cpus
Computing

AMD Brings Its A-Game To Battle Sandy Bridge Laptops

Gizmodo AU

AMD’s “Fusion Accelerated Processing Units” (APUs) combine the CPU and discrete Radeon graphics on the same die. There’s three tiers: C-Series (netbooks/tablets), E-Series (12.1- to 14-inchers), and the A-Series for bigger laptops and PCs. We’ve already seen AMD’s C-50 and E-350 chips, and here come the big guns. The dual-core A4 and quad-core A6/A8 APUs roughly target Core i3, i5 and i7 laptops, respectively — so get ready for a Sandy Bridge stoush. In Australia: HP, Sony, Dell, Samsung, Acer, Toshiba and Asus have already signed on.

June 22, 2011
Computing

Intel Has 50-Core, Supercomputer-Ready Processor On The Way

Intel’s Larrabee may have been a disaster, but that doesn’t mean all that research was for naught. It’s now surfaced in their upcoming, 50-core Knights Corner supercomputing processor, which will soon be commercially available.

June 16, 2011
Computing

Nine Everyday Tech Tools Made Possible By 100 Years Of IBM

IBM’s Centennial anniversary is fast approaching, and their 100 years of hard work shouldn’t go unnoticed. Behind every major technological advance, you’re likely to find IBM’s name floating around somewhere. Here are nine of our favourite IBM-aided innovations.

June 14, 2011
Computing

HP Arms 11 Laptops With AMD’s Sandy Bridge-Esque Fusion APUs

AMD says their Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit is “Sandy Bridge done right”, which combines a CPU and discrete ATI graphics on the same die, allowing more efficient processing, increased battery life and improved graphics performance. Now it’s in 11 new HP laptops.

June 8, 2011
Gaming

Wii U’s IBM-Made Processor Has Watson’s Supercomputer DNA In It

Here’s some dirt on the Wii U’s processor from the makers themselves: IBM. It’s a multi-core beast, but more importantly, it shares some of the same technology as Watson, the Jeopardy-killing supercomputer. I’m in love already. [Engadget via Kotaku]

June 1, 2011
Computing

2nm Quantum Transistors Are The World’s Smallest

A team of scientists at Chungbuk National University in South Korea have created a transistor that’s only 2nm in size, which happens to be the smallest in the world. By comparison, the current generation of Intel processors use 32nm transistors.

May 17, 2011
Computing

To Keep Innovating, We Need To Rethink The CPU

Big data processing will be the future of discovery and innovation. Our greatest discoveries will come not from carefully conceiving a theory and testing it, but by throwing every possibility up against a CPU wall and seeing what sticks.

April 29, 2011
Mobile

Custom-Designed Smartphone Processors The Way Of The Future?

The GreenDroid project presents a novel concept for smartphone users: a CPU custom-designed around the apps (or perhaps types of apps) you (and only you) use the most.

April 28, 2011
Computing

CPUs Actually Age

You know when your body is crying out for sleep, or a square of food, or even some warmth – but what about your transistors and chips which don’t have a voice? IEEE Spectrum has a fascinating little tale up about component ageing, and how manufacturers play it too safe by clocking the speed of them far lower than they should, to ensure users get longer lives out of them.

Computing

Why Processor Speed Isn’t Everything

Here’s a good rundown of the precise reasons why there’s more to a computer processor than just the number of gigahertz it posesses. [Ars Technica]

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