You may have noticed a trend recently — pairing slightly less powerful cores that sip power, with more robust ones that can chug through demanding applications. NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 will be packing an underclocked fifth core, while ARM’s big.LITTLE initiative matches a highly efficient 28nm A7 with the beefy A15. Now Freescale is planning to use the same trick, but you won’t find its asymmetrical CPUs in your next tablet or smartphone. Its platform, which marries a Cortex M4 to a Cortex A5, isn’t meant to compete with the latest Snapdragon. These chips will find homes in factories and in-dash infotainment systems which have increasingly sophisticated UIs, but don’t need to push thousands of polygons. Software development tools will land before this quarter is out and the first batch of silicon will be announced in Q1 of 2012. Looks like the era of “dual-core” meaning two identical cores has officially come to an end.
Continue reading Freescale joins ARM A5 and M4 cores at the hip for performance and power savings
Freescale joins ARM A5 and M4 cores at the hip for performance and power savings originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
app,
arm cortex m4,
cortex,
cortexa5,
cortexm4,
cpu,
dual-core,
less-powerful,
processor,
processors,
push-thousands
This just in: Microsoft is ready to take the plunge into mobile modernity… at its own pace. During a recent interview with All Things D, Windows Phone President Andy Lees revealed a few details about Redmond’s future crop of handsets, which will apparently include both LTE capabilities and dual-core processors. The exec confirmed that LTE-equipped devices are indeed in the pipeline, but declined to specify whether they’d hit the market this year or next. Turns out, Microsoft wants to wait until current LTE networks prove capable of supporting more power-efficient smartphones. “The first LTE phones were big and big [users] of the battery,” Lees said. “I think it’s possible to do it in a way that is far more efficient, and that’s what we will be doing.”
Lees was similarly opaque about Microsoft’s plans to incorporate dual-core CPUs into its mobile lineup, saying only that they’re on the way. According to him, however, even single-core Windows Phones can hold their own against the dual-core competition: “They’re all single core, but I suspect that they will be faster in usage than any dual-core phone that you put against it, and that’s the point.” Lees went on to wax Panglossian about Microsoft’s strategy, claiming that the absence of LTE and dual-core processing doesn’t necessarily mean that his company is behind the times. “I think that what our strategy is is to put things in place that allow us to leapfrog, and I think that’s how we’ve gone from worse [sic] browser to the best browser,” he explained, “and I think the same is true with hardware.” Check out the full interview for yourself, at the source link below.
Shocker! Microsoft to produce dual-core, LTE Windows Phones, other modern things originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
cpu,
dual-core,
full-interview,
microsoft,
nes,
network,
processor,
shocker,
smartphone,
think-the-same
During the
IDF keynote today in San Francisco, Intel demoed a solar-powered PC running Windows based on its
long-teased Haswell microarchitecture — complete with labcoats and LOLcats. As a refresher, Haswell is based on the same 22nm technology as Ivy Bridge, reduces power by 20x compared to current designs, and will help Ultrabooks achieve
ten days of connected standby by 2013. Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini mentioned that Haswell will further accelerate Ultrabook innovation with the help of the company’s revolutionary
3D tri-gate transistors. Check out the solar-powered future in our gallery below.
Dante Cesa contributed to this report.
Continue reading Intel demos Haswell-enabled, solar-powered computing at IDF 2011
Intel demos Haswell-enabled, solar-powered computing at IDF 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
3dtransistor,
books,
design,
entry,
haswell,
intel haswell ultrabook,
intel ultrabook,
intelhaswell,
intelultrabook,
paul otellini,
processor,
windows
Speed. It’s of paramount importance in evaluating any computer system, and the engine that gives your PC its get up and go is its CPU. The folks at AMD wanted to show off just how awesome (and fast) their new Bulldozer-based FX chips can be, and set a Guinness World Record for the “Highest Frequency of a Computer Processor” while they were at it. To get the record, a team of “elite overclocking specialists” cranked up the juice on an 8-core desktop CPU until hitting a speed of 8.429GHz — handily surpassing the previous mark of 8.308GHz. So, AMD’s got the fastest silicon in the west and it’s chipping away at Intel’s processor predominance. What say you, Chipzilla?
Continue reading AMD gets Guinness World Record for fastest CPU with overclocked octa-core FX processor
AMD gets Guinness World Record for fastest CPU with overclocked octa-core FX processor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
8core,
app,
book,
engine,
fastest,
fastest-silicon,
overclock,
processor
Intel wants a piece of the smartphone market —
bad. The company has made no bones about its attempts to break into that booming space. Despite big talk, however, it hasn’t really given smartphone manufacturers something they can work with. A new promotional video for its pint-sized
Atom E6xx series, however, reveals that chipmaker may be taking a step in the right direction, highlighting a January 2012 date for bringing Android 2.3 to the processor. Keep in mind, of course, that this isn’t a smartphone chip that we’re talking about here — the primary applications as outlined by Intel are retail, fitness equipment, digital signage and in-vehicle systems. Still, perhaps it marks a next step in the company’s push toward your mobile devices, or moreover, a shift for Android into more
non-mobile things.
Intel reveals January 2012 Gingerbread arrival for the Atom E6xx (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
app,
atom,
book,
digital signage,
fitness equipment,
intel atom,
its-pint-sized,
mobile,
new-promotional,
processor,
retail,
rim
That’s right folks, AMD’s A4 APUs are here and ready to take on Intel in a battle for the bottom end of the mainstream desktop market. These dual-core desktop parts pack integrated graphics courtesy of the company’s Radeon line. Both also boast a 65W TDP and 1MB of L2 cache. The only difference here is speed and price: the 3300 clocks in at 2.5GHz with a 440MHz GPU for $70, while the 3400 moves on up to 2.7GHz and a 600MHz GPU for only $5 more. They’re not exactly speed demons, but should be able to hold their own against similarly priced Pentiums — especially if you don’t plan on buying a discrete graphics card. You can pick one up now at Amazon and other select retailers but, before you go, check out the PR after the break.
Continue reading AMD A4-3300 and A4-3400 APUs ready to ship, take on Intel for your budget PC dollar
AMD A4-3300 and A4-3400 APUs ready to ship, take on Intel for your budget PC dollar originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
a4-3400,
advanced micro devices,
amazon,
amd a4-3300,
amd a4-3400,
amda4,
amda4-3300,
amda4-3400,
app,
APUs,
CPUs,
desktop,
desktops,
processor,
the-mainstream
Remember that crazy wearable 3D display concept Sony was showing off at CES 2011? Turns out the company is actually going to make it, and the HMZ-T1 is scheduled to be released in Japan on November 11th. While the design has changed slightly since we first laid our eyes, and heads, on it, the specs appear to be the same, with two 1280×720 0.7-inch OLED panels mounted in front of each eye giving the wearer an experience similar to viewing a 750-inch screen from 20m away, as well as 5.1 surround sound from headphones integrated into the Head Mounted Display (HMD). You can see the helmet above, as well as the processor unit (complete with HDMI input and output, so you can take off the helmet and watch on TV) that it must remain tethered to. Pricing is expected to be 60,000 yen ($783 US). Check out the press release and our hands-on video from CES after the break and decide if living out a Geordi La Forge-style fantasy is worth it.
Continue reading Sony’s head-mounted 3D visor is real, HMZ-T1 arrives in Japan November 11th
Sony’s head-mounted 3D visor is real, HMZ-T1 arrives in Japan November 11th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
3d display,
3ddisplay,
after-the-break,
air,
design,
japan-november,
news,
press,
press-release,
processor
Say it with us now: “Huzzah!” For years, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon brand has been held back from general understanding by one thing: befuddling model numbers. Hearing about an MSM 8255 doesn’t really stick with the average consumer, and even for members of the press (and folks neck-deep in the supply channel), it wasn’t exactly easy to keep track of. In a bid to put on a more consumer-facing suit, Qually has announced its intentions to move away from complex processor names and move towards a simpler “series” model. For now, you’ll find S1, S2, S3 and S4, with “1′ being a mass market device and “4″ being the product you actually want. The slide just after the break explains where the cutoffs are for each level, but curiously enough, it sounds as if more of these will be added as technologies improve, speeds increase and capabilities soar. In other words, we hope your great-grandson is eager to get his hands on a Snapdragon S498. Wait, wasn’t this suppose to reduce complexities?
Continue reading Qualcomm overhauls complex naming scheme, introduces simpler Snapdragon levels
Qualcomm overhauls complex naming scheme, introduces simpler Snapdragon levels originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
ads,
cpu,
design,
processor,
product,
speeds-increase,
video,
words
We had a feeling that Freescale was onto something when it debuted the i.MX508, a system-on-a-chip that carried the promise of $150 e-readers (and the reality of
$129 ones). Given that, we can see where the execs at Freescale would be feeling a bit heady, and might wonder where else they could help push down prices. That’s exactly what we have here: the outfit is trotting out three new i.MX50 processors and, as you can see in that handy chart up there, they all sit even lower in the lineup than the low-cost i.MX508. Like the i.MX508, they all pack an 800HMz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, among other similar specs. The new i.MX507, in particular, resembles the i.MX508 in that it’s designed to work with E Ink displays, though it lacks graphics acceleration, and Freescale imagines it’ll instead find a home in outdoor signs and smart labels. Moving on down the line, the i.MX502 and the i.MX503 were both intended for devices with LCD — not electronic paper — displays, with the latter offering OpenVG graphics acceleration. If Freescale’s predictions are on the money, you’ll find the lower-end i.MX502 in DECT phones and vending machine displays, and the i.MX503 in personal navigators and medical monitoring tablets, among other use cases. For now, companies are sampling the chips, but they’ll start shipping later this quarter for a song — less than $10 for the i.MX502 at volume cost. Full PR after the break, and lots more technical details at the source link.
Continue reading Freescale expands its family of i.MX50 chips, goes beyond e-readers this time
Freescale expands its family of i.MX50 chips, goes beyond e-readers this time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
ads,
e readers,
freescale i.mx503,
latter-offering,
not-electronic,
processor,
processors,
tablets,
vending-machine,
web
Intel didn’t provide much indication of a release timeframe when it first teased its tablet-minded Cloverview platform back in April, but it’s now finally starting to dish a few more details (though still not many specifics, unfortunately). Speaking with This is my next, Intel’s Director of Product and Technology Media Relations, Bill Kircos, said that the chipmaker is looking to deliver a “nice one-two chip-software punch,” and roll out the Cloverview platform and accompanying Clover Trail processor around the same time as Windows 8 — possibly before, but seemingly no later. Of course, exactly when Windows 8 itself will launch still remains a bit of a mystery, although ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley notes that the latest rumor of a release to manufacturing in April of next year is not so crazy, and that “April sounds better than July.”
Intel says Cloverview platform will launch in time for Windows 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Tags:
ads,
app,
atom,
chipmaker,
clovertrail,
cloverview,
intel,
microsoft,
processor,
technology,
time-as-windows,
windows,
windows 8
