its Developer Forum with word that it has started manufacturing its first processors based on a 32 nanometer (nm) process. The shrink from 45nm, nicknamed Westmere, should improve performance by increasing the density of the processors by about 30 percent while reducing the amount of power used; the gesture lets Intel boost clock speeds without drawing extra battery life or generating more heat.
Intel today brought its most recent chip architecture into the mainstream with the official start to Lynnfield, its lower-cost but also more advanced desktop platform. The design is headlined by updated Core i7 and new Core i5 processors that build not only the memory controller but also a 16X PCI Express interface directly into the processor die, leaving just a single chip on the mainboard to control the remaining PCI Express slots and other mainboard duties. The gesture cuts lag in talking directly to graphics hardware and reduces the footprint of the system.
Intel on Tuesday afternoon upped the performance of its Xeon line by adding a new flagship model as well as three new models for simpler workstations and servers. The 3.33GHz Xeon W5590 boosts the speed of the quad-core, dual-socket Xeon beyond its previous 3.2GHz ceiling. It has the same 6.4 gigatransfer per second (GTps), point-to-point interface bus as Intel's best processors as well as 8MB of Level 2 cache. At a peak thermal power of 130W, it's intended for full-size systems.
Intel's six-core Xeon processor, known as Westmere, has been seen in a leak of an engineering sample today [caution: may not be safe for work). Still identified as a mainstream Core i7 chip by software, the Xeon W5590 example runs at a relatively low 2.4GHz clock speed but has 12MB of Level 3 cache shared between all cores and 256KB of Level 2 cache for each core. With Hyperthreading, which runs up to two program threads on a single core, the system shows as many as 12 effective cores.
Taiwan-based A-DATA announced on Tuesday it will soon release single 4GB DDR3 DRAM modules as part of its performance memory offerings. The high-capacity sticks will be available in the U-DIMM configuration for desktop applications, SO-DIMM for notebooks and unbuffered ECC-DIMM/ECC Registered DIMM for workstations and servers. Other than the higher capacity, A-DATA touts less energy use than when using two sticks to achieve the same total capacity.
Intel's first mobile Nehalem processors, known under their Clarksfield codename, have had their launch date pushed to near the start of fall if a rumor proves true. Originally scheduled for the summer, the quad-core chips are now penned in for late September or early October. No reason has been given for the delay by the sources for DigiTimes, although the processors are known to consume large amounts of power.
Apple and NVIDIA may be engaged in a fierce dispute that could exclude NVIDIA graphics chips from future Macs, according to sources reportedly aware of the talks. They claim to SemiAccurate that Apple views NVIDIA's proposals for renewed deals as "arrogance" and that much of the argument centers on the overheating material that triggered widespread failures in all GeForce 8400M and 8600M mobile graphics chips. The Mac firm has had to extend MacBook Pro warranties for up to three years and may be skeptical of NVIDIA's insistence that newer models aren't at risk of the same problem.
HP today stepped up the power of its xw9400 workstations with the addition of AMD's six-core Opteron 2400 series to the mix. Also nicknamed Istanbul, the chips give a system as many as 12 cores. HP maintains AMD's view that the chips offer about 34 percent more performance per watt when compared to earlier quad-cores, which often use the same amount of energy.
Intel today provided early official details about Nehalem-EX, the architecture that will form the foundation of the chip maker's highest-end Xeon processors. The design will stand as Intel's first eight-core processor and, thanks to Hyperthreading, will run as many as 16 program threads at once. It will also have the most bandwidth of any design with four QuickPath interfaces, which create a point-to-point link between the CPU, memory and peripherals. Each core will have as much as nine times the bandwidth of present-day Xeon 7400 processors.
The next generation of Xeon server processors will be introduced on May 26th, according to an early Intel announcement. The Nehalem-EX series is based on the same platform as Intel's Core i7 chips, but is explicitly intended for high-end server use. Each processor incorporates eight cores, and can be used in multi-socket configurations. New power gates are said to reduce energy consumption, and 16 threads can be calculated simultaneously.
Apple today has accidentally confirmed plans of its own to launch Xserve rackmount servers based on Xeon processors using Intel's Nehalem architecture. A Hong Kong product page (still active as of this writing) has a broken image link that asks users to "pre-order the new Xserve using Intel Xeon (Nehalem)" but doesn't take visitors to a relevant page. No specifications or other details have surfaced with the link itself.
HP on Monday announced the upcoming release of three new Z-series workstation PCs. The flagship Z800, mid-range Z600 and entry-level Z400 are powered by Intel's Nehalem-era Xeon processors and require no tools to access and service all of their components, including their power supplies and motherboards. The modular interior design is cable-less, while the exteriors are designed by BMW Group Designworks USA and thought to add extra appeal to normally plain pro systems. The flagship Z800 Workstation is meant for highly-advanced applications such as 3D animation, broadcast video or medical imaging.
Intel this afternoon finally made its Nehalem-based Xeon processors available to a wider audience. First introduced in the Mac Pro, the single-socket Xeon 3500 (not used by Apple) and the dual-socket Xeon 5500 share the same roots as Core i7 and drop the old northbridge system controller and system bus in favor of a point-to-point architecture known as the QuickPath Interface that talks directly to memory and peripherals. The memory controller is now built-in and can talk to three memory channels, improving bandwidth even as it drops lag.
NVIDIA late Thursday filed a countersuit (PDF) against Intel, accusing the semiconductor firm of a breach of contract. The response follows Intel's earlier formal complaint and accuses Intel of violating a 2004 license for NVIDIA by denying it the rights to build mainboard chipsets for Intel processors that use integrated memory controllers, which includes any Core i7 chip as well as newer Xeon chips like the 3500 and 5500 series. NVIDIA is currently only being allowed to engineer for processors no more advanced than Core 2.
Dell is about to introduce three new Precision T-series PCs based on Intel's Nehalem platform. While the threesome has not been made fully official, Engadget has obtained early details and photos. The T3500 will have support for up to 24GB of RAM and should come priced starting at $999.
Apple on Tuesday morning updated the Mac Pro Mac Pro based on Intel's Nehalem architecture. The first-ever Mac to use the technology now supports triple-channel, DDR3 ECC memory and builds a memory controller directly into an updated, faster line of Xeon processors. Doing so gives about 2.4 times more memory bandwidth and reduces memory lag by about 40 percent, according to Apple. The new systems also have an updated interior that provides much easier access to RAM slots as well as space for a RAID card that doesn't require cables to link with hard drives in the four bays above.
New Macs based on Intel's Nehalem platform -- consisting of Core i7 and updated Xeon processors -- should indeed become available within the next few months, says UBS analyst Maynard Um. The research firm cites checks, which not only say that Mac OS X 10.5.7 will pave the way for Nehalem, but that the update could be released to the public as soon as this month. Rumors of a March 24th computer launch are said to aid this view, although Um observes that UBS cannot yet confirm any event.
Intel has begun the week with three new low-power Xeon processors as well as a price drop on its most important Atom processor. The Xeon L3110 clocks in at 3GHz across its dual cores and 6MB of Level 2 cache but consumes a more modest 45W of power, suiting it to very compact workstations and rackmount servers. A higher-end Xeon L3360 uses a higher but still moderate 65W in return for a move to quad-core, a 2.83GHz clock speed and 12MB of cache. Topping the updates is the 3.16GHz, quad-core X3380 with the same amount of cache and 95W of energy use.
Intel at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference today provided some of the first concrete details of Westmere, the codename for its 32 nanometer processor family. The design is primarily a smaller, more efficient adaptation of the Nehalem architecture in the Core i7 but, in the dual-core desktop (Clarkdale) and notebook (Arrandale) offerings, will include both a two-channel DDR3 memory interface and an integrated but switchable graphics core. Like NVIDIA's Hybrid SLI mode or AMD's Hybrid CrossFire, the technology will let systems with dedicated graphics chipsets revert to Intel's own core in low-demand situations or when on battery.
Intel will release its Nehalem-based Xeons at the very end of the quarter, a late leak reveals. The semiconductor firm is believed to be readying the new Xeons for an unusual late March release that would see the first wave of processors announced on the 29th and available a day later. Pricing has also been corroborated for some chips and tops out at $1,557 for a 3.2GHz quad-core Xeon W5580, with a 2.93GHz parallel costing $1,349.
Intel will give its first public look at an 8-core Xeon processor in less than two weeks at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, the show's schedule (PDF) reveals. The unnamed chip will double the core count of existing Xeons and is based on the same 45 nanometer manufacturing process and Nehalem architecture that underpins the Core i7. The shift adds Hyperthreading and will let even a single-socket Xeon processor theoretically address as many as 16 simultaneous program threads at once by putting two threads on each core.
Intel has quietly made sweeping changes to its desktop processor line that lead off with its first high-efficiency quad-core chips. The 2.83GHz Core 2 Quad Q9550s, 2.66GHz Q9400s and 2.33GHz Q8200s all use just 65W of power versus the 95W of their predecessors at the same speed. Dropping the energy output is not only eco-friendly but also more space-efficient, letting system designers fit full-speed desktop chips into smaller enclosures.
Early tests conducted with Intel's upcoming Nehalem-based Xeons by TechRadar today show the processor running approximately twice as fast as its current equivalent. Based on the same basic design as Core i7 mainstream chips, a pair of 2.8GHz quad-core Xeon X5560 chips received a SPEC score of 160 in floating-point math tests versus 90 for two 3.4GHz Xeons from the current generation.
Intel is starting the week by officially shipping its first Core i7 processors. The technology is just the seventh major x86 architecture from the company and is designed more explicitly for multi-core processors than the earlier Core 2 architecture. It marks the return of Hyperthreading from the Pentium 4 and allows each core to theoretically run two program threads at once; the overall processor also has the option of a Turbo Mode that can disable as many as three cores and overclock the remaining cores for apps that depend only on one or two threads.
Intel's Core i7 architecture will translate to workstation- and server-class Xeon processors early next year, leaks from server builders and separate sources indicates. Though not in time for the holidays, the faster Xeon 5500 line will be dominated by quad-core chips and should be headlined by a 3.2GHz, 130-watt Xeon W5580. Its Level 2 cache will drop from 12MB to 8MB but should be offset by Core i7's QuickPath architecture, which reduces the lag in accessing memory and peripherals. It should cost about $1,600 in batches of 1,000 for computer suppliers.
NVIDIA on Thursday announced the release of two new entry-level graphics processing solutions for workstations with its first Quadro FX 470 integrated mainboard GPU and the Quadro FX 370 Low Profile standalone PCIe card meant for use in small form factor desktop PCs. Either GPU is certified for CAD and digital media apps by software makers that include Autodesk and Adobe. Both new NVIDIA products feature 128-bit precision graphics processing and 32-bit floating point precision, filtering and blending, along with advanced color compression and early z-culling. They have full-scene antialiasing capabilities as well and support OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 10 for 3D work.
Intel's first Core i7 processors are now due to ship in less than two weeks, the company has revealed in an invitation sent to the press. The next-generation processor architecture should be unveiled on November 17th and is being billed as the fastest CPU "on the planet" based on SPEC's integer math tests; no mention is made of floating-point math or other benchmarks.
First tests of Intel's new Core i7 processors released today are showing what's billed as "historic" speed increases over earlier Intel architecture. Benchmarks of the range-topping, 3.2GHz Core i7 Extreme along with the X58 mainboard neeed to support the chip show it surpassing even workstation-class Xeon processors, which are often Intel's fastest. In Geekbench for Windows, the quad-core i7 part reached a 7998 score, or about 7.7 percent higher than a dual-socket Xeon server.
Intel plans to launch its Core i7 architecture on the mainstream desktop this fall with three processors, a leaked roadmap shows when combined with earlier leaks. The 3.2GHz Core i7 Extreme 965 will ship in the fall as the chipmaker's gaming-oriented quad-core processor and should be accompanied by regular 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz versions (Core i7 920 and 940) at the same time.
Intel this afternoon fulfilled a promise and launched the Xeon 7400. The processor once nicknamed "Dunnington" is the first x86 architecture design to hold six cores and is targeted at very high-end computing where sheer parallelism is more important than clock rate; it's particularly useful for virtual machines and databases, Intel suggests. The chipmaker estimates a speed boost of as much as 50 percent and helps this in part by a similar increase in Level 2 cache to 16MB as well as dedicated virtualization features on the cores themselves.
Intel today set a pair of new speed records for its Xeon 5000 processors ahead of the introduction of their eventual Core i7 successors. The update pushes the quad-core Xeon 5400 series from its previous 3.2GHz limit up to 3.4GHz with the new Xeon X5492; the new flagship also climbs up to the maximum 1.6GHz front side system bus speed. Intel characterizes the processor as intended for performance-driven, full size workstations and servers with a peak 150W of power.
Intel's first processor with more than four cores will launch within less than two weeks, a leak from within the industry claims. The architecture previously codenamed Dunnington technology should start shipping on September 15th as the Xeon 7400 series and will carry its planned six cores, helping out with particuarly demanding computing tasks, especially virtualization of multiple operating systems.
Intel's Nehalem processor architecture will still hold to the Core naming scheme when it appears late this year, if an apparent leak of company logos proves authentic. Although the platform will make fundamental changes, Nehalem will reportedly be known as Core i7 for at least all its desktop variants, which will include dual- and quad-core mainstream processors as well as a 3.2GHz Extreme processor for high-end gaming desktops.
Elpida on Tuesday claims to have broken a record by becoming the first memory manufacturer to develop 16-gigabyte fully buffered DIMM (FB-DIMM) RAM sticks, significantly expanding the memory ceiling for pro workstations and servers. The DDR2-based creation is twice as capacious as still-rare 8GB sticks and relies on a unique integrated packaging to fit the memory without creating excess. Although 16GB, the RAM is unusually thin at 0.3in deep and has the same power needs as a simpler 8GB stick.
Intel will ship three processors based on its next-generation Nehalem architecture before the end of the year, say those in the mainboard industry. While Intel has only demonstrated a test version of a 3.2GHz, quad-core processor in the past, the company is now understood to be launching a production version sometime in the last quarter of the year that will appear alongside lower-priced 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz versions. All three will have 8MB of Level 2 cache and support Hyperthreading that could have a four-core chip behave as though it were eight with optimized software.
Intel has developed an updated technology that could virtually solve questions of memory speed, the semiconductor firm has revealed at its recent Research@Intel event. Developers at the company have created dynamic RAM that behaves like typical system memory but needs just two transistors for each memory cell and which needs no capacitors. The invention makes dynamic RAM small enough that it can be embedded in a processor rather than put into a separate module, potentially eliminating several bottlenecks inherent to the static RAM used for cache on current processors.
Catering to a niche of mobile pros, Eurocom today updated the PHANTOM-X to give the 17-inch desktop replacement its first quad-core workstation chip. The notebook is rebranded as a mobile server a 2.8GHz Xeon in place of its normal Core 2 Quad and Extreme processors to help handle professional-grade loads. The Canadian company also spins its multi-drive hard disk setup as a business option and lets users team up as many as three drives for up to 1.5TB of space in a RAID stripe or mirror. The larger bulk of the notebook also allows up to 8GB of memory.
Intel late yesterday refreshed its processor line with a combination of new chips and price cuts. Among the new lineup, the Celeron E1400 is unique as the semiconductor firm's first budget processor to crack 2GHz while also offering dual cores; the refinement is a significant boost from its 1.6GHz predecessor but occupies the same $53 price point as the earlier design, making it feasible for budget desktops. It should be available today and will see the price of the older chip drop to $43. A single-core, 2.66GHz Celeron 570 ships for $134 and contributes to a price drop on the 1.8GHz Celeron 430 to $34.
HP this morning has marked the launch of NAB with two systems targeted at AV editors or most anyone who depends on very high end performance. A new version of the xw8600 uses Intel's latest 3.2GHz quad-core Xeon to handle very processor-intensive tasks such as media encoding; up to two each can fit in a single system to make it the most individually powerful desktop at HP, the company says. Systems built on the new chip vary in price but lift the price by about $2,460 both through the faster design as well as the requirement of using 4GB of 800MHz memory.
Intel at its Developer Forum today demonstrated a 3.2GHz example of its upcoming Nehalem processor technology. Already clocked at 3.2GHz, the chip is the first public example of the successor to today's Core architecture and is the fastest x86 chip from Intel capable of handling more than four threads: the addition of Hyperthreading support allows each of the four cores in the example to run as many as two instruction threads at a time, allowing it to handle the work of eight cores in certain circumstances. Dual- and quad-processor systems will handle as many as 16 or 32 threads at once with the design.
Intel today used little fanfare to introduce new Xeon 5000-series quad-core processors that promise lower power without the accompanying drop in performance. The 2.33GHz L5410 and 2.5GHz L5420 are built on the smaller 45 nanometer Penryn architecture that underpins most of Intel's lineup but are tuned to consume much less power than standard Xeons: at their thermal design limits, both of the new Xeons consume no more than 50 watts, Intel says. The advancement allows for smaller, more efficient workstations and servers that can still handle heavy-duty tasks.
The upcoming Nehalem processor design will not just be an upgrade to existing processors but a complete replacement for the Core architecture, Intel has explained as part of a press briefing. It will be built on the same 45 nanometer manufacturing process as today's Penryn architecture but is designed to be extremely scalable: in addition to scaling from as few as two cores per chip to as many as 8, Nehalem can be optimized to run efficiently in notebooks or at full speed for servers and workstations.
