There are two non-negotiables in building a PC these days: the cost of Intel silicon and the cost of the Windows license. You can play with everything else but Intel and Microsoft are going to get their share. Those two relatively fixed costs in the PC bill of materials can do one of two things: encourage OEMs to skimp on component cost elsewhere, or drive the entire ecosystem to supply higher quality components at lower prices. If you’ve been following the PC industry for the past decade, I think we’ve seen more of the former and less of the latter. Apple occupying the high-end of the notebook PC space has forced many OEMs to reconsider their approach, but that’s a more recent change. What AMD...
AMD Discloses Bobcat & Bulldozer Architectures at Hot Chips 2010
We've been waiting years for AMD to deliver another knockout microprocessor architecture rather than continue to play the value game. While we've been waiting for its next generation Bobcat...
81 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 8/24/2010Intel Settles With the FTC
Just shy of 9 months after the FTC’s lawsuit began, Intel’s conflicts are starting to come to an end. Intel and the FTC have reached a settlement ahead of...
63 by Ryan Smith on 8/5/2010Intel's Core i7 970 Reviewed, (Slightly) More Affordable 6-core
Take the fastest desktop microprocessor in the world, lock its multiplier, shave off 133MHz and drop its price by $100. That's basically what you get with the Core i7...
49 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 7/29/2010SeaMicro Announces SM10000 Server with 512 Atom CPUs and Low Power Consumption
The past couple of years have shown us a lot can be done with very modest CPU power thanks to Moore's Law. Everything from netbooks to smartphones rely on...
53 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/14/2010Moorestown Won’t Run Windows, but Oaktrail Will
ARM gained a lot of confidence thanks to its success in smartphones, and as such it’s looking up in the food chain a bit at netbooks. The Cortex A9...
21 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/1/2010GlobalFoundries Plans to Expand Dresden and NY Fabs in Anticipation of 28/22nm
Only a year has passed since AMD officially spun off its manufacturing division with the help of ATIC. The resulting GlobalFoundries have been busy getting its ducks in a...
13 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 5/31/2010Intel’s Core i5-655K & Core i7-875K: Overclocked and Analyzed
When it comes to Intel processors, the word “Unlocked” is not synonymous with low-priced mainstream products - it’s a feature normally reserved for flagship ‘Extreme Edition’ CPUs that bear...
51 by Rajinder Gill on 5/28/2010News Just In: No Phenom II X4 960T for general release?
As a follow up to the news of new AMD processors covering various price points, our contact over at AMD has provided the following information: "While there are indeed engineering...
10 by Ian Cutress on 5/12/2010AMD Releases Processor Updates
AMD today have launched five new processors, to replace current products, ranging from the budget Athlon II X2 260 to the Athlon II X4 610. New Processor Speed / Mhz Cores TDP Price Processor Replaced Athlon...
26 by Rajinder Gill on 5/11/2010Intel Announces Super Westmere-EX for Servers
The newest product to be thrusted into Intel's server arsenal will be called Westmere-EX, and is set to directly compete with AMD's Mangy-Cours server chip which features 12 cores...
14 by Ian Cutress on 5/10/2010The Clarkdale Experiment: Mea Culpa
Several months ago, I wrote about my little experiment with Clarkdale, where I built a small form factor system, based around a Core i5 661 CPU, an Asus H55...
46 by Loyd Case on 5/4/2010Phenom II X6 Compatibility, Over 170 Boards Supported at Launch
Earlier today AMD announced its Phenom II X6 processors. One vendor even started offering them at a huge discount if you're willing to put up with a mail in...
35 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/27/2010Phenom II X6, 4GHz and Beyond in 64-bit OSes
In most of my CPU reviews I tend to focus on light overclocking - the low hanging fruit if you will. Over the past few years the focus has...
35 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/27/2010TigerDirect Offers $50 MIR on Phenom II X6 CPUs - Dead Deal
Early this morning AMD officially launched its first six-core Thuban processors: the Phenom II X6 1090T and 1055T. The last thing we would dream of doing is complain about...
12 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/27/2010AMD's Six-Core Phenom II X6 1090T & 1055T Reviewed
AMD's Phenom II X6 is here based on the brand new Thuban core. Boasting Turbo Core support and nearly 1 billion transistors, AMD is willing to sell you six...
169 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/27/2010AMD Divulges Phenom II X6 Secrets, Turbo Core Enabled
Last month Intel introduced its first desktop 6-core CPU, the 32nm Gulftown Core i7 980X. Running at 3.33GHz we loved the fact that it’s quite possibly the first Extreme...
59 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/8/2010The Evolution of Virtualization: Anand, Intel & VMware Chat on Video
For those of you who read the RV870 and RV770 stories, you'll know the sort of information that can come out of a meeting with experts in the industry...
34 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/7/2010The Rest of Clarkdale: Intel's Pentium G6950 & Core i5 650/660/670 Reviewed
There's a pecking order when it comes to Intel's CPU lineup. At the top of the totem pole is Intel's new 6-core gulftown Core i7 980X. Below...
71 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 3/24/2010Intel Core i7 980X Overclocking Update: Breaking 4GHz With 6 Cores
Intel's Core i7 980X is a beast. Not only is it at least a generation beyond any current CPU in heavily threaded applications, it's also competitive in lighter...
57 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 3/11/2010The Core i7 980X Review: Intel's First 6-Core Desktop CPU
It's got 6 cores, 12 threads and it's good. Meet Intel's Core i7 980X, the first Gulftown CPU. If you've got the money, there's nothing better.
102 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 3/11/2010
















