AMD introduces new AMD Turion ML-40

AMD Turion 64 mobile technology is designed to bring award-winning AMD64 performance to thinner and lighter notebook PCs with extended system battery life, enhanced security, and compatibility with the latest graphics and wireless solutions. Offering outstanding performance in both 32-bit and 64-bit environments, AMD64 technology is a smart investment today that will not be obsolete tomorrow.
AMD Turion 64 mobile technology ML-40 is priced at $525 in 1,000-unit quantities.
The first notebook PC based on the latest AMD Turion 64 mobile technology model is being introduced today by HP. The HP Compaq nx6125 notebook PC, which is expected to be available worldwide starting this month, offers mobility, advanced security features, ease of use and real business value to the small to mid-size business professional.
As a leading worldwide supplier of mobile business solutions, HP enables businesses to use technology for a competitive edge,� said Dan Forlenza, vice president, worldwide commercial notebooks, Personal Systems Group, HP.
We have chosen to incorporate the latest AMD Turion 64 mobile technology in our new business notebook PC in order to offer our customers a true choice in high-performance mobile computing that delivers an outstanding business value without sacrificing security, reliability and ease of use.

intel puts solar technology into new technology

Intel plans to establish a new company called SpectraWatt to develop solar energy technology and produce solar cells, the chip giant said Monday.

Intel will transfer all technology related to converting sunlight to energy into the new company and lead its first round of investment. The chip maker will join several other companies, including a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Solon AG and the PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund (CETF) to invest US$50 million in the new solar venture.

The investment will take place by the end of June.

SpectraWatt will break ground on a manufacturing and technology development center in Oregon later this year, and its first product shipments are expected by the middle of next year. The new company will focus on advanced solar cell technologies as well as improving manufacturing technology to lower the cost of photovoltaic energy.

Currently, the cost of solar energy is twice that of retail electricity, Intel said. Reducing the cost of solar energy should ensure continued industry growth of 30 percent to 40 percent annually, according to the chip maker.

The new CEO of SpectraWatt will be Andrew Wilson, former general manager of Intel's New Business Initiatives group. The statement quotes Wilson as saying the goal of SpectraWatt is to move toward long-term national energy independence.

New Intel Technology Sends Wireless Signal Up to 60 Miles

Intel is announcing a new wireless technology, called the Rural Connectivity Platform (RCP), that can send a data signal up to sixty miles at speeds up to 6.5 mbps. The sixty mile limit is imposed by the curvature of the Earth, not necessarily any limitations on the wi-fi radios involved. The setup requires two radios, or nodes. The first is positioned on the outskirts of an urban center and possesses a wired connection to the area's network infrastructure. This node then relies upon directional antennae that push the signal up to sixty miles to the receiving node, located in a remote village.

Earlier attempts to make wi-fi technology go farther than a few kilometers met with limited success. The problem lies in the way standard wi-fi radios communicate. The transmitting radio will send its data then wait a specified period of time for an acknowledgment that the data arrived successfully. When it doesn't get the acknowledgment that it requires, it retransmits its request for acknowledgment and the cycle continues. This effectively consumed the bandwidth available with acknowledgment requests. Intel's RCP technology has redefined how wi-fi radios talk to each other over long distances better defining periods where its each radio's responsibility to transmit its data.

Intel has tested the technology in India, Vietnam, Panama, and South Africa, connecting small remote villages with larger urban centers. The radios require little power, perhaps only five or six watts. This means the technology could be solar powered, an important element in potential implementation in remote areas. Connectivity to the internet with actual usable bandwidth could ignite significant leaps forward in areas such as education, science, and medicine for remote villages in many poorer countries that would otherwise go without internet.

Intel aims to make the entire system available for under $1,000

QUAD-CORE AND DUAL-CORE SERVER PROCESSORS

Intel® quad-core and dual-core processors are designed to bring powerful performance to servers by using multiple threads that provide additional headroom for running multiple applications simultaneously. At the same time, they are designed to provide the energy efficiency required to meet today's density, cooling, and operational cost challenges without compromise to performance.
BETTER IMPLEMENTATION:
Quad-core processing provides the maximum in performance and performance per watt. Servers featuring Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processor 3000, 5100, and 7100 series and now the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 5300 series have brought speed, versatility, and efficiency to the data center for more than 20 years—and will continue to set the pace in the future.
COMPLETE SOLUTION VALUE:
Intel is working with thousands of hardware and software vendors to deliver the broadest choice of business solutions optimized for Intel quad-core and dual-core processor-based servers. Optimized software is particularly critical, and Intel has more than a decade of experience in optimizing code for multithreaded throughput. During this time, Intel has established the tools, resources, expertise, and relationships needed to drive increasing thread-optimization across the full range of business applications.
EXTENSIVE MIGRATION SUPPORT:
Intel offers a wide range of information, tools, and resources that can help smooth your transition to quad-core and dual-core processor-based servers, so you can deliver better value to your business.

Pre-production servers—Intel is offering broad access to quad-core and dual-core processor-based servers for development, testing, and validation via the Intel® Software Partner Program. Contact your Intel representative to learn how you can take advantage of this essential resource.

Software optimization—The Intel® Software Network provides independent software vendors (ISVs) and corporate developers with world-class tools for threaded software development and optimization; as well as information, training and professional support.

Transition guidance—Intel® Solution Services provides expert guidance that can help you get the most from quad-core and dual-core processors and other new server capabilities within the context of your unique business and IT environment.

POWER CONSUMPTION AND EFFICIENCY

The intel pentium4 and D processor series were notorious for consuming a lot of power, and consequently running quite hot. The architecture Intel based the core2duo processors on is much better in this regard. While Pentium 4 architecture was at one time headed towards 150W TDP (Typical Design power), many of its current processors are now pushing 85W or less. One generation before, Intel Pentium D CPUs hovered around the 125W TDP range, late model Core 2 Duo processors have a 65W TDP!

It's true enough that the power values AMD and Intel specify are not entirely comparable with each other, but total system power measurements give a good basis for comparison. I've conducted some power draw measurements recently, and those tests showed that Intel is genuinely kicking high power habit. An average intel core2 duo E6750based computer system draws about 7W more power than a budget AMD Sempron 3600+ based PC system with its single CPU core running at idle. You'd think the lower power budget AMD chip would be significantly easier on the juice than the fairly high end E6750 Core 2 Duo, but the difference is pretty small.

With an Intel Core 2 Duo system under load, total power draw results are impressive. For instance, a Core 2 Duo E6750 system consumes 163W of power (total PC power draw) when running with both CPU cores under load.

A comparable Intel pentium d 940 system consumes 253W of power with both processing CPU cores stressed, and an AMD athlon FX-62 power system consumes upwards of 235W! It's clear you can save a lot on the utility bills by switching to a CPU that sips electricity. Intel offers this, with great performance. (Please keep in mind that these are total system power draw values, not just the processor.)

I've often thought that Intel is the more innovative of the two companies when it comes to designing heatsinks for its processors. The current Core 2 Duo bifurcated radial fin heatsinks are remarkably good, and very quiet.

Gone are the days of throwing out the stock heatsink for an after market cooler the second the box is opened... For good all around CPU cooling, it's tough to beat Intel in terms of noise level. The stock heatsinks are just so quiet, thanks in large part to 90mm fans and Pulse Width Modulation which allows the rotational speed to vary based on moment to moment thermal output.

INTEL CLIMBS BACK TO TOP

For its efforts, Intel has undergone more than a few self-evaluations. It had to deal with a "Prescott" pentium4 voltage leak issue, it stopped pushing GHz as the singular processor metric and adopted the same kind of rating system AMD had been using for years. Then, Intel abandoned Netburst and modernized the P6 core into what we now know as the Core Solo and Core 2 Duo processor.

The Core Solo was nice, but Intel's Core 2 Duo is the real beauty. The CPU was an immediate hit among gamers from the time of its release, and it continues to out pace comparable Athlon64 processors.

Intel's previous NetBurst architecture had de-emphasized FPU power in favor of special instructions (SSE, 2, 3). This is partly the reason so many gamers ditched their pentium 4/d processors in favor of AMD Athlon64 processors and it's more powerful FPU.

With the Intel Core processor architecture, the company finally addressed the FPU issue. Intel's "Conroe" CPU core has a very powerful FPU, and that has guaranteed a very welcome reception by gamers ever since.

As it stands in the fall of 2007, the Intel Core 2 Duo processor is generally more powerful than AMD's Athlon64 X2/FX series in games, and all around.