Tag Archives: 32nm

AMD FX-4350 and FX-6350 offer improved speeds, keep prices down

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AMD FX-4350 and FX-6350 offer improved speeds, keep prices down

Although AMD hasn't had much recent success at the higher end of the processor spectrum, it's clear the company is very much interested in attacking the budget realm. Witness its two new lower-tiered FX-series processors: the quad-core FX-4350 and six-core FX-6350 bring noticeable (if modest) improvements over the FX-4300 and FX-6300 chips they effectively replace. Both unlocked CPUs up the base clock speed to 3.9GHz, while the Max Turbo speeds jump to a respective 4.3GHz and 4.2GHz each. The FX-4350 further trumps its ancestor by doubling the Level 3 cache to 8MB, albeit with a higher power draw. More importantly, prices aren't budging much at all in spite of the brisker performance. When the FX-4350 and FX-6350 cost just $122 and $132 each, they're cheap enough that DIY builders shouldn't weep when the bills are due.

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Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout

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Apple A6 teardown confirms highly customized dualcore, tripleGPU layout

There's been a significant mystery lingering around the A6 processor found in the iPhone 5, even as it became clearer that Apple was veering further than usual from the basic ARM formula. A microscope-level inspection by Chipworks and iFixit is at last identifying the key elements of the 32nm, Samsung-assembled chip and revealing just how far it strays from the beaten path. The examination confirms earlier suspicions of a dual-core design with triple-core graphics -- it's how that design is shaped that makes the difference. Apple chose to lay out the two processor cores by hand rather than let a computer do the work, as most ARM partners do. The procedure is expensive and slow, but also gives the A6 a better-optimized design; it explains why the chip is noticeably faster than much of its competition without needing the brute force approaches of higher clock speeds or extra cores. Some mysteries remain, such as the exact PowerVR graphics that are at work, but it's evident Apple now has the design talent and resources to speed up mobile devices on its own terms rather than wait for off-the-shelf layouts like the Cortex-A15.

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Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel slips details of Poulson-based Itanium 9500 in advance, teases a big boost to 64-bit servers

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Intel slips out Poulsonbased Itanium 9500 details in advance, tease a big boost to 64bit servers

If you think Intel took awhile to roll out the Xeon E5, imagine the mindset of Itanium server operators -- they haven't had any kind of update to the IA-64 chip design since February 2010, and they're still waiting. Much to their relief, Intel just dropped a big hint that the next-generation, Poulson-based Itanium is getting close. Both a reference manual and a Product Change Notification have signaled that the new, 32-nanometer part will get the Itanium 9500 name as well as a heap of extra improvements that haven't been detailed until now. We knew of the eight processing cores, but the inadvertent revelation also confirms about a 50 percent hike in the interconnect speed and a matching increase in the cache size to 32MB. Clock speeds also start where current Tukwila-running Itaniums stop, with four processors between 1.73GHz and 2.53GHz giving the line a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Few of us end users will ever directly benefit when Poulson ships to company server farms later this year; after these increases, though, don't be shocked when the database at work is suddenly much quicker on its toes.

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Intel slips details of Poulson-based Itanium 9500 in advance, teases a big boost to 64-bit servers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors give 2012 iPhone shiny new chip, 1GB of RAM, mystery iOS app

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We've potentially seen a lot of the next iPhone's exterior; it may be the interior's time for a shakedown, as an unusually detailed rumor out of 9to5 Mac has claimed scads more about the processor and iOS 6. Going by the tips, the 2012 design would use an S5L8950X, a processor with unknown specs but likely a step ahead of what we've seen in the iPhone 4S (8940X) and new iPad (8945X). There would likewise be a new spin on the PowerVR SGX543 graphics from the iPad as well as 1GB of RAM -- which doesn't sound like much next to a 2GB Galaxy S III, but stands to produce a similar speed boost for a lightweight platform like iOS. As for iOS 6 itself, the software is supposedly using underlying code newer than recent OS X Mountain Lion builds and is dumping Google Maps, as some have claimed ever since iPhoto for iOS made that step in the spring. The new Maps app (possibly pictured here) is said to be rough, but the OS as a whole could be coming along so swimmingly that Apple might have no trouble shipping on time.

As always, we're skeptical when so much detail is in flux. The rumor still jives with much more tangible behavior from Apple, such as its experimentation with 32-nanometer processors and a tendency for Apple to refine the chip from the current year's iPad for the iPhone months later. We may know the accuracy soon enough: more leaks are promised in the next two weeks, including an "entirely new iOS app."

Rumors give 2012 iPhone shiny new chip, 1GB of RAM, mystery iOS app originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD Trinity laptop review roundup: beats Ivy Bridge on gaming, but CPU lets the herd down

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AMD Trinity laptop review roundup: beats Ivy Bridge on gaming, but CPU lets the herd down

If you've been following AMD's game plan over the last couple of years, then you probably won't be totally shocked by what follows. That said, reviewers' verdicts of the new high-end Trinity laptop APU, the 2.3GHz quad-core A10-4600M, do include some dizzying highs and despairing lows, which are still kinda surprising in their own way. Like how? Well, HotHardware found that AMD's chip beats Intel's Ivy Bridge (with integrated HD 4000 graphics) by 30 to 50 percent in some games, albeit with a few stumbles over immature DX11 drivers. Similarly, AnandTech's handy table above shows just how far ahead Trinity is across fifteen common titles. On the other hand, most reviewers found that non-gaming CPU performance fell far short of Ivy Bridge and even Sandy Bridge mobile chips. For example, Hexus's Geekbench scores put the APU 40 percent behind last year's Dell XPS 15z, which is totally underwhelming. So, as usual, it'll all depend on what you need a laptop for -- but if you're after something that costs $699 or less, handles regular day-to-day tasks okay and can also play current games with decent frame-rates, then you'll be keen to conduct further research at the links below.

Read - HotHardware
Read - AnandTech
Read - Hexus
Read - PC Perspective

AMD Trinity laptop review roundup: beats Ivy Bridge on gaming, but CPU lets the herd down originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 08:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buying an iPad 2? Here’s the rarer, more efficient specimen you need to (somehow) track down

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Buying a $399 iPad 2? Here's the rarer, more efficient specimen you need to (somehow) track down

Not all iPads are made equal, even if they're all packaged and branded identically. There's a major new mutation within the 2nd generation tablet and it brings significantly better battery life. Specifically, the fourth and latest production model of the iPad 2 (known as iPad2,4) has not only a lower price tag ($399) but also a new 32nm processor, which is significantly smaller and more efficient than those in previous iPad 2s (which had 45nm chips and an older transistor design). According to AnandTech, this results in an overall 16 percent increase in battery life during web browsing and as much as a 30 percent boost when playing games. Obviously that's worth having, but how can you tell if a boxed-up iPad 2 has the new processor before taking it to the checkout? Here's the downer: you can't. Until retailers' inventories naturally flood with the updated type, the only way to tell is by switching the slate on and running a utility like GeekBench -- and perhaps there'll be circumstances where you can give that a go on the shop floor. Alternatively, if third-party sellers discover that their stock is the iPad2,4, they could pull off a Darwinian win-win by marketing that fact to buyers.

Buying an iPad 2? Here's the rarer, more efficient specimen you need to (somehow) track down originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 May 2012 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung announces 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad as basis for Galaxy S3

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Samsung announces 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad as basis for Galaxy S3

Looking for something a bit more solid than a third-party benchmark? We can do that. "Already in production the Exynos 4 Quad is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May," the horse's mouth reveals. Samsung boasts that the new 32nm 1.4GHz quad-core processor flaunts twice the processing power over its predecessor, thanks to its High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power technology. The net energy savings? About 20-percent. "The application processor is a crucial element in providing our customers with a PC-like experience on mobile devices," explains Hankil Yoon, Senior VP of Product Strategy Team at Samsung, "Samsung's next Galaxy device, which will be officially announced soon, offers uncompromised performance and ground breaking multitasking features, thanks to Exynos 4 Quad's powerful performance and efficient energy management technology." Sammy says it's shopping the new processor around to other handset manufacturers (like Meizu), noting that the Exynos 4 Quad is pin-to-pin compatible with the Exynos 4 Dual (the brains behind the Galaxy S II and Note), which gives designers the ability to update product designs with minimal costs. Check out Samsung's full press release after the break.

Continue reading Samsung announces 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad as basis for Galaxy S3

Samsung announces 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad as basis for Galaxy S3 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple TV (2012) raids iPad 2 parts bin, packs 32nm A5 silicon

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Apple TV (2012) raids iPad 2 parts bin, packs 32nm A5 silicon
Cupertino's latest Apple TV has already been torn asunder and had its guts revealed to all the online world. And, we've already told you of the many ways that it differs from its predecessor. Despite that in-depth examination of Apple's media streamer, turns out it had another secret that was recently unlocked by the folks at Chipworks, who discovered it's packing a new, smaller A5 chip that's masquerading as a single-core unit. Turns out, that's the same 32nm dual-core SoC found in new iPad 2s -- elder iPad 2 units pack 45nm chips -- but the 3rd-gen Apple TV only uses one of those cores to give you your 1080p fix. We don't know if the second core's simply sitting idle or if Apple's using up some defective A5s it had laying around, but we do know that you can see some more close up shots of the silicon in question at the source below.

Apple TV (2012) raids iPad 2 parts bin, packs 32nm A5 silicon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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