Cray has launched its new supercomputing creation, the Cray XC30, codenamed Cascade. The new system combines Intel Xeon processors with the Aries interconnect, new cooling and power technologies and Cray's integrated software environment, to create a supercomputer capable of workloads higher than 100 petaflops.
Dell has just announced four newly updated Precision tower workstations for business professionals with Intel's 32nm, eight-core Xeon E5-2600 processors. Other than the new chip, the towers get an externally-removable power supply that doesn't require any tools. It is lockable and has a built-in handle that lights up green when it's functioning properly.
New rumors floated Monday have raised the prospect of a possible shortage of Xeon E5-2600 processors. Taiwanese server designers purportedly told Digitimes that there was 20 percent less supply of Intel's workstation chip than for brisk orders, leading contract PC builder Quanta to push Intel for more. Most top computer builders plan to use the E5, and interest had been "higher than expected," the tip indiciated.
The "new Xeons are finally here" and are being discussed today in the MacNN forums in this thread started by Professional Poster Don Pickett. Today one Fresh-Faced recruit was looking for some answers when certain tracks failed to play properly on their iPod classic.
Intel stated Thursday to PCWorld that its Thunderbolt implementation would get a faster back infrastructure with its Ivy Bridge processor era. New Thunderbolt chipsets will use PCI Express 3.0 as its interface with the system instead of PCIe 2.0, boosting the bandwidth from five gigatransfers per second to eight. The upgrade won't change the 10Gbps external speed but will reduce any bottlenecks past the initial interface.
Intel will expand its push in server platform, chipsets and processors into the second quarter of the year, DigiTimes reports. The chip company recently unveiled the E5-2600 series processors, which some believe will end up in refreshed Mac Pros in the near future, as well as three Xeon E5-1600 processors. It's set to debut a new server platform called Carlow that combines the USB 3-supporting Panther Point (C216) chipset with Ivy Bridge processors.
Intel ended one of the longest waits for one of its processors in recent memory on Tuesday by launching and detailing the Xeon E5-2600. Its mid-range server and workstation chip is a superset of the much newer Sandy Bridge-E architecture and can carry a full eight cores (up from six) and handle a much larger 768GB memory ceiling. The extra cores, along with a shrink from 45 to 32 nanometers and new AVX support, should make it about 80 percent faster than the Xeon 5600 it replaces.
HP confirmed that Intel was launching its long-in-the-making Xeon E5 workstation processors after it introduced a trio of new Z workstations. The regular Z420, mid-tier Z620, and flagship Z820 can all use the new E5-2600 chip line, which scales up to eight cores in one chip and has new ceilings for memory. At its extreme, the Z820 can have 16 cores across two processors, 14TB of storage, and a very large 512GB of error-correcting memory.
Intel's elusive, publicly accessible Xeon E5 processor is now known through a preview on Thursday. Workstation builder Supermicro gave The Inquirer a look at an upcoming E5-based workstation with two of the processors. Performance couldn't be publicly disclosed, but the Boston PC builder proved that they weren't hot and were stable enough to be production-ready.
Repeated talk of Intel delayng Ivy Bridge to June was supported by a conversation with executive VP Sean Maloney. HE told the FT that it had been moved back eight to ten weeks, from April to June. Contrary to some claims, though, it wasn't due to low demand but rather out of time getting the 22-nanometer chip manufacturing process up to speed.
Intel's long-expected Xeon E5 processor may have a narrower launch window. A rumor floated by Digitimes' industry contacts had the E5-2600 series and their matching C600 mainboard chipsets arriving in March. About 15 processors would start the line, beginning with the quad-core, 1.8GHz Xeon E5-2603 at a $202 bulk price and scaling up to the range-leading eight-core, 2.9GHz Xeon E5-2690 at $2,057.
Intel just began selling its promised Core i7 3820 CPU, the specs-to-price ratio of which promises to make it a favorite among gamers. It has a 3.6GHz clock speed and 10MB of cache, and costs $294 in bulk, 1,000-unit quantities (PDF), which compares very favorably with the 3.2GHz Core i7-3930K with 12MB of cache which costs nearly twice as much. The 2011 socket-based 3820 has four cores, eight threads through its use of Hyperthreading, and is based on the 32nm architecture.
HP's latest Z1 Workstation claims to be the first of its kind with a 27-inch screen. Implied as the antithesis of the iMac, it easily opens without any tools so parts can be swapped quickly and easily. On offer is Intel's 3.33GHz Core i3 for a processor, but it also carries one of two Xeons, either the 3.3GHz E3-1245 or the 3.5GHz E3-1280.
Apple's long-rumored Mac Pro update could signal a return to NVIDIA for graphics based on claims about production progress on Tuesday. The company had reportedly been soured based on is experience with drivers and hardware failures, MIC Gadget heard. Instead, it would use NVIDIA's Kepler hardware, although which exact parts weren't mentioned.
Chipmaker Tilera has just introduced new 36- and 16-core TILE-Gx 64-bit processors. The company claims performance that betters an Intel Xeon-based system from the 36-core version, but with just 20 percent of the power use and about an eighth of the physical space. The company foresees applications in VoIP systems, streaming video set-ups, and real-time image and video processing, among others.
Velocity Micro promised five new devices as its contribution to CES. Two new Cruz Tablets, the seven-inch T507 and 9.7-inch T510, will both ship with Android 4.0 from the start (not yet shown). The pair both run on a 1.2GHz, single-core ARM Cortex-A8 chip with fast Mali-400 graphics, 8GB of built-in storage, and HDMI video out.
Intel's Xeon E5 launch early this year could be matched by a handful of Ivy Bridge-based models soon after based on a tentative roadmap. After releasing 18 E5 chips based on the current Sandy Bridge architecture, Intel would have 11 Xeons arrive in the spring based on the 2012 design, Digitimes heard. Billed as Ivy Bridge-H2, these would include Xeon E3 chips like the E3-1290v2 in bulk costs of $189 to $884 as well as E5s from $192 to $1,440, one of which would be the E5-2470.
Signs of a long-in-waiting Mac Pro update have appeared in earnest through the Apple Store. Picking either the 12-core stock workstation or most build-to-order changes knocks the shipping time back to between one to three weeks, usually a sign at Apple that supplies are dwindling. A refresh isn't necessarily imminent and might depend on both the sales rate of remaining stock and how soon new components are ready.
A series of early benchmark tests centering around the upcoming Intel Atom N2600 have been performed by NetbookLive. The low-power Cedar Trail chip uses 32nm architecture and uses dual cores to attain its 1.6GHz clock speed, though these specs aren't yet official. Intel's integrated HD 3600 graphics running at 400MHz are onboard and it should support as much as 2GB of RAM.
Signs of Apple's long-in-waiting Mac Pro update emerged in earnest after a discovery in the latest Mac OS X 10.7.3 beta. Netkas found code references in the ATIRadeonX3000 driver extension to "Tahiti," the known codename for AMD's upcoming high-end desktop Radeon HD 7000 line. The chipsets are expected to be the first 28-nanometer chips and have a completely new, liquid-cooled graphics core meant to improve general-purpose computing tasks like those in OpenCL.
Intel may have moved its Xeon E5 launch for the mainstream due to issues with SAS drives, tipsters claimed Friday. The Romley chipset when combined with current, Sandy Bridge-based processors was said by Digitimes to have problems when using the high speed serial disks. Two of the first wave of Xeon E5 chips, the E5-1600 and E5-2600, had been moved to the first week of March.
Intel chose the SC11 conference for an unusual preview of its next-generation mid-range workstation and server chip, the Xeon E5. The pre-release chip is now running ten of the supercomputers in the Top500 list and is estimated to be about 2.1 times more pure performance, and 70 percent in high demand workloads, than the Xeon 5600 it replaces. It will also be the first Xeon to support PCI Express 3.0, which doubles the bandwidth and is useful for very high bandwidth connections to the Internet, cluster computers, and high-demand local peripherals like video cards.
Intel marked one of the more important anniversaries in technology on Tuesday with the 40th anniversary of the Intel 4004. The 740KHz chip is generally considered the first real microprocessor, or a singular, small integrated circuit chip that served as the core of a device. It was made before November 15 for a Busicom 141-PF calculator as part of a four-chip set before Intel managed to get rights to sell it as a general purpose chip for anyone, which it did when the November 15, 1971 issue of Electronic News was published.
Intel's Xeon E5 processors may have been spoiled in earnest with a detailed listing of every E5-2600 model at CPU-World. Intended for dual-socket computers, they will start off with a quad-core, 1.8GHz Xeon with 10MB of Level 3 cache and no Hyperthreading, but with a $202 price point in bulk. The line will culminate in eight-core models at between 1.8GHz to 3.1GHz, Hyperthreading, power use between 70W and 150W, 20MB of cache, and prices between $1,106 and $2,057.
Newly uneatherd details from Intel's roadmap suggest that Intel's long-in-waiting mid-range Xeon replacement, the E5, might not ship until 2012. Previously on tap for late 2011, they're now "delayed by one quarter," CPU World claimed. No reason was given as to why, or whether or not it meant going to the same 22 nanometer process as Ivy Bridge.
Intel's mid-cycle Sandy Bridge-E processors may have received a more definitive timeframe after a Turkish leak. The initial batch of Core i7 processors, their companion X79 chipset, and possible Xeon E5 processors have a general "Platform Launch" window of between November 14 and 27, but DonanimHaber expected a more exact November 15 date. The release should be a 'hard' launch where shipping computers and individual parts are already in stores.
(Update: site failure) Apple has raised speculation Wednesday by taking down the online Apple Store. The company usually does so right before a product launch but is doing so on a Wednesday, not its usual Tuesday. No immediate leaks have also popped up to give a clue as to what it might be.
Intel still dominates the PC microprocessor market, but its share has slipped slightly, according to results just published by IDC. For the second quarter of this year, which represents about $9.5 billion in sales, Intel garnished a 79.3 percent share of the overall market, down 1.5 percent, while AMD grabbed exactly as much as Intel lost to reach 20.4 percent. Processors with integrated graphics represented over 60 percent of all CPUs shipped and was given a kick by AMD's Fusion graphics.
Intel today has begun to demonstrate its ‘Cloud-in-a-Box’ solutions. The company claims the Xeon-powered cloud data centers are the world's smallest. The system is currently showcased in Australia before heading to Taiwan, Korea and India.
The upcoming Mac Pro could have one of the largest spreads in performance in recent memory based on internal Apple documents obtained late last night. Shown as "Mac Pro (Mid 2011)," it should have four main models using Xeon chips, starting with a single-processor, six-core model and moving to an eight-core system, a 12-core (two times six) system and a 16-core (two times eight) flagship. The tip to 9to5 couldn't prove whether the designs would use a new rackmountable design.
Intel has disclosed additional details surrounding its upcoming Knights Corner processor, a 50-core chip first previewed early last year. The CPU will be the first to be produced using the company's Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture, which takes advantage of x86-based Xeon cores and 22nm construction. The technology is claimed to offer a significant jump in performance scalability compared to current offerings.
An unusual plethora of rumors Monday night provided possible details of the new Mac Pro and other near-term Apple updates. The pro tower will supposedly get a "unique CPU" along with its more rackmountable case. What that would entail wasn't said by MICGadget's purported informants, though it's more likely to involve early access to the Xeon E5 due this fall than a genuinely rare processor.
Sources told Brian Tong Sunday afternoon that new Mac minis and redesigned Mac Pros should arrive either in late July or early August. The historically accurate CNET staffer was given only a few details but was told they would use both Sandy Bridge-era Intel processors and Thunderbolt ports. August was more likely for the two, he heard, and both would appropriately come preloaded with Lion.
Intel Senior VP Tom Kilroy commented on Wednesday that Apple was both directly and indirectly influencing the Intel chip roadmap. The two collaborated often, and Apple's consideration "helps shape our roadmap [at Intel]," he said at a Reuters summit. Even when not directly contributing, the company was often driving Intel forward through the success of devices like the iPad, which use the architecture of Intel's rival ARM.
Apple may be on the verge of a long-expected revamp of the Mac Pro that could potentially assuage fears following the end of the Xserve. A rumor Thursday had the system narrower, going from over eight inches to five, while also becoming shorter at 19 inches. The layout as described by 9to5 might help it fit into a 3U rackmount, three times bigger than the Xserve's 1U but also capable of working as a regular desktop.
Dell has began shipping the Precision T1600 tower workstation it introduced at the start of February. It's meant for professional users with applications such as AutoCAD or Pro/Engineer and offers Intel's Sandy Bridge Core i3 processors or Xeon E3-1200 chips, at clock speeds ranging from 3.1GHz to 3.5GHz.
Intel on Tuesday brought out the Sandy Bridge-based version of its highest-performing Xeons. The Xeon E7 series is the practical version of the Westmere-EX architecture and is intended for both servers as well as other very high performance computers. It represents one of the few if not first Intel chips to break the eight-core barrier and, at 10 real cores, can handle as many as 20 simultaneous code threads at once through Hyperthreading.
Some of the very earliest benchmark tests of Apple's new MacBook Pros have shown them fast enough to outperform some Mac Pro workstations. Geekbench scores for the new 2.2GHz and 2.3GHz quad Core i7 processors are regularly reaching over 10,000 and producing better integer and floating point scores than Apple's pro towers from a year or two ago. Some results, such as one test for a 2.2GHz MacBook Pro, are outperforming the 3.2GHz and 3.33GHz quad-core Xeons from Mac Pros in 2010 and 2009 respectively.
Dell on Tuesday focused some attention on its pro-level Precision and Optiplex systems. Its most Precision M4600 and M6600 are the most genuinely new models and also the most secretive. The two should replace the 15.6-inch and 17-inch existing workstation notebooks and are likely to use Intel's 2011 Core (Sandy Bridge) processors along with new workstation graphics and a slightly refreshed design.
Active Storage has made its leaked XServe replacement officially known on Monday, calling the metadata controller appliance ActiveSAN. Apple's Xserve are discontinued as of today as well, and the ActiveSAN is being endorsed by Apple. Active Storage CEO Alex Grossman said the product is easy to use and offers more than just generic server functionality for Xsan and StorNext installations.
Microsoft is using its purchasing muscle to push Intel into developing a 16-core Atom chip for its server farms, according to a report. Microsoft is keen to reduce its power consumption in its huge data centers and believes that Intel’s Atom chips, with its low power consumption design and x86 compatibility will deliver the savings that it is looking for. Currently most of Microsoft’s server farms use Intel’s Xeon server-class chips, which while delivering processing grunt, are also relatively power hungry and generate a lot of heat. A 16-core Atom would deliver the necessary processing power, but would run significantly cooler and would be cheaper to deploy.
NextComputing brought Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs to its lineup of Radius portable and low footprint all-in-one PCs. The PCs are unique in that they offer a 17-inch, 1,900x1,200 display built right into the side of the case, where the hardware components live. For ease of mobility, the case has a built-in, leather-padded carrying handle.
The sudden ouster of AMD's CEO Dirk Meyer was owed to poor competition against Apple and Intel in tablets, insiders said Tuesday. Although the company didn't give a formal explanation, those aware said the board of directors forced him out as they were frustrated with a lack of growth in server-class hardware and the tablet field established by the iPad. A presentation in November revealed that Meyer just wasn't moving fast enough for the board's liking, the WSJ said.
Intel and NVIDIA today settled their longstanding chipset dispute in a deal that heavily favored NVIDIA. The truce will see Intel pay NVIDIA $1.5 billion to license all of the patents for NVIDIA's graphics cores. NVIDIA will keep use of Intel's patents, outside of proprietary x86 processors and "certain chipsets."
Dell plans to spark new life in its pro workstations if a leak of case renders comes true. The high-end Precision T7600 as well as the mid-range T3600 and T5600 should all use a new design language known as Fractal. Each system spotted by Engadget would have a segmented shape with bright red accents; they would be very modular and use what appears to be a special heatsink and otherwise organization more reminiscent of a Mac Pro.
Apple in the wake of plans to phase out the Xserve has brought out a new, server-oriented configuration of the Mac Pro on the Apple Store. The new version has the same 2.8GHz quad-core Xeon as the entry model but focuses on upgrades friendlier to the pre-installed copy of Snow Leopard Server. It more than doubles the RAM to 8GB and carries a second 1TB hard drive for options like a RAID mirror or keeping app performance unimpeded by the OS.
Apple today sent notice that it was phasing out the Xserve. The rackmount server will be discontinued as of January 31, 2011, and the currently available 160GB, 1TB and 2TB Apple Drive Modules will ship through the end of 2011 or until stock runs out. The company plans to honor AppleCare warranties and will have repair parts for up to seven years in California and five years in the rest of the world.
Intel this evening reported its best ever quarter. In spite of warnings of a slowdown, its revenue reached an all-time high of $11.1 billion. Its operating income reached a similar high of $4.1 billion, although its net income was a more modest $3 billion.
Intel as expected used its Developer Forum keynote to detail Sandy Bridge, the architecture behind what Intel now calls its second generation of Core chips. The 32 nanometer chips use a new ring architecture that moves the graphics on to the chip itself and lets them share cache with the core on virtually equal terms. The change and other optimizations should give it performance much closer to dedicated video and may finally make it suitable for regular gaming.
As expected, Apple today started taking orders for the new Mac Pro. The new systems are now known to include three configurations and include not just the 2.8GHz quad-core and 2.4GHz eight-core systems but a third 12-core, 2.66GHz model. It comes outfitted with the same 6GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive and Radeon HD 5770 video but, due to the cost of the more exotic Xeons, starts at $4,999.
