Intel® Processors, Hardware and software spot

AMD to launch combo graphics-microprocessor chips in 2011

2009-11-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

AMD to launch combo

graphics-microprocessor chips in 2011

Advanced Micro Devices released new details on its long-awaited Fusion chips, which combine graphics and microprocessor functions into a single chip in a computing platform that will launch in 2011.

Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager of AMD products (right), said at the company’s analyst meeting today that AMD is preparing a whole series of Fusion chips that will be made using a 32-nanometer manufacturing process that will be ready for full-scale production in 2011.

The chips will hit new targets in power efficiency, performance, and size and could be used in powerful desktop computers as well as the smallest netbooks, which are smaller than laptops and are meant for surfing the web.

These chips will have more than a billion transistors on them, Bergman said, but will likely be smaller and less powerful than separate, stand-alone microprocessor or graphics chips that launch in the same time frame.

The point is that they eliminate a chip in the PC system, cutting out costs and processing bottlenecks. The new chips also puts pressure on Intel and Nvidia, which make separate chips.

Samples of these chips will be sent to customers in the first half of 2010. They’re on schedule for production in late 2010 and will likely appear in customer PCs in 2011, Bergman said. That’s a shorter timeline than ever before. AMD has been promising Fusion chips since it acquired ATI Technologies for $5.4 billion in 2006. But it has delayed the launch, due to the difficulty of designing combination chips. Today’s schedule is consistent with the roadmap AMD announced a year ago.

One of the chips under design is code-named Llano. It will have four microprocessor cores, or computing brains, as well as a powerful graphics core that can handle the latest Microsoft DX11 graphics technology. A second chip in the works is code-named Ontario, which will have two microprocessor cores and a graphics core. By comparison, AMD plans to have a 12-core microprocessor on the market by 2010. As you can see, it’s easier to fit more cores on a stand-alone microprocessor than it is on a hybrid chip.

AMD calls these hybrid chips APUs, for accelerated processing units, compared to central processing units (CPUs, or microprocessors) or graphics processing units (GPUs). In other news, AMD executives said they expect to operate profitably from now on, or at least that is the major goal.

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AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

2009-11-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

New 125W TDP For The 965

New 125W TDP For The 965:

Today AMD is releasing a revised Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition processor. The TDP has been lowered from 140W to 125W, and also happens to be the new C3 stepping. Along with this new processor launch the prices for the 965's have been lowered to an expected price of $195 USD, a savings of about $20.

New Phenom II X4 965 Processor:

* TDP = 125W (down from 140W)
* Hardware C1E implemented (faster switching of power states means virtually no impact to performance by power management when BIOS support is properly implemented)
* “Heavy” load support for DDR3-1333 (with proper BIOS implementation, memory controller will now support up to 4 x DDR3 DIMMs @ 1333MHz)

How do you tell the difference? The last letter of the OPN numbers are different:

* 125W = HDZ965FBK4DGM
* 140W = HDZ965FBK4DGI

This processor runs at a slightly lower voltage than the previous model. The 140W 965 has a default core voltage of 1.4v, whereas the new 125W 965 runs at 1.375v. In theory these chips should provide slightly better overclocking (on average).

The Phenom II X4 965 (140W) has been out for a while, so I'm going to go light on the benchmarks in this article. Also the Phenom II X4 965 is only 200 MHz (or 6%) faster than the Phenom II X4 955, which we have a full review here.

As with previous Athlon II / Phenom II releases, a BIOS update will probably be needed to ensure complete compatibility and functionality with existing AM2+ / AM3 motherboards. Most updates that support these chips have been out for a month or more. Worst case scenario if you are trying to run a newer chip on an older AM2+ board without an update is you will probably have to disable CnQ.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor Technical Specifications:

Model Number & Core Frequency: X4 965 / 3.4GHz (Black Edition)
OPN: HDZ965FBK4DGM (“M” indicates new revision)
L1 Cache Sizes: 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (512KB total L1 per processor)
L2 Cache Sizes: 512KB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
L3 Cache Size: 6MB (shared between cores)
Total Cache (L2+L3): 8MB
Memory Controller Type:ype: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller*
Memory Controller Speed: Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
Types of Memory Supported:
- PC2-8500 / DDR2-1066MHz
- PC3-10600 / DDR3-1333MHz
HyperTransport 3.0 Link: One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
Total Processor Bandwidth: Up to 37.3 GB/s total bandwidth
Packaging: Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)
Fab location: GLOBALFOUNDARIES Fab 1 module 1 in Dresden, Germany (formerly AMD Fab 36)
Process Technology: 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
Approximate Transistor count: ~ 758 million (45nm)
Approximate Die Size: 258 mm² (45nm)
Max Temp: 62° Celsius
Nominal Voltage: 0.875 - 1.4 Volts
Max TDP: 125 Watts

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AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

2009-11-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

Pricing and Availability

The table below lists most of AMD's newest processors according to prices I found recently at Newegg & AMD's Processor Pricing List.

CPU-Z Info:

This screen shot is with everything set at default (for the processor).

Phenom II X4 965 - 125W TDP

AMD Overdrive 3.1:

Your favorite all-in-one overclocking tool just got better. A new version of AMD Overdrive (version 3.1) should be available for download today.

Some new features / improvements include:

* CPU model-specific profiles which should benefit OC results of some key chips
* Improved compatibility with AMD Cool’n’Quiet
* More profiles, the option to auto-enable Smart Profiles during installation and various fixes and improvements

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2009-11-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

Test Setup, Methodology, and Benchmarks Used

Too keep things consistent and try to maintain and "apples to apples" comparison, we try to use as much common hardware across the board. Each system's BIOS was set to "Optimized Defaults", with a verification of CPU & Memory speeds and timings.

We started out with a clean install of Vista and performed all the Windows updates to bring it up to current levels as of when this review was written. Then we installed all out benchmark programs and ran a disk defrag. Afterwards we disabled some un-needed Vista features that could affect results such as SuperFetch, System Restore, Defrag, Indexing, and Remote Assistance. Furthermore we ran the Bapco Auto-Configuration Tool and used its "Level 3" settings which disables a bunch more stuff:

* Disables screen saver
* Disables Windows Update
* Disables Desktop Cleanup Wizard
* Disables User Account Control (UAC)
* Disables the Sidebar
* Disables Windows Security Center warning messages
* Disables Windows Firewall
* Disables incoming Remote Desktop connections
* Disables Windows Error Reporting to Microsoft
* Prevents the Welcome Center from running at startup
* Disables Windows Defender

Each of the benchmarks were run at least five times, with the average being reported.

The following tests were performed:

* Synthetic Benchmarks:
o SiSoftware Sandra - 2009 SP1 (15.60)
o Lavalys Everest Ultimate Edition - v4.60
o WinRAR - 3.80
* 3D Rendering Performance:
o POV-Ray - 3.7 beta 29
o MAXON CINEBENCH - R10
* Video Encoding Performance:
o Tech ARP's x264 Benchmark - v2.0
o Windows Media Encoder 9 (x64 Edition)
o Divx Encoder - 6.6.1 (Codec 6.8.5)
* Math Calculation Performance:
o Wolfram Research Mathematica - v7
o wPrime - v2.00
o PiFast - 4.3
o HyperPi - 0.99b (Contains Super-Pi Mod v1.5)
* Gaming Performance:
o Lost Planet: Colonies Edition
o Far Cry 2
o Crysis Warhead
o Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
o Valve Particle Simulation Benchmark
o Valve VRAD map compilation tool
* Miscellaneous:
o Notfred Folding @ Home Benchmark

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AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

2009-11-07T21:31:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

Everest CPU Queen's Problem

Everest CPU Queen's Problem:

This simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic "Queens problem" on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard.

At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example -- with HyperThreading disabled -- the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. However, with enabled HyperThreading the picture is controversial, because due to architectural bottlenecks the Northwood core runs out of internal resources and slows down. Similarly, at the same clock speed AMD K8 class processors will be faster than AMD K7 ones due to the improved branch prediction capabilities of the K8 architecture.

CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations. It consumes less than 1 MB system memory and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

Everest CPU PhotoWorxx Processing:

This integer benchmark performs different common tasks used during digital photo processing.

It performs the following tasks on a very large RGB image:

* Fill
* Flip
* Rotate90R (rotate 90 degrees CW)
* Rotate90L (rotate 90 degrees CCW)
* Random (fill the image with random coloured pixels)
* RGB2BW (color to black & white conversion)
* Difference
* Crop

This benchmark stresses the integer arithmetic and multiplication execution units of the CPU and also the memory subsystem. Due to the fact that this test performs high memory read/write traffic, it cannot effectively scale in situations where more than 2 processing threads used. For example, on a 8-way Pentium III Xeon system the 8 processing threads will be "fighting" over the memory, creating a serious bottleneck that would lead to as low scores as a 2-way or 4-way similar processor based system could achieve.

CPU PhotoWorxx test uses only the basic x86 instructions, and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

Everest CPU ZLib Compression:

This integer benchmark measures combined CPU and memory subsystem performance through the public ZLib compression library Version 1.2.3.

CPU ZLib test uses only the basic x86 instructions, and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

Everest CPU AES Encryption:

This integer benchmark measures CPU performance using AES (a.k.a. Rijndael) data encryption. It utilizes Vincent Rijmen, Antoon Bosselaers and Paulo Barreto's public domain C code in ECB mode.

CPU AES test uses only the basic x86 instructions, and it's hardware accelerated on VIA PadLock Security Engine capable VIA C3 and VIA C7 processors. The test consumes 48 MB memory, and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

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AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

2009-11-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

Everest FPU Julia Fractal

Everest FPU Julia Fractal:

This benchmark measures the single precision (also known as 32-bit) floating-point performance through the computation of several frames of the popular "Julia" fractal. The code behind this benchmark method is written in Assembly, and it is extremely optimized for every popular AMD and Intel processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate x87, 3DNow!, 3DNow!+ or SSE instruction set extension.

FPU Julia test consumes less than 1 MB system memory, and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

Everest FPU Mandelbrot Fractal:

This benchmark measures the double precision (also known as 64-bit) floating-point performance through the computation of several frames of the popular "Mandelbrot" fractal. The code behind this benchmark method is written in Assembly, and it is extremely optimized for every popular AMD and Intel processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate x87 or SSE2 instruction set extension.

FPU Mandel test consumes less than 1 MB system memory, and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

Everest FPU SinJulia Fractal:

This benchmark measures the extended precision (also known as 80-bit) floating-point performance through the computation of a single frame of a modified "Julia" fractal. The code behind this benchmark method is written in Assembly, and it is extremely optimized for every popular AMD and Intel processor core variants by utilizing trigonometric and exponential x87 instructions.

FPU SinJulia test consumes less than 1 MB system memory, and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

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AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

2009-11-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

POV-Ray, x264 HD, WME9, Folding@Home

POV-Ray:

POV-Ray is a free raytracing program. Version 3.7 beta has 64bit support and native SMP capability. We used the built-in benchmark to test multithreaded performance.

x264 HD Benchmark:

x264 is a free library for encoding H264/AVC video streams. Tech ARP has a nifty benchmark app to bring some automation and standardization to the encoder. Simply execute a batch file and it will run three tests using two different encoder versions. We are only reporting the newest version since its scores are a little better. This is multithreaded and maintained very high CPU usage, especially during the second pass.

Windows Media Encoder 9 - x64 Edition:

Windows Media Encoder 9 x64 Edition is free from Microsoft and is yet another multithreaded app. The conversion was actually a two pass process, but WME only reports a final time. The first pass doesn't fully utilize all CPU power, but the second pass comes pretty close to full utilization. For this test we used a 10 Min ~130 MB video to re-encode to the 2Mb/s DVD quality format.

Folding @ Home Benchmarks:

We at EXTREME Overclocking are Folding @ Home nuts! If you fold then you have probably seen the EOC Folding Stats pages. Using the Folding@Home benchmark CD created by notfred, we ran the benchmark64 app to get these numbers. The benchmark doesn't run any of the new SMP work units, but it does give general relative performance of each processor.

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AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

2009-11-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

Overclocking

Overclocking:

As mentioned initially (and the whole purpose of this article) is that the new 965 model is a lower power 125W TDP. We should expect that overclocking would be slightly better than than the 140W TDP version. I was able to get a pretty decent OC leaving at stock voltage, however past that I wasn't able to squeeze out much more. I tried up to 1.525v but at the rate the system crashed you could tell it was a downhill slope with the increase in voltage. I messed around a little overclocking the memory controller, I was up around 2.5GHz without any issues.

We run Windows Vista x64 edition... If you are still running only a 32-bit operation system then you could expect to see about a 200 MHz increase over these numbers.

* 3.4 GHz - Stock Speed & Voltage (1.375v)
* 3.8 GHz - Max Overclock @ Stock Voltage
* 3.9 GHz - Max Overclock @ 1.425v

3.8 GHz @ Stock Voltage (1.375v)

Max OC - 3.9 GHz @ 1.425v

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AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

2009-11-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

AMD Launches 125W Phenom II X4 965 CPU

Product Summary & Final Conclusions

Product Summary & Final Conclusions:

There's really no downside to the new Phenom II X4 965 - 125W TDP model. The chip will overclock right around that 4 GHz zone, but it is just luck of the draw and each system setup will have an affect. We've seen numerous times in the past where the same model chip comes out with a new revision and often a lower TDP rating, both AMD and Intel do it. The new C3 stepping chips I'm sure will eventually trickle into all of the Phenom II's.

I did not get a chance to mess around with AOD 3.1 too much, but it is nice to see the AMD team continually strive to improve its functionality. AMD Overdrive really makes overclocking the Black Edition processors a snap, for both the novice and expert. It is much more convenient to adjust things on-the-fly than constantly rebooting the system to change settings in your BIOS.

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Intel Prototypes New Cooler for Gulftown CPU

2009-11-03T23:40:00.000-08:00

Intel Prototypes New Cooler for Gulftown CPU

Intel retail boxed processors always come packed with a heatsink and fan. While they aren't the most elaborate cooling solutions, they are quiet, efficient, and even adequate for some light overclocking.

Of course, those serious about keeping their hot chips cool will opt for aftermarket solutions. For the upcoming six-core Nehalem-based Gulftown CPU, Intel will be packing it with a tower-style heatsink.

PCWorld.fr snapped pictures of a prototype of the cooler that will be paired with Gulftown. Besides just a bigger heatsink with more fins, the proposed cooler also features four copper heatpipes.

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Intel's SSD firmware brings speed boost, mass death again

2009-11-03T23:33:00.000-08:00

Intel's SSD firmware brings speed boost, mass death (again)

Intel's new SSD firmware massively boosts performance with Windows 7-related ATA commands, but has a bricking bug that's lost data for many users. How much longer will Intel's streak of SSD firmware foibles continue, and how much will these problems hold back the SSD revolution?

Intel's new firmware and toolkit for its new X25 line of solid state disks (SSDs) delivered a massive improvement in their already blisteringly fast performance this week, with increased write speed and a near-elimination of usage-induced performance degradation. The update also included support for the Windows 7 "trim" feature, which will boost SSD's speed and lifespan. So with a 40 percent performance boost and extra Windows 7 goodness, what's not to like about this update? Try data corruption, which some users have reported, causing the update to be pulled not long after it was released. This latest in Intel's uninterrupted streak of firmware foibles will probably be resolved as quickly as the prior two, but it may fuel ongoing doubt about the stability of the SSD as a reliable storage device.

Intel's G1 SSD introduced a subsector remap algorithm which massively increased performance against comparable SSDs, seemingly without cost, until a PCPerspective review showed that the new algorithm's remap table would become fragmented over time and cause degradation, sometimes to below the performance of a regular laptop hard drive. Shortly after this was fixed with a firmware update, Intel's G2 SSDs, with brand-new 34nm NAND, appeared on the stage with further improvements. These, though, were plagued by a lockout problem involving BIOS drive passwords, stopping shipments of the new drive until the issue was resolved via a firmware update.

Intel's latest problem, the third, causes unpredictable, irreversible bricking of G2 SSDs that have been updated to the newest firmware. While it's likely to be fixed fast, this new bug underscores a long and disturbing trend of strange bugs in SSDs from Intel and other drive makers. From lifespan problems to the JMicron controller issue which drastically reduced performance of many makes and models of SSDs, to Intel's ongoing problems, evidence is mounting to convince the user that SSDs aren't ready for the prime time, even as the SSD turning point draws near.

More's the pity, because the new firmware and its related utility resolve one of the major problems in SSD performance: the total lack of coordination between the OS and the SSD. When operating systems "delete" files, they don't actually write zeroes to the relevant sectors, but rather declare the data deleted and move on. This is massively faster (as users who have deleted a 100GB porn pirated movie Linux ISO stash in a few seconds are acutely aware), but causes problems for SSDs. NAND flash reads in pages, but writes in much larger blocks, necessitating a "read-modify-write" operation when a partial write occurs to a block already containing data. This means that when a write occurs to the former location of a deleted file, the SSD, jealously guarding its worthless "deleted" data, performs an unnecessary RMW cycle. As the drive ages, and all available sectors are filled with detritus from deleted files, this can lower performance dramatically.

The solution is to allow the SSD and OS to communicate. The latest revisions to the ATA specification allow a command called "TRIM," which tells the SSD that the data has been deleted. While the data remains, the SSD knows it's junk, and won't trigger an RMW cycle when it's partially overwritten. Performance is nearly as good in old drives as in new. Support for TRIM is native in Windows 7, and Intel's new firmware and utility allow support, for Intel-branded SSDs only, in Windows Vista and Windows XP. Other manufacturers of SSDs have released TRIM-supporting SSDs for Windows 7, but none had TRIM support under prior operating systems.

The new update also boosted write performance of the 160GB version of the X25-M G2 by about 40 percent at open-box. The 160GB model had, confusingly, the same performance specs as the 80GB version at launch, and this has been remedied. Intel hasn't announced exactly what changes account for the performance boost.

Ultimately, both the Intel-exclusivity and the bricking problems associated with the TRIM command will dissipate, as SSD options and optimizations improve and the market expands. However, until an SSD launch is as trouble-free as an HDD launch, SSDs will continue to face challenges in the enterprise. The question is, how long will it be until inexplicable bugs stop delaying and blunting SSDs' every success?

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AMD's Athlon II X3 435

2009-10-23T03:50:00.001-07:00

AMD's Athlon II X3 435

A month ago AMD introduced the world’s first quad-core processor to debut at $99. Last week, AMD announced its third quarter earnings for 2009. While the company as a whole lost money, the Product Company (CPU and GPU design) turned a small profit. I don’t want to say that the worst is behind AMD, but things are definitely looking up.

And for the consumer, AMD is providing a ton of value these days. You're getting more transistors per dollar than Intel will give you, and it's not just bloat, these things are fast:

The value train continues with todays introduction of the first triple core Athlon II processors: the Athlon II X3 435 and 425. Clocked at 2.9GHz and 2.7GHz respectively, these processors are simply Athlon II X4s with one core disabled.

They’re also quite affordable. The 435 will set you back $87 while the 425 costs $76. This puts them on par with Intel’s Pentium E6000 series dual core processors, but cheaper than the Core 2 Duo E7500. This has been AMD’s high end dual core strategy for the Phenom’s life: sell three cores for the price of two. And in the past, it has worked.

The X3s AMD is announcing today are clocked high enough that you still have good performance in single threaded applications, and in those that can take advantage of three cores you’re almost guaranteed to have better performance than the Intel alternative.

The real question you have to ask is whether it makes more sense to spend a little more than get a quad-core processor or not.

The Athlon II X3s are 45nm 95W TDP parts and work in both Socket-AM2+ and Socket-AM3 motherboards. As I mentioned before, these are architecturally identical to the X4s just with one core disabled. That means you get a 512KB L2 per core but no L3 cache.

I’ll spoil the surprise for you here: they’re faster than the equivalently priced Intel CPUs in most cases, but that’s not too surprising.

The Athlon II X3 435 is a bit more overclockable than the X4 620. Without any additional voltage we got 3.25GHz on our 620 sample, but our 435 yielded 3.33GHz:

With an extra ~15% voltage we could get 3.63GHz:

AMD is also introducing a slew of energy efficient Athlon IIs as well. They’re all in the table below:

These energy efficient processors are binned for lower voltages and thus have a 45W TDP. Unfortunately you do sacrifice clock speed in some cases as a result. There's also a hefty price premium, at the high end you lose clock speed and pay 44% more for a 45W TDP.

The Test

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AMD's Athlon II X3 435

2009-10-23T03:45:00.000-07:00

AMD's Athlon II X3 435

SYSMark 2007 Performance

Our journey starts with SYSMark 2007, the only all-encompassing performance suite in our review today. The idea here is simple: one benchmark to indicate the overall performance of your machine.

Overall performance under SYSMark is pretty balanced for the Athlon II X3 435. It's faster than the $99 quad-core (620) but slightly slower than the quad core 630. We're slower than the old triple core Phenom II X3 720 though.

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AMD's Athlon II X3 435

2009-10-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

AMD's Athlon II X3 435

3dsmax 9

Today's desktop processors are more than fast enough to do professional level 3D rendering at home. To look at performance under 3dsmax we ran the SPECapc 3dsmax 8 benchmark (only the CPU rendering tests) under 3dsmax 9 SP1. The results reported are the rendering composite scores:

Compared to the Intel dual-core options, the Athlon II X3 435 is a definite winner here. It's got the core count and clock speed to beat the old Penryn derivatives. Its biggest competition comes from its own family, the Athlon II X4 620 is the better buy here.

Cinebench R10

Created by the Cinema 4D folks we have Cinebench, a popular 3D rendering benchmark that gives us both single and multi-threaded 3D rendering results.

As I've been mentioning this entire time, the Athlon II X3 435 doesn't really sacrifice clock speed in its three-core configuration. At 2.9GHz even its single threaded performance is comparable to the Pentium E6300. Run a multithreaded app however and the performance goes from parity to leading:

POV-Ray 3.73 beta 23 Ray Tracing Performance

POV-Ray is a popular, open-source raytracing application that also doubles as a great tool to measure CPU floating point performance.

I ran the SMP benchmark in beta 23 of POV-Ray 3.73. The numbers reported are the final score in pixels per second.

The POV-Ray results echo what we've been seeing thus far, vs. Intel there's no contest - the 435 is the better value. Compared to the quad-core Athlon IIs however, the 435 isn't very good.

Blender 2.48a

Blender is an open source 3D modeling application. Our benchmark here simply times how long it takes to render a character that comes with the application.

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AMD's Athlon II X3 435

2009-10-23T03:31:00.000-07:00

AMD's Athlon II X3 435

Fallout 3 Game Performance

Bethesda’s latest game uses an updated version of the Gamebryo engine (Oblivion). This benchmark takes place immediately outside Vault 101. The character walks away from the vault through the Springvale ruins. The benchmark is measured manually using FRAPS.
Finally! We have a test where the Athlon II X3 435's clock speed gives it the advantage over the 620. If you're a gamer but want more cores, the 435 is a good balance of performance in existing games but better than dual-core performance in well threaded apps.

Left 4 Dead

I've got no complaints about the X3's performance in Left 4 Dead either, it's nearly as fast as the more expensive Core 2 Duo E7500 (and with a much tastier upgrade path).

FarCry 2 Multithreaded Game Performance

FarCry 2 ships with the most impressive benchmark tool we’ve ever seen in a PC game. Part of this is due to the fact that Ubisoft actually tapped a number of hardware sites (AnandTech included) from around the world to aid in the planning for the benchmark.

For our purposes we ran the CPU benchmark included in the latest patch:

Even in our most heavily threaded game test, the X3 435 is a bit faster than the 620.

Crysis Warhead

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AMD's Athlon II X3 435

2009-10-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

AMD's Athlon II X3 435

Power Consumption

Thanks to its higher clock speed the Athlon II X3 435 draws a little more power than the 620 at idle, but uses a little less under load. The new energy efficient chips can't be touched. Personally I wouldn't spring for them, but if you're looking to upgrade a building full of machines and want as much power reduction as possible the e series can deliver.

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AMD's Athlon II X3 435

2009-10-23T03:19:00.000-07:00

AMD's Athlon II X3 435
SYSMark 2007 Performance

Our journey starts with SYSMark 2007, the only all-encompassing performance suite in our review today. The idea here is simple: one benchmark to indicate the overall performance of your machine.

AMD's Athlon II X3 435

2009-10-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

AMD's Athlon II X3 435

We'll start with the good news first. The Athlon II X3 435, priced at $87, is a better buy than any of the similarly priced Intel dual-core processors. In heavily threaded applications it's even faster than the more expensive Core 2 Duo E7500. Compared to Intel, the X3 435 is a clear value leader.

The problem is compared to AMD, the Athlon II X3 435 isn't that impressive. The Athlon II X4 620 is faster in nearly every multithreaded benchmark, and it's only costs $12 more. It's only in games and other lightly threaded applications where the 435's higher default clock speed makes up for its lack of a fourth core.

The Athlon II X3 435 is about $15 more expensive than it should be to make sense in AMD's lineup. It's a great step between the dual and quad-core options, but if you need the performance you're probably better off with the 620.

You do get better overclocking potential (thanks to lower thermal output of only three cores), but bring overclocking into the mix and you can narrow the clock speed gap with an overclocked 620.

Compared to Intel, I like the Athlon II X3 435. Compared to AMD, I'd take a quad-core 620.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) ReviewIntroduction and Specifications

For quite some time now, Intel has been the undisputed leader when it comes to laptop CPU performance. This advantage comes from the fact that Intel has successfully scaled its desktop processor technology for use in the mobile platform. That trend continues with the latest mobile processor platform being unleashed today from Intel: the "Clarksfield"-based Core i7 Mobile processor family and the new PM55 Express Chipset.

This marks the first time that the "Nehalem" Core i7 microarchitecture has been ported over to the mobile side. The fact that the mobile version of Nehalem makes its debut only two weeks following the launch of Intel's Core i5 ("Lynnfield") mainstream desktop CPU and P55 Express chipset is no coincidence. As it turns out, the Core i7 Mobile processor die is identical to the desktop version, but uses mobile packaging--as far as the microarchitecture is concerned, Clarksfield and Lynnfield are essentially the same thing. The lower power demands of Lynnfield (as opposed to the original Nehalem architecture) are in large part what enable it to also be used in notebooks.

What this means is that Core i7 Mobile-based notebooks will see a number of the same benefits that Core i7 desktops already have, such as integrating the memory controller into the processor die, using a three-level cache hierarchy, utilizing Hyper-Threading technology, and taking advantage of Intel Turbo Boost Technology. What Lynnfield/Clarksfield adds to the equation is on-die PCI Express connectivity, getting rid of the Northbridge chip, and improving the Intel Turbo Boost Technology (from the original Nehalem architecture). Additionally, whereas only the previous Intel Core 2 mobile ("Penryn") microarchitecture had primarily dual-core offerings, all of the Core i7 Mobile solutions are quad cores. The three Penryn-based quad-core mobile processors (the 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9300, 2.26GHz Core 2 Quad Mobile Q9100, and 2.0GHz Core 2 Quad Mobile Q9000) are made from two dual-core chips merged together in a single CPU package, while Clarksfield uses a single-chip (monolithic) design.

Core i7 Mobile processors are available in three versions. The flagship processor is the Core i7-920XM, which has a base speed of 2.0GHz and goes up to 3.2GHz using Turbo Boost. The middle CPU is the Core i7-820QM, which has a base speed of 1.73GHz and can go up to 3.06GHz with Turbo Boost. Last, but not least, is the Core i7-820QM, with a base speed of 1.6GHz and maximum Turbo Boost speed of 2.8GHz. The Core i7-920XM and Core i7-820QM both have 8MB of shared L3 Smart Cache, while the Core i7-720QM has 6MB of L3 Smart Cache. The other notable difference between these three processors is that the Core i7-920XM has a maximum TDP of 55W, while the Core i7-820QM and Core 720QM both have a maximum 45W TDP. (For comparison, the three quad-core Penryn processors all have a maximum TDP of 45W).

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
Core i7 Mobile Processor Details

The Core i7 has a die size of approximately 296mm2 and contains roughly 774-million transistors. The die includes four physical execution cores, three levels of cache, an integrated memory controller, and PCI Express interconnects.

Lynnfield/Clarksfield Die Map

Since the Core i7 Mobile processor integrates the memory controller and PCI Express interconnects onto the processor, there is no need for a traditional Northbridge chip. This means that the PM55 chipset acts primarily as a Southbridge chip, handling most of the device I/O. With no Northbridge chip to communicate with, the Core i7 Mobile processor doesn't need the Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) that the Core i7-900 series ("Bloomfield") processors use to communicate with the chipset. Instead, the Core i7 Mobile uses the slower Direct Media Interface (DMI) interconnect to communicate with the PM55 chipset. Another major difference between the Core i7 Mobile and the Core i7 900-series, is that unlike the Core i7 900-series support for triple-channel DDR3 memory, the Core i7 Mobile instead supports just dual-channel DDR3. The Core i7 Mobile processor supports configurations of 16 PCI Express 2.0 lanes per GPU or two sets of 8 PCI Express 2.0 lanes.

With the memory controller and PCI Express interconnects on the processor die,
the Core i7 Mobile doesn't need a Northbridge chip.

The Core i7-920XM and Core i7-820QM processors have the same three-level cache architecture as all other existing Core i7 and Core i5 processors. The cache configuration is made up of a 4 x 32K instruction L1 cache, 4 x 32K data L1 cache, 4 x 256K L2 cache, and an 8MB L3 cache that is shared between all four cores. The Core i7-720QM has the same L1 and L2 cache amounts, but instead has 6MB L3 shared cache.

All Core i7 Mobile CPUs have three levels of cache; the
Core i7-920XM and Core i7-820QM have 8MB of shared
L3 cache (the Core i7-720QM has 6B of shared L3 cache).

Also, as with all other Core i7 processors, the Core i7 Mobile includes Hyper-Threading support. Hyper-Threading allows each core to process two simultaneous threads. As a result, the Core i7 Mobile can run up to eight simultaneous threads.

With Hyper-Threading, the Core i7-920MX has four physical execution cores and
four virtual cores, for a total of eight cores available for multi-threaded workloads.

As you can see in the Windows 7 Resource Monitor screenshot above, the system sees a total of eight cores: four physical execution cores plus four virtual cores via Hyper-Threading.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel Turbo Boost Technology has been part of the Core i7 (Nehalem) architecture from day one. However, Lynnfield and Clarksfield bring a significant update to the Turbo Boost technology, making it an even more flexible and powerful performance booster.

A graphical example of how Core i7 Mobile Turbo Boost works.

The Core i7 Mobile processor is actually capable of three different speeds above its base speed, depending on the nature of the active single or multi-threaded workloads (and as long as the processor is operating within specified thermal and power limits). When a single-threaded workload is detected, the Core i7-920XM's clock speed on just a single execution core increases up to 3.2GHz, while the remaining three cores remain inactive and operate and close to zero power. When a lightly-threaded workload is detected, only two cores are active and they operate at up to 3.06GHz. With a high-threaded workload, all four cores are active and operate at up to 2.26GHz.

A single-threaded workload (left) vs. a heavily-threaded workload (right).

The image on the left was recorded while Cinebench R10 was running its single-threaded workload. As you can see in Windows 7's Resource Monitor, CPU2 is getting pegged heavily. There is also some activity on CPU1, CPU5, and CPU7, which can be attributed to Windows 7 background tasks and other apps running in the background. The Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor gadget shows the processor running at 3.2GHz. While this screenshot shows that the Core i7-920XM is capable of scaling up to 3.2GHz, the chip actually ran at 3.07GHz during the vast majority of the test run.

The screenshot on the right was captured while Cinebench R10 was running its multi-threaded workload. Resource Monitor shows all four physical execution cores and all four Hyper-Threading virtual cores completely saturated, with the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor showing the processor running at 2.0GHz. Curiously, the processor did not run at the 2.26GHz speed that Turbo Boost supports for highly-threaded workloads, and instead ran at the processor's 2.0GHz base speed.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-29T03:33:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
Intel PM55 Express Chipset

If you read our recent coverage of the Lynnfield processor (Intel Core i5 and the Core i7 800-series), then the diagram below of the Clarksfield platform should look very familiar (in fact, it is the same diagram). As we previously mentioned, Clarksfield and Lynnfield have the identical architecture. The same can be said for the P55 and PM55 chipset feature sets.

Prior to the release of Lynnfield and Clarksfield, the Core i7's PCI Express interconnects were still located on the chipset; therefore the Intel X58 chipset for Bloomfield processors still required a Northbridge chip and a speedy QPI interconnect between the processor and the Northbridge chip. Now with the PCI Express interconnects and the memory controller located on the processor die, the Northbridge chip is gone from the equation and the CPU communicates directly with the Southbridge chip via a DMI interconnect.

The PM55 chipset supports up to 14 USB 2.0 ports and six SATA 3Gb/sec ports; it also supports Intel Matrix Storage Technology RAID support and Intel High Definition Audio. The PM55 chipset also includes support for up to eight PCI Express x1 ports. PCI Express ports 1 through 4 can be configured as either four x1, two x2, or one x4 lane groups; the same is true for PCI Express ports 5 through 8. This means that the PM55's PCI Express lanes could be configured as two x4. Unfortunately, it is not possible to gang all eight PCI Express lanes into single x8 skit.

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

Test System and SiSoft SANDRA

In order to test the performance of the new Intel Core i7 Mobile platform, we got our hands on a Core i7-920XM-based whitebook from Intel. Strictly speaking, the unit we tested is not an actual shipping configuration. But since the whitebook came in a Style-Note chassis (model W870CU) from Taiwan-based notebook manufacturer Clevo, it is likely that we will see shipping Core i7-920XM-based notebooks that closely resemble the configuration and design of the whitebook. Clevo manufacturers notebooks for a number of OEMs, such as AVADirect and Eurocom. In fact, Eurocom has already announced that it will be offering a Core i7 Mobile-based system using the same Clevo W870CU notebook design come October.

*Intel Core i7-920XM 2.0GHz (2.26/3.06/3.2 Max Turbo Frequencies (4C/2C/1C))

* 4GB DDR3-1333 (2x2GB) SDRAM

* NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M graphics with 1GB VRAM

* 17-inch 1600x900 display

* Intel 80GB X25-M SATA SSD

* DVD-Multi Recorder

* Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300 WLAN

* GbE Ethernet

* 42 WHr Battery

* Windows 7 Ultimate

* ExpressCard/54 slot

* eSATA port

* DVI out

* HDMI out

* 4 USB ports

* 1394 port

The Clevo W870CU whitebook unit measures 2.25x16.25x11.0-inches (HWD) and weighs about 8 pounds. While we keep calling it a whitebook--as the images show--it is not acutally white ("whitebook" is just an expression to indicate that it is a custom design that is not available for sale.). The W870CU's chassis is an almost all-black affair with red trim. The left side of the unit includes the DVD-RW drive, USB port, FireWire port, MMC/SD/MS card slot, TV antenna input, and RJ-11 modem jack. The right side of the unit includes four audio ports, USB port, ExpressCard/54 slot, eSATA slot, DVI out, and lock slot. The back of the unit has an HDMI out port, power connector, two USB ports, and an RJ-45 Ethernet port. The bottom of the unit features no less than three separate exhaust ports for the two internal fans (one for the CPU and one for the GPU).

The estimated street price of the Core i7-290XM-based Clevo W870CU is around $3,299--depending on how the OEM configures it. Before the Intel techs sent us the unit for testing, they swapped out the notebook's 250GB SATA hard drive for an 80GB Intel X-25-M SATA SSD. Such an upgrade raises the price by about another $275 or so.

We began our testing with SiSoftware's SANDRA 2009 SP4, the System ANalyzer, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant. We ran four of the built-in subsystem tests that partially comprise the SANDRA 2009 SP4 suite: CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Memory Bandwidth, and Cache and Memory.

On all of the SiSoftware's SANDRA tests, the Core i7-920XM puts in a very strong showing. While our whitebook wasn't the top performer in the Processor Arithmetic test, a closer look shows that the CPU that SANDRA automatically picked to compare the whitebook's performance too was actually another Core i7-920XM--but one running with Turbo Boost bumping up the processor speed to 3.2GHz. The whitebook is also not the winner on the Processor Multi-Media test; but the automatically-generated comparison CPU in this case is a 3.33GHz Intel Core i7 975 Extreme Edition desktop processor--which is not exactly a fair comparison.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-29T03:06:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
Futuremark PCMark Vantage

Next up, we ran a number of different test systems through Futuremark's PCMark Vantage system performance metric. PCMark Vantage runs through a host of different usage scenarios to simulate different types of workloads including High Definition TV and movie playback and manipulation, gaming, image editing and manipulation, music compression, communications, and productivity. Most of the tests are multi-threaded (up to three simultaneous threads), so the tests can exploit the additional resources offered by a multi-core CPU.

We pitted the Core i7-920XM against a number of other different processors and platforms. It is important to note that unlike when we test desktop processors, we can't just swap out the processor from the notebook's motherboard and pop in a new one for comparison, while keeping all other components the same. Therefore, all of the test results presented here and on the following pages include systems with different configurations, including different chipsets, memory types and speeds, hard disk drives, and GPUs. These comparisons are still valid, but the numbers represent specific configurations and models, and are not necessarily representative of all systems that use these processors.

Our primary comparison system in these pages a Dell XPS M1730, which is powered by a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo X9000, 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, 80GB Intel SSD hard drive, and dual Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTX GPUs using SLI. But we also included scores for a number of desktop processors as well, such as a 2.66GHz Core i5-750, 2.66GHz Core i7-920, and a 3.4GHz AMD Phenom II X4 965.

On the PCMark Vantage test, the Core i7-920XM's score of 12,517 PCMarks easily bests all of the comparison systems by a significant margin. The Core i7-920XM falters a bit on the Communications and TV & Movies workloads, but more than makes up for it on the other tests.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-29T02:54:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
LAME MT and X264 Encoding

In our custom LAME MT MP3 encoding test, we convert a large WAV file to the MP3 format, which is a popular scenario that many end users work with on a day-to-day basis to provide portability and storage of their digital audio content. LAME is an open-source mid to high bit-rate and VBR (variable bit rate) MP3 audio encoder that is used widely around the world in a multitude of third party applications.In our custom LAME MT MP3 encoding test, we convert a large WAV file to the MP3 format, which is a popular scenario that many end users work with on a day-to-day basis to provide portability and storage of their digital audio content. LAME is an open-source mid to high bit-rate and VBR (variable bit rate) MP3 audio encoder that is used widely around the world in a multitude of third party applications.

In this test, we created our own 223MB WAV file (a hallucinogenically-induced Grateful Dead jam) and converted it to the MP3 format using the multi-thread capable LAME MT application in single and multi-thread modes. Processing times are recorded below, listed in seconds. Shorter times equate to better performance.

The Core i7-920XM puts in a very strong showing on our LAME MT test, but its multi-threaded performance is still only on par with that of the 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo X9000-based Dell notebook. In fact, with the exception of the Core 2 Quad 9400, all of our comparisons systems were at least as fast as the Core i7-920XM or faster when it comes to multi-threaded performance on this encoding test. If you look at the scores, however, you will see that there is a very tight grouping here with very similar multi-threaded performance among them. There is a wider range of performance with the single-threaded encoding performance, and here the Core i7-920XM comes out on top--in part because the test's single-threaded workload enabled the CPU to scale up to 3.2GHz using Turbo Boost. Even though the Core i5-750 also scales up to 3.2GHz with Turbo Boost, the Core i5 processor lacks Hyper-Threading--which is what gives the Core i7-920XM the edge over the Core i5-750 here.

The x264 benchmark measures how fast a system can encode a short, DVD quality MPEG-2 video clip into a high-quality H.264 HD video clip. The application reports the compression results in frames per second for each pass of the video encoding process, and it is threaded so it can take advantage of the additional resources afforded by multi-core processors.

On this HD video encoding test, the Core i7-920XM was significantly faster that the 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo X9000-based Dell notebook. This is an indication that the new Core i7 Mobile platform should be much more efficient at encoding video than the Core 2 Duo processor--an increasingly important task for all platforms. On the other hand, all but one of the desktop-based CPUs handily beat the Core i7-920XM with their encoding speed. While the mobile processor may have come a long way in its performance capabilities, a modern desktop CPU is still the better choice when it comes to encoding video quickly.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

Cinebench R10 and POV-Ray

This is a multi-threaded, multi-processor aware benchmark that renders a single 3D scene and tracks the length of the entire process. The rate at which each test system was able to render the entire scene is represented in the graph below.

Three of the four comparison desktop CPUs outperformed the Core i7-920XM on the multi-threaded iteration of Cinebench R10; but the Core i7-920XM was faster than every single one of the comparison systems on the single-threaded version of the test. Once again this is direct result of the Core i7-920XM's ability to scale its processor speed up to 3.2GHz using Turbo Boost Technology.

POV-Ray, or the Persistence of Vision Ray-Tracer, is a top-notch open source tool for creating realistically lit 3D graphics artwork. We tested with POV-Ray's standard 'all-CPU' benchmarking tool on the test machines, and recorded the scores reported for each. Results are measured in pixels-per-second throughput; higher scores equate to better performance.

Our results with the POV-Ray benchmark nearly mirror those of Cinebench R10 above. The only notable difference is that on this benchmark, the 3.4GHz AMD Phenom II X4 965 edges out the Core i7-920XM for top honors on the single-threaded workload. As this test is very sensitive to raw CPU speed, it's not a complete surprise that the processor running at the highest speed was the one to put in the fastest single-threaded performance.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
Futuremark 3DMark Vantage

3DMark Vantage
Futuremark's synthetic 3D gaming benchmark, 3DMark Vantage, uses some advanced visual technologies that are only available with DirectX 10. 3DMark Vantage isn't simply a port of 3DMark06 to DirectX 10 though. With this latest version of the benchmark, Futuremark has incorporated two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, in addition to support for the latest PC hardware. We tested the systems here with 3DMark Vantage's Extreme preset option, which uses a resolution of 1,920x1,200 (as this exceeded the native screen resolution of the Core i7-920XM whitebook, we conducted this test with the notebook sending its video out to an external display).

Even though the Core i7-920XM has what is arguably the fastest mobile CPU and mobile GPU (the Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M) available today, we still wouldn't expect this amped-up mobile platform to beat high-end desktop gaming rigs when it comes to 3D graphics. We ran this test primarily to see how close the platform could come to desktop-like 3D graphics performance. We'll be the first to admit that the Core i7-920XM whitebook's 3D graphics performance wouldn't make it a candidate as our first-choice system for a LAN party, but its gaming performance is about some of the most-powerful we've seen for a non-SLI notebook.

3DMark Vantage

3DMark Vantage's CPU Test 2 is a multi-threaded test designed for comparing relative game physics processing performance between systems. This test consists of a single scene that features an air race of sorts, with a complex configuration of gates. There are aircraft in the test that trail smoke and collide with various cloth and soft-body obstacles, each other, and the ground. The smoke spreads, and reacts to the planes as they pass through it as well and all of this is calculated on the host CPU. We disabled the benchmark's Nvidia PhysX in order to better isolate the performance of the CPU.

The Core i7-920XM whitebook handily beat the 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo X9800-based Dell notebook, as well as holding its own against the 2.66GHz Core i5-750 and 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad Q9400 systems. Not surprisingly, the most powerful system on this test uses the highest-end desktop processor of our comparison systems, the Core i7-920 desktop CPU.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
Gaming: L4D and ETQW

Left 4 Dead (L4D) is a co-operative, survival horror, first-person shooter that was developed by Turtle Rock Studios and then purchased by Valve part-way into development. Like Half Life 2, the game uses the Source engine; however, the visuals in L4D are far superior to anything seen in the Half Life universe to date. The game pits four

Left 4 Dead survivors of an apocalyptic pandemic against hordes of aggressive zombies. We tested the game with all of its graphical settings at their maximum, with 4x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic filtering, and set to an in-game screen resolution of 1,920x1,200 (which required us to use an external display with the Core i7-920XM whitebook).

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ETQW) is based on a radically enhanced version of id's Doom 3 engine and viewed by many as Battlefield 2 meets the Strogg--and then some. In fact, we'd venture to say that id took EA's team-based warfare genre up a notch or two. ETQW also marks the introduction of John Carmack's "Megatexture" technology that employs large environment and terrain textures that cover vast areas of maps without the need to repeat and tile many smaller textures. The beauty of megatexture
Enemy Territory: technologyis that each unit only takes up a maximum of 8MB of frame buffer memory.
Quake Wars Add to that HDR-like bloom lighting and leading edge shadowing effects and ETQW looks great, plays well, and works high-end GPUs vigorously. The game was tested with all of its in-game options set to their maximum values with soft particles enabled, in addition to 4x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic filtering. We tested ETQW at a resolution of 1,920x1,200 (using an external display with the Core i7-920XM whitebook).

The same story repeats here as well: strong playable performance, but nothing earth-shattering that would give enthusiast desktop systems anything to worry about.

When testing processors with ETQW, we also drop the resolution to 800x600, and reduce all of the in-game graphical options to their minimum values to isolate CPU and memory performance as much as possible. However, the in-game effects, which control the level of detail for the games' physics engines and particle systems, are left at their maximum values, since these actually do place some load on the CPU rather than GPU.

On this very CPU-intensive test, the Core i7-920MX held its own quite well against all of the comparisons systems. Only the Core i5-750 and Core i7-920 desktop processors were faster--and by a fairly small margin.

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Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review

2009-09-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Mobile CPU (Clarksfield) Review
Battery Performance

The Clevo W870CU whitebook came with a 3,800mAh, 42.18Wh Li-Polymer battery. Because of the large 17-inch display, powerful processor and GPU, and two fans, we didn't expect a long battery life from the desktop-replacement unit. In fact, the Clevo site indicates that the W870CU should be capable of about 90 minutes of battery life (the unit doesn't actually ship until October).

The whitebook's mere 38 minutes of battery life on the BatteryEater Pro test was very disappointing, to say the least--and even a lot less than the modest time we expected. With less than 40 minutes of battery life, there's not a whole lot you can do with the notebook before it runs out of juice or needs to be plugged back in for charging. It is important to keep in mind, however, that this unit is still considered a pre-production unit, so we can only hope that Clevo has a few tricks up its sleeve in order to eke out another 50 minutes of so from the battery to get the system up to it estimated 90 minutes of battery life.

We also connected the whitebook to a power meter to see how much power it consumes. With the notebook sitting in an idle state (logged into the OS with no active foreground tasks), the whitebook operated at around 44W. When we cranked up the Cinebench R10 multi-threaded workload--with all four physical execution cores active--the unit's power consumption jumped up to about 96W.

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Intel 32nm Clarkdale & Arrandale CPU Preview

2009-09-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

Intel 32nm Clarkdale & Arrandale CPU Preview

Although Intel talked about their upcoming 32nm Westmere-based processors at IDF, and even showed off a few demos of the next-gen core at work right on stage, we still got in some private face-time with a few Intel reps and engineers in a closed door session to glean a few more details.

A couple of the items we saw firsthand were Intel's upcoming Clarkdale (not to be confused with Clarksfield) and Arrandale processors. If you're unfamiliar with Clarkdale and Arrandale, they are upcoming mainstream desktop and mobile processor offerings based on the Nehalem microarchitecture, manufactured on Intel's 32nm process node.

Intel Clarkdale and Arrandale Details

Like other Nehalem derivatives, Clarkdale and Arrandale will feature Intel Turbo Boost and HyperThreading technologies, but they'll also sport on-processor graphics and hardware acceleration for AES (Advanced Encryption Standard).

Clarkdale are Arrandale are integral parts of Intel's future Kings Creek and Ibex Peak platforms. As we've mentioned, the chips will be produced using Intel's 32nm, 2nd Generation Hi-K process. They will feature two execution cores (dual-core), but with HyperThreading will be able to process up to 4 threads simultaneously. The processors will also feature up to 4MB of Intel Smart Cache, an Integrated Memory Controller (IMC) that support two-channels of DDR3 memory at officially supported speeds of up to 1333MHz, and Integrated Graphics or Discrete graphics support. We should note that when discreet graphics are used, the PCI Express lanes dedicated to the GPU may be arranged in either a 1x16 or 2x8 lane configuration, depending on the chipset being used. Through new instructions, the processors will also offer Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) acceleration and they will be compatible with the LGA1156 Socket and 5-seris chipset (the chips are supposedly drop-in compatible with Intel Core i7-800 series processors).

Clarkdale's Expected Performance. Source: Intel

There are few interesting things to note in regard to the integrated graphics core that will be used with Clarkdale and Arrandale. First, although the processors will be manufactured at 32nm, the graphics cores will be produced at 45nm. That means, of course, that the processors will feature multi-chip packages, and the CPU and GPU won't be merged on a single die. The IGP will be called the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD, and is derived from existing Intel graphics products. But we're told the new core will offer much improved performance--somewhere in the neighborhood of 50%+ higher than the current X4500HD. Mobile versions of the new IGP will also sport a Turbo mode of their own, that ratchets the clocks and voltage of the graphics core up or down, depending on the workload to conserve power or maximize performance. We're also told the IGP gets a perfect score in the HQV benchmark and that on Clarkdale Blu-ray, Dolby DTS, and other audio formats will be supported over its HDMI output.

Intel Clarkdale Action Shots

We saw a number of reference system up and running built around Clarkdale, which are pictured above. The first was a thin HTPC system that looked almost like a mobile reference design with SO-DIMM memory down on the board. There we got a look at a smaller than a toaster-sized box and Intel was keen to point out was the power consumption of the platform. This HTPC style system was connected to a Dell LCD, and both the system's and monitor's power cables were plugged into a couple of power meters. Under idle conditions, the entire system, even with drives, memory, the processor etc, consumed significantly less power (about 28 watts total) than the LCD. Under loaded conditions (seen in the screen shots above) the system consumed 70.4W versus the LCD which hovered in the 40W range.

We're sure more news related to Clarkdale and Arrandale will hit as we get closer to their official launch. For now, we hope you enjoyed this inside look at what Intel has on tap for the not-too-distant future.

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AMD Black Edition Memory

2009-09-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

OCZ Announces Low-Voltage AMD Black Edition Memory

OCZ Technology Announces Low-Voltage AMD Black Edition Memory with “AMD Overdrive” Performance

San Jose, Calif. -- September 24, 2009 -- OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today expanded their lineup of DDR3 to include certified OCZ Black Edition 4GB kits for ultimate compatibility with AMD’s next-generation Phenom II processors. These modules excel on Black Edition platforms at ultra-low voltage, an ideal parameter for the latest highly efficient processors. OCZ’s unique Black Edition Series is designed to be the ultimate upgrade for users who not only want to reap the benefits of high-frequency DDR3, but want a future-proof choice for their system.

“OCZ is excited to launch our new AMD Black Edition Ready Series which is designed specifically to work with AMD’s OverDrive software utility,” said Eugene Chang, Vice President of Product Management at the OCZ Technology Group. “The new OCZ Black Edition modules not only interact with AOD to overclock the memory, but also communicate with the BIOS to increase the frequency and performance of the memory controller. The result is a symbiotic relationship between memory and the rest of the system to unleash the full power of the Dragon Platform.”

“We are thrilled to see OCZ develop the Black Edition modules exclusively for Socket AM3 platforms featuring AMD Phenom II processors,” said Bob Grim, Director, Client Product Marketing, AMD. “By supporting AMD Black Edition Memory Profiles, OCZ enables overclockers to achieve higher levels of performance intelligently through dynamic profiles as opposed to simple, static SPD parameters.”

OCZ Black Edition kits are tested and qualified specifically for AMD’s own “Black Edition” Phenom CPUs for ultimate performance and stability. Featuring the exclusive AMD OverDrive (AOD) feature, users can unleash the remote stored profiles when used with 790FX / 790GX motherboards, giving the cutting-edge with instant “plug and play” functionality. This highly advanced AOD feature detects your OCZ Black Edition RAM when used in conjunction with certified motherboards and processors, where the data is then sent to a remote AMD server to download the correct profiles and get your system up and running at its peak. Eliminating the need for manual overclocking, the AOD does all the work for you as you charge through your games and computing tasks.

OCZ Black Edition modules feature the high densities and blazing DDR3 speeds enthusiasts and gamers demand to make the most of the graphic-intensive PC titles and applications, and will be available as DDR3 PC3-12800 4GB kits operating at 1.65V. Each module comes with an exclusive AMD-branded XTC (Xtreme Thermal Convection) heatspreader and is backed by the industry-leading OCZ Lifetime Warranty and technical support for unparalleled peace of mind.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T03:33:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core Introduction & Specifications

AMD has been attacking the mainstream PC segment lately with a slew of modestly priced processors and chipsets. The attack started with the new Athlon II X2 value processors back in June, which were a much needed replacement for the out-dated Athlon X2 series. Then a few weeks later, AMD released their new mainstream chipset, the 785G, which we found to be an excellent complement to the new Athlon II's. Today AMD is adding the final piece to their new mainstream desktop platform with the release of a line-up of value-priced quad-cores; the Athlon II X4 series. At first the announcement of Athlon II X4s doesn't seem too interesting. Especially since they have been rumored for some time and it wasn't much of a stretch to imagine that AMD would get around to releasing quad-core Athlon II processors eventually. Not to mention the Athlon IIs are in many ways just Phenom IIs with the L3 cache removed, so there isn't a ton of brand new tech under the hood to ogle at. However, things get a lot more interesting when you hear the list price. Consider for a moment the prospect of full, native quad-core capabilities at a palatable mainstream price normally associated with dual-cores. Pleasant thought, isn't it? Well now AMD is making it a reality. The new Athlon II X4s will start at just $99, making them the cheapest quad-core processors on the market. A quad-core with a two digit price tag, interested yet?

AMD is making two models available immediately for the Athlon II X4 launch, the 2.6GHz 620 and the 2.8GHz 630. The higher clocked Athlon II X4 630 will have an initial MSRP of $122 while the Athlon II X4 620 will come in just under the magic $100 price point, at $99. This puts them in direct price competition with Intel's high-end dual-cores, low-end quad-cores, and even AMD's own Phenom II X3 triple-cores.

While the new Athlon II X4 620 undercuts every currently available quad and triple core processor on the market in cost, the 630 will be butting heads with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 and the Phenom II X3 720. This makes for some interesting benchmark match-ups as you'll see in the coming pages. If the new Athlon II X4 processors can stand up against Intel's cheapest quad, the Q8200, AMD could have a winner on its hands.

The Athlon II X4s are based on the new Propus processor die which differs in a several ways from the Deneb dies used in existing Phenom IIs. However, the new Propus die is still very similar to Deneb in most respects. We've covered the details of Phenom II processors and supporting chipsets a number of times in the past, so we won't do the same again here. We would, however, recommend taking a look at a few of our previous articles if you'd like a refresher on all of the pertinent details regarding the Phenom II. Here is a list of recommended reading:

The Athlon II processor series is AMD's mainstream processor offering and they are well complimented by AMD's own mainstream chipsets, the latest of which is the recently released 785G. We will be pairing up the new Athlon II X4s with the 785G chipset in our benchmarks, so be sure to check out our AMD 785G chipset review if you'd like a refresher.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core A Closer Look At The Athlon II X4

The Athlon II X4 series is based on a new spin on the familiar Deneb core used in existing Phenom II processors, called Propus. The new Propus core is essentially a trimmed down Deneb with the L3 cache removed.

A quick peek with the latest version of CPU-Z shows us that unlike the dual-core Athlon II X2s which benefit from increased L2 cache to compensate for the lack of L3 cache, quad-core Athlon II X4s have to make do with the same amount of L1 and L2 cache as Deneb. Just like Deneb-based Phenom II processors, the Athlon II X4 630 and 620 are equipped with 64KB of L1 instruction and 64KB of L1 data cache per core, for a total of 512KB of L1. Each core also has 512KB of L2 data cache, for a grand total of 2MB L2 cache. Unlike Deneb which has 6MB of L3 cache, we see that Propus has none at all.

The reduction in cache means the new Propus core is significantly smaller than Deneb at just 169mm2, compared to Deneb's 258mm2. The drastic reduction in size means the new Propus cores are much cheaper to build and AMD seems to be passing the savings down to consumers.

While the removal of Deneb's 6MB of L3 cache results in drastic die size savings, it comes at the cost of performance. As we saw in our Athlon II X2 review, cutting out the L3 cache isn't debilitating, but it does hurt performance in certain applications.

Other than the removal of L3 cache, the Propus core is otherwise identical to Deneb. As you can see in the images of the Propus and Deneb dies above, the Propus appears to literally be a Deneb with the L3 cache chopped off.

In fact, some of the early Athlon II X4 engineering samples that are currently floating around are actually 258mm2 Denebs cores with the L3 cache disabled and not true 169mm2 Propus cores. Some users who have gotten their hands on these chips have even claimed to have been able to unlock the L3 cache. However, if you have hopes of doing the same, you'll have to hurry as all future Athlon II X4 stock will be made from Propus cores with the L3 cache physically removed.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core Our Test Systems & SANDRA

To assess the performance of the new Athlon II X4 processors, we put the two launch models through a gauntlet of benchmarks. Starting with some preliminary testing with SiSoftware's SANDRA benchmark suite, we then move to PC Mark Vantage followed by 3D rendering tests with Cinebench and Kribibench, and finally mp3 encoding with LAME MT. We also put the Athlon II X4's through Crysis' CPU benchmark.

For these tests the Athlon II X4 series was represented by the 2.6GHz 620 and the 2.8GHz 630. They were both equipped with an AMD 785G chipset based motherboard and DDR3 memory. For reference, we pitted them against Intel's G41 chipset equipped with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor. While the Q8200 costs more than both the Athlon II X4 620 and 630, it's Intel's cheapest quad-core processor and should provide for some interesting comparisons. We also threw an AMD Phenom II X3 720 into the mix, considering its competing in the same price range and it will represent AMD's Phenom II's.

We began our testing with SiSoftware's SANDRA XII, the System ANalyzer, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant. We ran two of the built-in subsystem tests that partially comprise the SANDRA 2009 suite (CPU Arithmetic & CPU Multimedia). All of the scores reported below were taken with the hardware running at default speeds and settings.

Overall, all of the various SANDRA CPU benchmarks we ran reported scores in line with expectations. The performance results in both the CPU arithmetic and CPU multi-media tests were similar to the scores an Intel Core 2 Q8200 can achieve. In the rest of the benchmarks, we expand our scope and put the two Athlon II X4 processors up against some real competition.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T03:13:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core PCMark Vantage

Next we ran a number of processor and platforms, including both of the new Athlon II X4 models, through Futuremark’s latest system performance metric built especially for Windows Vista, PCMark Vantage. PCMark Vantage runs through a host of different usage scenarios to simulate different types of workloads including High Definition TV and movie playback and manipulation, gaming, image editing and manipulation, music compression, communications, and productivity. Most of the tests are multi-threaded as well, so the tests can exploit the additional resources offered by a quad-core CPU.
The PCMark Vantage benchmark results are pleasantly surprising. Not only do both the new Athlon II X4's perform exceptionally well, but they keep right up with the more expensive Phenom II X3 720. The new quad-core Athlons also pull ahead of Intel's cheapest quad. Most surprising is the performance of the $99 2.6GHz 620, which competes favorably with the much more expensive Core 2 Quad Q8200.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T03:04:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core LAME MT & Kribibench

In the LAME MT test, all three of the AMD processors tested fall behind the Core 2 Quad. However, the Athlon II X4 remain competitive and they even manage to post better scores than the Phenom II X3.

For this next batch of tests, we ran Kribibench v1.1, a 3D rendering benchmark produced by the folks at Adept Development. Kribibench is an SSE aware software renderer in which a 3D model is rendered and animated by the host CPU and the average frame rate is reported. We used two of the included models with this benchmark: a "Sponge Explode" model consisting of over 19.2 million polygons and the test suite's "Ultra" model that is comprised of over 16 billion polys.

Kribibench provides some interesting results. The two quad Athlon II X4 processors mop the floor with the more expensive Phenom II X3, thanks to the extra core. Unlike LAME MT which only uses up to two cores, Kribibench can utilize all the cores available, hence the advantage the Athlon quads have.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T02:56:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core Cinebench

Cinebench R10 is an OpenGL 3D rendering performance test based on Cinema 4D from Maxon. Cinema 4D is a 3D rendering and animation tool suite used by 3D animation houses and producers like Sony Animation and many others. It's very demanding of system processor resources and is an excellent gauge of pure computational throughput.
This is a multi-threaded, multi-processor aware benchmark that renders a single 3D scene and tracks the length of the entire process. The rate at which each test system was able to render the entire scene is represented in the graph below.

Like Kribibench, Cinebench is another rendering test that can take full advantage of all the cores available in the new Athlon quads. Once again we see the cheaper Athlons beating out the Phenom II. They also remain very competitive with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200. The higher clocked 630 actually nudges ahead of the Q8200 for first place.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T02:52:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core Low-Res Gaming: Crysis

For our next set of tests, we moved on to some in-game benchmarking with Crysis. When testing processors with Crysis, we dropped the resolution to 800x600, and reduce all of the in-game graphical options to their minimum values to isolate CPU and memory performance as much as possible. However, the in-game effects, which control the level of detail for the games' physics engines and particle systems, are left at their maximum values, since these actually do place some load on the CPU rather than GPU. All platforms in this test were equipped with a NVIDIA GTX 280 to eliminate the graphics card as a possible bottleneck, in order to isolate the CPU's performance as much as possible.

For the Crysis gaming test, we pit the new Athlon II X4s against a larger field of competitors including a dual-core Intel CPU and a Phenom II quad-core. We can see here that the Athlon II X4's lack of L3 cache really hurts it in games where cache memory is frequently used, such as Crysis. Unlike in all of the previous tests where both of the Athlon II X4 processors were very competitive with the more expensive Core 2 Quad Q8200, in Crysis the Q8200's vastly superior cache configuration gives it a huge edge. While the rest of the field posted scores in the 110+ area, the two Athlon II X4 processors are stuck around 80. It's clear that the new Athlons aren't the best choices around for gaming chips.

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AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core

2009-09-16T02:44:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II X4 Debut: Enter The $99 Quad-Core Overclocking

Considering the very low price of the new Athlon II X4 processors, we wondered how well they'd do with a bit of overclocking. We were especially interested in the 2.6GHz 620, which now claims the title of the cheapest quad-core available. Rather than loading the little 620 into a full blown overclocking rig with all the bells and whistles, we decided to try something more typical of an actual build someone might use with the new Athlon II quads. For our overclocking romp, we used a cheap Arctic Cooling Freezer heatsink and fan combo.

It's worth noting that all Athlon IIs are multiplier locked and Black Edition models with unlocked multipliers are currently not available. Therefore, for our quick overclocking experiment, we relied primarily on increasing the base clock speed, which by default runs at 200MHz.

Starting off with the 620, we effortlessly increased the base clock up to 265MHz, bringing the overall clock speed to 3.45Ghz. We found we could push the system beyond 265MHz, but stability becomes unreliable and pumping in more voltage didn't seem to have any effect. We could boot into windows up to 280MHz, but benchmarks would lock the system. We then tried the same method with the 630 which was also able to reach 265MHz, but due to its higher clock multiplier, it was able to achieve 3.71Ghz overall.

In the end, our quick overclocking experiment shows that the Athlon II X4 processors have quite a bit of overclocking room. Even with our crude methods and cheap cooling, we were able to bump up the clock speed by nearly a full gigahertz. That's on par with what we've seen from Phenom IIs and is just another reminder that these Propus cores are basically just cut-down Denebs.

Overall we are pretty impressed with the overclocking potential in the Athlon II X4 quads. The 620 was able to reach 3.45GHz completely stable, which is extremely impressive considering its $99 price tag. The 630 was able to reach 3.71GHz which is certainly very respectable for its $122 price tag. For those of you who like to tweak and overclock their systems, the new Athlon II X4s are looking like an excellent choice for some cheap overclocking fun.

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Speaking Notepad v6

2009-09-12T00:44:00.000-07:00

Speaking Notepad v6

What is Speaking Notepad?
Speaking Notepad is handy text editor with powerful text-to-speech capabilities. Speaking Notepad will read your TXT, RTF, DOC, HTML and PDF documents with SAPI4 and SAPI5-compliant high quality voices, different speed and pitches, read clipboard content, record texts into WAV, MP3 and WMA files and even read every word or sentence you are typing.

How Speaking Notepad 5 differs from previous versions?
Full SpeechAPI 5 support
Multi-language interface support
Different visual styles of program
Record speech into WAV/MP3/WMA sound file easily
... and much more!

Speaking Notepad is handy text editor with powerful text-to-speech capabilities. Speaking Notepad will your TXT, RTF, DOC, HTML and PDF documents, readme's, notes, e-mails and clever and interesting thoughts aloud. With its help you'll cope quickly with routine work at home or in the office. Just imagine, how much easier it is to listen to texts instead of reading them! Give a rest to your eyes! The program will read texts with SAPI4 and SAPI5-compliant high quality voices, different speed and pitches, read clipboard content, record texts into WAV, MP3 or WMA files and even read every word or sentence you are typing. That means you can control your typing aurally without looking fixedly at your monitor. Speaking Notepad is designed for those who value swift commodity in work combined with fascinating abilities and an interface which will delight your eyes. It will definitely become your best friend.

Before you buy Speaking Notepad please look through its main advantages over standard Notepad:

Make a present to your eyes
Your eyes are getting tired during long and intensive work. When you are staring at your monitor your eye muscles strains a lot. Such work at the breaking point of your eye capabilities may cause serious problems with your eyesight in the nearest future. Give a rest to your eyes with Speaking Notepad! Let computer read for you, and your eyes will tell you "Thank you".

Type text without looking at the screen
You are typing long text and constantly turning your eyes from keyboard to monitor to control what you are typing? Now you can concentrate only on work and your thoughts because Speaking Notepad can read aloud what you are typing.

Listen to e-books
With powerful bookmark management system Speaking Notepad becomes an ideal solution for e-books reading.

Record your speech!
Want to bring your texts to another computer in the format of a sound file? Want to learn a foreign language on your own? Want to prepare voice greeting cards? With Speaking Notepad it is as easy as one click.

Keep your ideas in one-click distance
Write down interesting thoughts and you'll never forget them. Click a button and Speaking Notepad will read your thoughts aloud!

You name it!
Speaking Notepad can be useful for many purposes. Maybe you'll find new innovative one. Guess an uncommon usage of Speaking Notepad and you'll get a 10% discount for one of our other products. For example, one of our customers told us that once he used Speaking Notepad to play a good April Fool's Day joke over his friends. He called them and Speaking Notepad read greetings to them with different voices.

And at last...
At last this is just a handy and speedy notepad with vast functional capabilities. We are sure it'll easily replace standard Windows Notepad... or even Microsoft Word!

::Download Link::

http://www.qwertystudios.com/download/site/SpeakingNotepad.exe

Main features

Handy notepad with speaking capabilities
Supporting DOC, RTF, HTML, PDF and text files
Recording speech into WAV, MP3 or WMA sound files
Choose one of dozens of different voices
Change voice speed and pitch in one click
Powerful bookmark system
Type & Read function
SAPI4 and SAPI5-compliant voices
Large number of visual styles
Smart Spell Checker
Efficient work with hot keys
User-friendliness and handy interface

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Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2

2009-08-27T04:04:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2
Introduction and Test System

Enthusiast level hardware is exciting, especially if you can make use of its full potential. When Intel released the monster 3.33GHz Core i7 975 processor, they laid claim to the highest performing desktop CPU on the market. Interestingly enough, they were competing with themselves as the 3.2GHz 965 held the pole position up to that point. But the new model was welcome as it brought with it the new D0 stepping which lowered operating voltage requirements, tightened up memory timings and brought slightly cooler temperatures. Of course enthusiasts also noticed another tangible benefit in the form of higher overclocking headroom.

Intel's Extreme Edition processors are not for everybody. Economically, they just don't make much sense for mainstream users. These extravagant chips were designed for smaller segment of the market where the consumers who buy them tend to push their hardware a lot harder than most folks. Here, workstation professionals, overclockers, benchmark freaks, and extreme enthusiasts spend as much time tweaking system settings for optimal performance as they do operating their computers. Besides the small speed bump that the 975 features at its stock settings, the main advantage it has over its more affordable siblings is an unlocked multiplier which provides coveted flexibility to overclockers as they push core speeds to new heights. If overclocking is an art, using an Extreme Edition processor is like painting with the finest tools on an immaculate canvas.

In order to push the limits of the 975, we decided to leave the safe confines of air cooling and enter the precarious world of sub-zero chilling. Liquid nitrogen, or LN2, is commonly used as a coolant within the overclocking scene and can reach much lower temperatures than air, water, or the phase change cooling you may be accustomed to. While we are used to seeing processors operate in air-cooled settings of around 40'C, the use of LN2 will allow us to push clock speeds all the way down in the -80'C range in order to unlock the overclocking capabilities of both the motherboard and CPU. We paired a Core i7 975 processor with the EVGA X58 Classified motherboard to find out just how far we can go with the X58 platform and Intel's current flagship CPU.

We used enthusiast-level components in our test bench in order enhance overclocking headroom as much as possible. EVGA released the X58 Classified motherboard earlier this year and they held absolutely nothing back. This flagship motherboard comes with every high end feature the X58 platform offers and then some. We reviewed the Limited Edition 759 model which also features two 8-pin 12V CPU power connectors, which gives us a bit more power loading headroom, and a 10 phase digital PWM with a switching frequency up to 1,333KHz to support extreme overclocking. Listening to needs of overclocking enthusiasts, EVGA has seemingly created the ultimate platform for competitive X58 extreme benchmarking, with a little help from our friend Liquid Nitrogen that is.

Furthermore, the 2000MHz OCZ Blade memory kit we used provides high-end performance and breathing room as we push the processor way beyond stock. We even threw on a pair of EVGA GTX 295 graphics cards to push our video benchmark results over the top. Next, let's check out the cooling hardware we needed in order to reach sub-zero temperatures.

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Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 BIOS Settings and Overclocking

2009-08-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 BIOS Settings and Overclocking

Overclocking is not an exact science. Every processor is different for example and just because your friend's Core i7 processor hit 4.5GHz on air doesn't mean that yours will, even if using the same settings and hardware. Many factors can influence what a processor is capable of. These factors include complementary components like the motherboard, memory, power supply and cooling. In addition, user experience definitely comes into play as there is an abundance of modifiable settings within the BIOS.

To overclock the 975, we wanted to find a stable starting point and work our way up to maximum frequency. The settings shown above are the ones we used to achieve a comfortable 4.22GHz overclock. From this point, we raised the host clock and multiplier to achieve higher CPU frequencies.

We are focusing primarily on CPU overclocking in this article so memory settings are kept relatively loose throughout testing. Our RAM is rated at 2000MHz 7-8-7-20 1T at 1.65V. Using high frequency DIMMs will help you during overclocking efforts as raising QPI also raised memory speed. As such, having the headroom that these sticks provide is a luxury. We used CAS 8 settings and raised tRFC to 88 in order to give us plenty of room for overclocking.
We disabled SpeedStep and CxE function within the CPU Feature menu. HT Technology or hyperthreading is left on during the benchmarks. For single threaded tests, you can disable hyperthreading and the processor should run cooler under a load and may provide higher overclocks.

Unlike air or watercooling, using liquid nitrogen brings the added complication of temperature swing that must be controlled by pouring small amounts of LN2 in the pot from time to time. Maintaining the temperature of the pot at a certain level is the only way to assure stability throughout a benchmark. Long running tests are the most difficult to complete due to the varying degree of loads placed on the processor and the attempt to keep temperatures within the optimal range.

Through testing, we have found that our retail Core i7 975 achieves a stable maximum frequency between -100' to -115'F, depending on the benchmark used. Our goal was to reach 5GHz or higher and run a series of benchmarks to test performance.

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Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 SuperPi and wPrime

2009-08-27T03:44:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 SuperPi and wPrime

SuperPI Mod 1.5 is a single threaded, overclocking benchmark that calculates Pi to a specific number of digits after the decimal point. It is used by many overclockers to test performance and stability of their systems.

With the Core i7 975 clocked to 5GHz, we finished SuperPI 1M in an impressive 8.235 seconds. That's a full 4 seconds faster than our stock clocked 975 ran and a 50% speed increase.

The CPU benchmarking application, wPrime, is designed to use a highly multithreaded approach to calculating the square roots of large amounts of numbers. It places a 100% load on the CPU while in use.

The great thing about wPrime is the fact that it makes use of all 8 threads the Core i7 offers. With the 975 at 4.92GHz, we finished the 32M calculation at a blazing 5.029 seconds.

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Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 3DMark06 and Vantage

2009-08-27T03:29:00.000-07:00

Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 3DMark06 and Vantage

3DMark06 is a hard-core, forward-looking 3D rending benchmark that pushes a system and its GPUs to the limits. The test includes Shader Model 2.0, Shader Model 3.0, and HDR tests. To push the system, scenes are rendered with very high geometric detail and shader complexity, and with extensive use of lighting and soft shadows. The maximum shader length 3DMark06 supports is 512 instructions. The 3DMark06 Overall Score is a weighted average based on the SM 2.0 and HDR / SM3.0, and CPU scores.

The latest version of Futuremark's synthetic 3D gaming benchmark, 3DMark Vantage, is specifically bound to Windows Vista-based systems because it uses some advanced visual technologies that are only available with DirectX 10, which isn't available on previous versions of Windows. 3DMark Vantage isn't simply a port of 3DMark06 to DirectX 10 though. With this latest version of the benchmark, Futuremark has incorporated two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, in addition to support for the latest PC hardware. We tested the graphics cards here with 3DMark Vantage's Performance preset option, which uses a resolution of 1280x1024.

Futuremark's latest graphics benchmark, 3DMark Vantage, takes even longer to run than 3DMark06. We were able to successfully complete the test at a CPU overclock of 4.71GHz which provided us with a 23% CPU performance increase and 12% boost overall.

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Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 Conclusion

2009-08-27T03:20:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 Conclusion

For enthusiasts, too much is never enough. Higher frequencies, more voltage, and colder temps can become addictive. Our initial experience with Liquid Nitrogen cooling has been both exciting and eye opening. We assaulted the processor with hours of LN2 benching and after every freeze or blue screen caused by instability, the system rebooted, posted to desktop, and begged for more punishment.

We crossed into the world of extreme overclocking with a product made specifically for the enthusiast or power user and came away very impressed. The Core i7 975 Extreme Edition lived up to its name and provided extreme frequencies that matched the intense cooling capability of liquid nitrogen. As more over clockers are finding out, the more affordable Core i7 920 D0 revision will overclock to similar frequencies as the Core i7 975 CPU when using air or watercooling. But the limits of Core i7 can only be reached with Extreme Edition processors with their added flexibility of the CPU multiplier and sub-zero cooling. The price premium is a major hurdle for those who want the best, but that seems to be the case with most high end products.

Since we employed a rock solid motherboard like the EVGA X58 Classified and smoldering fast DDR3-2000MHz memory as the foundation of our test bench, we were able to concentrate our efforts on the processor without worrying about these components holding us back. The processor held up nicely but we're sure there's more headroom available as Core i7 processors have been known to reach up to 6GHz under LN2. No, we didn't break any records, but the frequencies and scores achieved represent the highest we've been able to accomplish with any X58 system to date. You can be sure we'll continue to push the limits of Intel's Core i7 platform - so stay tuned for follow-up fun.

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AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU

2009-08-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU

PCMark Vantage Performance

We ran a handful of processors and platforms, including the new Phenom II X4 955 BE and 945, through Futuremark’s latest system performance metric built especially for Windows Vista, PCMark Vantage. PCMark Vantage runs through a host of different usage scenarios to simulate different types of workloads including High Definition TV and movie playback and manipulation, gaming, image editing and manipulation, music compression, communications, and productivity. Most of the tests are multi-threaded as well, so the tests can exploit the additional resources offered by a quad-core CPU.

In PCMark Vantage's Productivity, Communications, and Music tests, and in overall PCMarks, the Phenom II X4 965 BE performed very well, and was able to outpace the more expensive Core i7 920. In the remaining tests, however, the quad-core Intel processors we tested, with the exception of the Q9400, had the edge. And in the gaming test, the Core i7 was simply in a league of its own.

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AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU

2009-08-14T05:03:00.000-07:00

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU

Our Test Systems and SANDRA

How We Configured Our Test Systems: When configuring our test systems for this article, we first entered their respective system BIOSes and set each board to its "Optimized" or "High performance Defaults". We then saved the settings, re-entered the BIOS and set the memory timings for each platform manually. The hard drives were then formatted, and Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 was installed. When the Windows installation was complete, we fully updated the OS, and installed the of the drivers necessary for our components. Auto-Updating and Windows Defender were then disabled and we installed all of our benchmarking software, defragged the hard drives, and ran the tests.

The Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition performed very well in the sampling of synthetic SiSoft SANDRA tests that we ran. Due to its relatively high frequency, the 965 obviously outran every other AMD-built CPU by a fair margin and it hung in there with similarly clocked Penryn-based Core 2 processors, although Intel did have the edge overall. Core i7 processors held onto sizable leads in most tests, except for the integer portion of the Multimedia benchmark where AMD's new flagship was very strong.

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AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU

2009-08-14T04:48:00.000-07:00

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU Review

Vital Signs and Overclocking

Like its predecessors, the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition looks just like the original Phenoms, due to its use of similar packaging and the same heat spreader design. The chip utilizes AMD's Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA) packaging, which is backward compatible with Socket AM2+. Here's what the processor looks like, from both sides...

Like all previous socket AM3-compatible processors that have been introduced over the last few months, the Socket AM3 Phenom II X4 965 is designed to work with both DDR2 and DDR3 memory types, and with Socket AM3 or AM2+ motherboards. Socket AM2+ processors do not have the ability to work with DDR3 memory though, so AMD made some changes to the Socket AM3 pin configuration to prevent AM2+ processors from being plugged into AM3 sockets. Socket AM3 processors like the 965 BE pictured above have 938 pins, whereas socket AM2 processors have 940; two pins have been removed. If you look close at the shot of the processor's underside above, you'll notice that there are two groups of three and two groups of two pins missing on the underside of the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition--on AM2+ processors, four groups of two pins are removed. Keying the processors and sockets in this way prevents AM2+ processors from being installed on AM3 motherboards, but allows AM3 processors to be installed on either type of motherboard.
To get glimpse into the Phenom II 965 Black Edition's inner workings, we fired up CPU-Z to take a peek at its core and cache configurations. CPU-Z correctly identifies the processor as Phenom II X4 based on the core codenamed "Deneb", but incorrectly identifies it as an AM2+ CPU (we had it installed in an AM3 motherboard). As the information shows, the chips are manufactured using GlobalFoundries' 45nm process technology and our particular sample has a stepping designation of 2 and core revision of RB-C2. The Phenom II X4 965 BE chip is clocked at 3.4GHz, due to its 17x multiplier and 200MHz base clock, the HT link is running at 2.0GHz, and there is 512K of L1 Data / Instruction cache, 2MB of L2 cache (512K per core), and 6MB of shared L3 cache available, for a total of 8MB combined L2 and L3 cache.
Phenom II's have earned a reputation for being highly overclockable processors. In a previous article, we were able to achieve a clock speed increase of about 800MHz over stock with the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition; other Phenom IIs we tested didn't fare quite as well, but 600MHz to 700MHz increases were not uncommon using nothing but the stock air cooler.

With that in mind, we set out to overclock the new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition using the stock AMD PIB cooler and an Asus 790FX based motherboard. With a bump in CPU core voltage to 1.5v, we were able to take the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition to just over 3.8GHz with complete stability--only a ~400MHz increase. 3.9GHz - 4GHz would load Windows, but no amount of voltage allowed us to maintain stability during testing. Remember, Black Edition processors are unlocked, so we were able to achieve this overclock by merely altering the CPU multiplier and voltage in the system BIOS or via AMD's OverDrive utility. As you can see in the screencap above, while overclocked, the 965 BE zipped along at a toasty 65'C+. That's a bit warm, but keep in mind we were using the stock cooler and it's the middle of the summer. While idling, the chip barely broke the 35'C barrier.

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AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU

2009-08-14T04:35:00.000-07:00

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU Review

AMD is launching a brand new flagship desktop processor today, dubbed the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition. As you can probably surmise from its name--if you're familiar with AMD's naming convention--the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is virtually identical to the 955 it supplants at the top of AMD's desktop processor line-up, save for the 965's higher default clock speed. Whereas the 955 clocked in at a speedy 3.2GHz, the new 965 arrives at a lofty 3.4GHz, making it the highest clocked CPU to come from AMD to date.

The Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is based on the same core as all current socket AM3, quad-core Phenom II processors and it as the same cache configuration and overall feature set. There are some slight differences to its specifications, however, which we have listed for you below. The 965 BE's differentiating features are, as we've mentioned, it's higher frequency of 3.4GHz and also its higher maximum TDP of 140W. Please take note of the higher TDP, as not all socket AM2+/AM3 motherboards will support it.

Once you're done taking a gander at the specifications below, check out some related articles and hunker down for some testing and benchmarks as we find out what AMD,s new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is made of...

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Processor

The new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is an update to AMD's Dragon Platform. The Dragon Platform itself is not new, however. In fact, most of its core components have already been available for quite some time now. As such, we have already covered them in-depth here on HotHardware in previous articles, so we won't do the same again here. We will, however, recommend that you take a look at a few recent articles to get familiar with the underlying technology and components that comprise AMD's Dragon platform.

All of the various 7-series chipset, Phenom, Phenom II, Athlon, and Spider related articles listed above cover the gamut of features that make up the majority of the Dragon the platform--with the exception of the new Phenom II 965 Black Edition featured here, of course.

See Next Page For More Detail

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AMD Quad-Core Processors

2009-08-11T10:36:00.001-07:00

AMD Quad-Core Processors

This is the latest technology found by the amd quad core processor among the all processor of technology this is the main and famous to all the peoples around the world. AMD Opteron processors also enable stable, long-term server and workstation solutions with industry-leading performance and energy efficiency. They’re designed to simplify your IT management — now and in the future. Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ Processors: Deliver industry leading power efficiency and virtualization with balanced performance.
AMD Phenom™ X4 Quad-Core Processors: True quad-core performance for the way businesses multi-task today, and for the next-generation applications employees will need in the near future. Stable commercial AMD Phenom™ X4 quad-core processors offer industry-leading platform stability and longevity, investment protection, and the exceptional performance you expect from AMD. Plus, unique features for energy efficiency.

Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ Processors: Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ processors with Direct Connect Architecture are designed to deliver industry leading power efficiency, optimal virtualization, outstanding performance, and low TCO — all within a consistent footprint and thermal envelopes.This are all the familiar of this amd quad core processor latest technology and it was the competition for the intel company processor Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture are designed for optimum multi-threaded application performance. We start with a native quad-core design — featuring four cores on a single piece of silicon for more efficient data sharing — and add an enhanced cache structure and integrated memory controller designed to sustain multi-threaded application throughput. Direct Connect Architecture is a tested and proven architecture — in market since 2003, and available only from AMD.This familiar processor was the latest technology by the amd company of groups.

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Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology

2009-08-11T10:35:00.001-07:00

Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology

This was the main and useful processor technology launched by the intel company and it was mainly used by all the peoples around the world. It was the main features in intel centrino and its described below With new hafnium-based circuitry and up to 6MB L2 cache, you can multitask compute-intensive applications up to 2x as fast, while the new Intel® HD Boost gives you up to 50 percent more speed for hi-def multimedia applications.¹ Plus, you'll enjoy a 3x performance improvement for a super-enhanced hi-def video experience and smoother playback with VC-1 hardware acceleration and optional Intel® Graphics Technology. Intel® Intelligent Power Capability gives you breakthrough enabled battery life so you can stay unplugged longer. The low-leakage, hafnium-based 45nm processor delivers unrivaled energy efficiency while Deep Power Down Technology lets you save power by using it only when you need it. No matter where you're at, you'll have the battery power you need to enjoy DVDs, hours of music, the coolest games, and much more. Plus, with built-in wireless connectivity, you can connect to public Wi-Fi networks around the globe, no wires attached to it and it features are all described below under the section of it. This technology was launched by the intel company and this processor is consists of some chip model which was placed in the board of the intel company and each and every chip consists of different capacity and frequency of working and it was mainly used for the purpose of office for the faster and to store many datas for the purpose of all.

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Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology

2009-08-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology

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Smart FTP v3.0

2009-07-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Smart FTP v3.0

What is SmartFTP?
SmartFTP is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client which allows you to transfer files between your local computer and a server on the Internet. With its many basic and advanced Features SmartFTP also offers secure, reliable and efficient transfers that make it a powerful tool. Click here to Download our ftp software.

SmartFTP can be used for:
Web site publishing and maintenance
Upload and download of images, documents, movie and music files
Share your files with your friends and coworkers
Backups of local or remote files

Features
FTP and FTPS (Secure FTP)
HIPAA compliant
SFTP over SSH
FIPS 140-2 compliant
Modern Graphical User Interface (GUI)
File/Folder Synchronization
Multilingual (more than 20 languages)
Thumbnails View and Preview
Visual Compare
Advanced Schedule
IPv6
On-the-fly Compression (MODE Z)
UTF-8 Support
Drag & Drop
Multiple Connections
Auto reconnect and resume of broken transfers
Transfer Integrity
Verified Transfers (XCRC, XMD5, XSHA)
FXP (Server-To-Server Transfer) support
Remote Edit of files
Search for files and folders on the server
Enhanced NAT/UPnP Support
UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), ICS, ICF
Transfer Queue
Scheduling

::Download Link::

http://www.smartftp.com/download/

Uploads/Downloads/FXP
Unlimited simultaneous threads
International Domain Names (IDN)
Proxy / Firewall support
SOCKS5, SOCKS4, SOCKS4A, HTTP Proxy
Wingate, Winproxy, CSM, Checkpoint FW-1, Raptor
Backup Tool
URL Watcher
Cache Remote Directories
FTP command line
Custom Commands
CHMOD (Properties)
and much more ...

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Zoner Panorama Maker 1.0

2009-07-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Zoner Panorama Maker 1.0

Ever seen a great mountain panorama that took your breath away and wish you could do yourself? You can -- easily -- with Zoner Panorama Maker. This wizard-based program is smart enough to usually find the correct joining points on its own! But when it doesn’t, that’s no problem either: you have tools to easily fix them.

Assemble Your Panoramas Automatically...
When we say automatic, we mean automatic. Correction for tilted source shots is automatic -- no need to worry just because you couldn’t use a tripod. Cropping is automatic, so you needn’t worry about it unless you want to. The whole process of assembling the panorama is generally little more than a few clicks.

::Download Link::

http://www.ru.zoner.com/panorama-maker/download.htm

...Or By Hand
Even though the panorama making process is fully automated, if needed you can manually alter the joining of shots, their rotation against each other, and their cropping. You can also manually straighten them out when they end up tilted.

Think About Art, Not White Balance
The program contains an advanced algorithm for perfectly balancing exposure among the individual shots in a panorama. Thus you can even take the shots for your panorama using a camera that lacks exposure locking and manual white balance correction.

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AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor overclocking

2009-07-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor overclocking

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AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor

2009-07-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor

Within the enthusiast scene, there exists an elite group of overclockers who push the limits of hardware to the breaking point. With the help of phase change coolers, dry ice, liquid nitrogen and even liquid helium, these enthusiasts achieve the seemingly impossible. In this world, maximum frequencies and world records are the motivation behind the countless hours spent modding and tweaking PC hardware.

AMD recognized the blood, sweat, and tears that extreme overclockers put into their hobby by creating a very special, limited edition processor made specifically for them. The Phenom II X4 TWKR Black Edition processor is a hand picked CPU that performs above and beyond the normal parameters we're accustomed to seeing from the Phenom II line. Under the extremely low temps supplied by LN2 or LHe cooling, these chips are said to yield monster overclocks.

So what's the catch? First of all, AMD only made a few TWKR chips due to the extraordinary traits of of the product. So don't expect to find any at your favorite online retailer cause the TWKR is not currently for sale. At this time, they are distributed directly by AMD. Another disadvantage is the lack of warranty coverage on this product. Once its broken, that's all she wrote. At any rate, HotHardware recently got a chance to test out the TWKR and throw it on the test bench for some sub-zero overclocking.

Preparing your system for sub-zero cooling is a bit more involved than the typical air cooled or liquid cooled setup. The CPU socket area will be subjected to freezing temperatures and requires insulation to prevent damage from condensation. We used a couple of packs of art eraser and filled in the area around the CPU. While there are several techniques to choose from, but we prefer this method due to the effectiveness and easy removal of the eraser from the board. The insulation process seals the motherboard's components from moisture and is a mandatory step for those who use phase change, LN2, or dry ice. Before placing the insulated pot on the TWKR, we also laid down a couple layers of fabric to absorb any moisture around the socket.

Unfortunately, were not able to get a hold of any liquid nitrogen or helium, so we benched with dry ice. But, as you can see in the screen shot above, we were able to maintain temps in the - 50' C to - 60' C range throughout testing.

In our review of the Phenom II X4 955 processor, we were able to reach 3.72GHz at 1.5V using the stock cooler. Additionally, we saw idle temps of 35'C and load temps around 70'C. This time around, we used dry ice to cool the TWKR chip way down and cranked up the voltages not only to the CPU, but other system components as well.

For the results you'll see below, we used an SB/HT Voltage of 1.3V, a CPU PLL Voltage of 2.5V, a NB Voltage of 1.2V, a CPU NB VID of +0.300 and a CPU Voltage of 1.55V
First, we would like to note that we tested the TWKR with a watercooling solution to find a good starting point for our dry ice benching. Using CoolIT's Boreas TEC Chiller, we managed to hit 4GHz with no issues. That's all we could get from the chip with this type of cooling, even though the load temps topped out at only 32'C.

Then we installed the Koolance LN2 pot and after several overclocking sessions and about 20lbs of dry ice, settled in at a 4.73GHz overclock. At this speed, we were able to conduct several benchmarks in order to measure the performance gains created by such a large overclock. While the bandwidth numbers shown above are very good, we feel the 3DMark scores aren't anything to sneeze at either.

Under dry ice, the TWKR produced admirable results, but we weren't able to achieve the kind of overclocks these chips are known for. Even our watercooling overclock was surprisingly average. So what gives? The main culprit is cooling, according to AMD. For the TWKR to reach its fullest potential, liquid nitrogen or liquid helium must be used. Doing so would allow for a much higher overclock, "dropping (cooler base) temps from -70C to -188C makes a huge difference in terms of TWKR clockspeeds. You would likely get another GHz or more extra speed with LN2" we were told. The lesson here is to not skimp on the cooling when it comes to the TWKR. Once we get a hold of some liquid nitrogen or helium, we will post some more results and update this article. For now, here's a glimpse of what some others were able to achieve.

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Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Vital Signs & Overclocking

2009-06-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Vital Signs & Overclocking

The Q8400 operates at 2.66GHz with a 333MHz front side bus speed. It is manufactured using Intel's 45nm process technology and has a 95W thermal design power (TDP). The CPU can operate using core ratios from 6 to 8 and has 4MB of L2 cache.

Intel's Q8400 fills the $180 price point in Intel's line up that competes directly with AMD's Phenom II X4 940 BE processor. But the Q8400 has a tough fight on its hands as the X4 940 BE runs at 3GHz and offers an unlocked multiplier.
CPU-Z reveals the processor's details and settings. Note the 4MB (2MB x 2) L2 cache shown above. This is the only difference between this processor and the more expensive 2.66GHz Q9400, which has 6MB of L2 cache. We will show you the performance difference between the two chips later on in this review.
We love free upgrades. One of the best ways to get more performance from your PC is to overclock the processor. From a stock frequency of 2.66GHz, we overclocked the Q8400 to an impressive 3.92GHz using a TRUE 120 and 1.36V. We started with a 333MHz FSB and raised it slowly while testing for stability along the way. It wasn't until we passed 490MHz FSB that we ran into any issues so we backed it back down and settled for the 3.92GHz overclock. We would like to note that we stayed within Intel's recommended operating voltage (0.85V - 1.3625V) to achieve this overclock. With higher voltages and more powerful cooling, even higher frequencies are likely possible.

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Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 CPU

2009-06-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 CPU

It was not too long ago that the web was buzzing with dual-core versus quad-core debates. Sides were taken and lines were drawn. At that time, one of the main arguments against quad-core processors was their high asking price. But as time passed and manufacturing refinements were made, costs steadily decreased and quad-cores found their way into the more mainstream market segments. And before you knew it, a price war was imminent.

Intel and AMD have been going at one another for years. With AMD unable to compete well at the ultra high-end of the market, however, their focus shifted towards the mainstream market segments. As always, Intel responded and their most recent salvo comes in the form the affordable Core 2 Quad Q8400 processor. Since the Q9400, a 2.66GHz Yorkfield quad-core, was already on the market, why did Intel feel the need to release another, affordable quad-core model? One reason could be to increase yield and utilize dies that would otherwise be discarded. Another reason would be to position another product at the same price point as AMD's. Whatever the case may be, competition is always good for the consumer as it usually drives prices lower and provides more options to choose from. With that in mind, let's take a look at theIntel Core 2 Quad 8400 to see if it's worthy of consideration for your next build...

There isn't a shortage of options for those on the market for a 45nm Intel quad-core CPU. From the 3.2GHz Extreme Edition QX9770 to the 2.33GHz Q8200, Intel has the entire price spectrum covered. Those looking for a low power option can also choose from the S-series processors, which sport lower 65W TDPs. Where exactly does the Q8400 fit in to the mix?

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WinUtilities 7.0

2009-06-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

Win Utilities 7.0

WinUtilities is an award winning collection of tools to optimize and speedup your system performance. this suite contains utilities to clean registry, temporary files on your disks, erase your application and internet browser history, cache and cookies. you can control startup programs that load automatically with windows, find duplicate files, fix broken shortcuts and uninstall unneeded software. other features include secure file deletion, recycle bin shredding, and cleaning tasks scheduling.

Currently, these tools listed below included in WinUtilities:

Disk Cleaner
A tool for cleaning disks from information that clogs your system and reduces the performance of your computer. With the help of this tool you can search and delete temporary files and folders and other applications, search for invalid links to documents that don't exist, and delete Cookies.

Registry Cleaner
Scans the Windows registry and finds incorrect or obsolete information in the registry. By fixing these obsolete information in Windows registry. The backup and restore function of the tool let you easily backup your whole Windows Registry or restore the Windows Registry to an earlier backup.

Startup Cleaner
Helps you to easily manage program execution at windows startup. this tool is used to administer the programs executing on startup and the files to be loaded at start up.

History Cleaner
This cleaning utility erases all traces of activity on your computer, saves space, protects your privacy, and leaves no history behind.

File Splitter
File Splitter can split any type of file into smaller pieces and rejoin them to the original file. It helps you copy the split ones to floppy disk or CD/DVD, or send them via e-mail.

File Shredder
File Shredder makes sure that no data thief can get his hands on your sensitive data. The tool deletes files permanently, with no chance of recovery.

File Lock - EXE Protector
EXE Protector is a system utility that allows you to password-protect any Windows executable file. Whenever you try to open protected executable file you will see the prompt that asks you to enter the valid password.

Memory Optimizer
Memory Optimizer optimizes the Memory Management of Windows. No special configuration is needed, Memory Optimizer will auto configure itself. Within minutes you can activate unused resources of your Windows System.

Duplicate Files Finder
Duplicate File Finder helps you to free disk space by finding and removing duplicate files from your system. it is intended to search your system for duplicate files.

Shortcuts Fixer
Shortcuts Fixer tool provides you with an easy and convenient way to address these invalid shortcuts. It scans your system, finds all the invalid shortcuts and reports back to you so that you can remove it from your system.

Process Manager
Process Manager allow you to check your system's performance and manage the running processes on Windows platform. It can Kill all processes that the Windows Task Manager could not or view all process dependencies and launch all known file type in Windows.

Uninstall Manager
Uninstall Manager is an easy to use utility to manage the programs installed on your system. It is used to uninstall the programs from your system and lets them remove from the list of programs appearing in the control panel.

System Information
System Information is a utility which lets you view at a glance all the details of your system. In a easy to use and user friendly interface, it provides you with complete information about your system.

Registry Backup and Restore
Registry Backup/Restore tool is a handy utility for making backups of Registry keys and their sub keys. always make a backup of your registry before making any important changes. this tool will allow you to go back to your original settings if you need to.

::Download Link ::

http://www.ylcomputing.com/content/view/12/31/

Registry Search
Registry Search is a handy utility for searching the registry by specific keyword or wildcard.

BHO Remover
BHOs (Browser Help Objects) are software that put a toolbar on Internet Explorer or otherwise integrates other software into it. Many (Acrobat Reader, Google Toolbar) are desirable. However, spyware companies also install BHOs on your computer. These can be difficult to remove. BHO Remover lists the BHOs that are currently installed. You can then remove those you don't want to keep.

Auto Shutdown
Use this tool to easily schedule your computer for log off, stand by, hibernate, or shutdown on specified of time.

Windows Tools Manager
Manages Windows Tools, provide a easy way to launch these tools build in Windows

System Control
Organizes and manage Windows Settings

Task Scheduler
Use this tool to easily configure cleaning tasks that take place automatically. also, it can manage the system scheduled tasks.

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Intel Expanding Core Branding, Killing Centrino

2009-06-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Intel Expanding Core Branding, Killing Centrino

Just recently, we were able to sit down with Intel and talk shop about its newest (and most powerful) Core i7 yet, and apparently the company is really fond of that "Core ix" naming convention. So enthused, in fact, that it has just announced plans to phase out some of its brands -- including "Centrino" in order to hone in on fewer top names. Granted, we've certainly seen Intel and others try this re-branding thing before. Remember when megahertz ratings were all the rage?

Now, Intel will stop using Centrino and start using more "Core" names, but the re-brand won't go into effect until next year. Oddly, Centrino will no longer about to just personal computers; instead, it will refer to Wi-Fi and WiMAX-based wireless products. Which certainly feels confusing to us, but hey, who are we to judge? Also, sub-brands such as "Core 2 Duo" will also be shoved out the door, again using a supposedly simpler "Core ix" moniker to refer to different variations of products.

To quote: "The company plans to repackage its Core family of microprocessors with a simpler naming scheme -- the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 -- describing basic, mid-range and high-end features within the Core line, respectively." Of course, this announcement also proves that the Core i5 mid-range chip is more than just a rumor, with recent reports slating its launch "in the coming months."

To complicate the simplification further, Intel's hanging onto Atom, Celeron and Pentium. Easier, huh? Whatever you say, Intel!

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Intel Hopes To Enter Smartphone Chip Market

2009-06-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

Intel Hopes To Enter Smartphone Chip Market

Intel already holds a strong position in the personal computer and server market. But, like other companies, Intel wants more. Moving forward, Intel’s executives believe there’s a good potential to increase Atom's traction in adjacent markets by targeting these low-cost, energy-efficient chips at various multifunctional consumer gadgets including smartphones and other portable devices that access the Internet. “Atom is Intel's growth engine,” said Intel spokesman Bill Calder.

Breaking into the smartphone market won’t be easy, however. The market is currently owned by companies such as Qualcomm, Texas Instruments , STMicroelectronics, MediaTek, and Infineon Technologies. All of these companies use a very successful chip design that is licensed from a small United Kingdom firm, ARM. ARM’s design has been popular because it uses little power which is crucial for battery life in mobile electronics.

Intel’s high-performance microprocessors typically consume too much power for mobile phones, which is part of the reason Intel created the Atom platform. As Intel’s smallest chip, Atom is relatively inexpensive. Atom is also designed to use little power. Atom has already found great success in the netbook market and has also been tapping into the Mobile Internet Device market. However, Atom has not yet entered the Internet-capable phone market.

Sharp WS016SH Running Windows Vista

Next year, Intel plans to introduce a new version of Atom that is even more power efficient than the one we have today. Code-named Moorestown, the chip will offer a 50x power reduction at idle and reportedly will deliver enough horsepower to handle 720p video recording and 1080p quality playback. In 2011, Intel plans to introduce an even smaller and less power hungry version of the chip known as Medfield. With this upcoming chip, Intel will begin targeting the smartphone market.

Medfield will be built on Intel's budding 32nm process technology and is said to offer the opportunity to reduce board size, operating and standby power dramatically. Medfield's displacement area is targeted at about half the size of a credit card.

Intel will certainly face some competition in attempting to displace ARM-based chips. Not only are the chips ubiquitous in phones, but now they’re also starting to target other mobile computing markets Intel is currently pursuing. For example, in May, an HP executive said the company is considering making netbooks using ARM chips. In June, ARM announced that four personal computer manufacturers are planning to introduce ARM-based netbooks sometime this year.

Analysts are mixed as to whether this latest attempt from Intel will succeed or not. Some are concerned that Atom could cut into Intel’s sales of pricier microprocessors, hurting the company overall. Intel dismisses these concerns, saying Atom is opening new markets and hasn’t had a major affect on the sale of its other chips.

Regardless, Intel will enjoy a lower profit margin for the low-priced Atom than from other microprocessors. As a result, Intel will have to sell large quantities of Atom chips in order to make the product worthwhile.

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TBS Cover Editor 1.7

2009-06-14T02:08:00.000-07:00

TBS Cover Editor 1.7

Create 3D box shots, DVD Cases, Member Cards, CD and book covers in a single program!
No matter what product you make and sell: software, e-books, music, movies, video or audio records, books, or even corn flakes. The TBS Cover Editor is a unique tool that will help you create any virtual cover image for your product presentation. Adding a photorealistic cover image to your website, banner, article, or print ad will attract more attention to your product and will bring more customers and sales to your business.

Save yourself time: create virtual covers without overheads and superfluous operations
With the TBS Cover Editor you can create your 3D box shot, DVD, CD or book cover design in a single flat worksheet. Say goodbye to separate designs for each side; no more design slices in many image files. The single-sheet concept of the TBS Cover Editor allows you editing of all box or cover sides on a single screen. The real time 3D preview immediately shows how your 3D cover output image looks like without switching between different windows or applications.

Save yourself money: no extra designers or tools are require
With the TBS Cover Editor no additional expensive third party tools are required. The program supports all the steps of box shot and cover creation: from drafting and design, to 3D scene setting and image rendering. The TBS Cover Editor has a rich toolkit for graphics creation and processing, including simple shapes, text labels, bitmap images, artistic texts and vector objects. You can quickly create a nice looking box cover by combining special effects that were previously only available in high-priced professional image processing programs. The TBS Cover Editor comes with a large clipart library of common shapes and signs. You can create professional-quality 3D box shots, CD, DVD or book covers with no extra expense in a single program.

::Download Link::

http://www.trueboxshot.com/DownloadTBSCoverEditor

Get instant results: quick start, easy work, and immediate output
The TBS Cover Editor comes with a brilliant collection of software cover design templates for various types of software, e-books, movies, and other products. The Design Wizard helps you to get started quickly. You can make a cover in less than two minutes. Choose a template and just add your product info such as product name, company, and web site URL to create a custom cover design. You can easily tweak the templates or create new cover templates with your corporate identity style. In two clicks you can set up a 3D scene and render your box shot image.

Professional output: create realistic looking box shots and covers without designer skills
The TBS Cover Editor has a powerful rendering engine that produces realistic 3D box shots, CD, DVD, or book covers by applying original 3D rendering and ray casting algorithms. The advanced mechanisms of the TBS Cover Editor produce 3D images with high precision which leaves no chance for fuzzy edges, making images look clean and nice (beautifully clear). Your design and image processing skills don't matter when creating eye-catching box shots and covers for your products with the TBS Cover Editor. Your every cover will look as if it is made by a studio.

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Magic Camera 5

2009-06-14T02:02:00.000-07:00

Magic Camera 5

Want to present your best look when chatting via Instant Messenger? Want to remotely share desktop to your colleagues? Want to save the video when you are chatting with your family from far away? Magic Camera will empower you with all these dreaming magic via simply adding a virtual camera on your computer.
This is more than magic.:-) Magic Camera is an advanced accompanying virtual camera for instant messenger or any video chat software. It is adoptable for most popular chat software such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, ICQ, Camfrog Video Chat, Skype, and etc.

Magic Camera operates via adding a virtual camera to your system, Windows 2000/XP and Vista included, and allows you to use it exactly the same as a real camera.

You can use this virtual camera without a physical webcam installed. Simply play a pre-recorded video will give a virtual image of yourself on IM or video chat software to make fun with your friends.

Magic Camera also enables you to share desktop screen with your friends by doing a live screen capture/sending. With this option you can share your documents with your colleagues, show visual demonstration on IM or video chat software, keep your privacy by pretending to be some one else or even do a real-time video forwarding via this virtual camera.

To use it with a webcam already, simply switch this virtual camera to the physical one. By adding lots of funny photo frames and do image overlays to your webcam, Magic Camera makes your video chatting more interesting!

Want to save your video conversations? Use Magic Camera to do it! Start to record your or your friends' live video to disk and even play back to them in the virtual camera later!

There are still more functions! Magic Camera includes video effect functionality. More than 20 amazing video effect can be added to your real/virtual video.

Start the trial today! We are offering free trials and you’ll see more fun, more flexibility, more security and more magic in your video chat with this simple small software. Start the fun today and enjoy it!

::Download Link::

http://www.shiningmorning.com/software/MCSetup.exe

Key Features

Add a virtual camera to your instant messenger or video chat software.
Split real webcam into virtual camera for using with multiple programs simultaneously.
Share your desktop screen or windows with your friends in the messenger by selecting this virtual camera.
Add lots of funny photo frames and do image overlays to your webcam.
Record webcams or activity on screen and encode them to video files for later playback in virtual camera. With this, you can save your video conversation.
Play pre-recorded videos to your friends without even having a physical webcam.
Add various fantastic video effects to your web camera/video files/photos/screen and show it to your friends.
Do a live desktop screen streaming by capturing screen as well as sending it out at the same time. With this option, you can send back your friend's live video like a mirror. Also, using this virtual camera, you can keep your privacy by pretending to be some one else. Even more, freely add magic video effects to the video!
Slide Show your photo albums in your favorite IM.
Easily switch video input between your real camera and other virtual sources.
Check update automatically.
Easy to use; Simple installation that will have you up and running this powerful virtual camera in minutes.
Text overlay enabled.
Easily add widget, face to webcam.
Picture in Picture.
Video and Animation overlay;
Change background of webcam;
On screen edit by mouse drag;
Users can add or customize their own effects.
Optimized performance if multi-core is available.
Continually added lots of funny effects.
Support FLV files.
Three transparent modes.
Download online effects by one click.

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Focus Photoeditor 6.0

2009-06-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Focus Photoeditor 6.0

Its a powerful image and photo editor, picture retouching tool, web albut creator, image browser and Photoshop Filters Host Application for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP.

Besides its excellent ability to correct digital photos, it has many rich tools and effects found in much more expensive professional tools.
more ...
» Faster refresh during drawing

::Download Link::

http://www.focusphotoeditor.com/download_focus_photo-editor.htm

Improved RGB curves
» Better color gradients
» Added support to layers

» Priority Support

» Unlimited Free Upgrades

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Vista Manager 3.0

2009-06-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Vista Manager 3.0

Vista Manager is a system utility that helps you optimize, tweak, and clean up Windows Vista. It will increase your system speed, improve system security, and meet all of your expectations. It's compatible with Windows Vista SP1 entirely!

Why Should I use Vista Manager?
Windows Vista is the new Operating System for home users and professionals alike. Windows Vista brings clarity to your world, so you can more safely and easily accomplish everyday tasks and instantly find what you want on your PC.

Vista Manager is the powerful software tool to tweak and optimize your Windows Vista, it bundles more than 30 different utilities in one and help your system faster and more stable, secure and personal!

Features and Benefits of Vista Manager
Information
Get detailed system and all hardware information on your system; show all detailed information of running processes and threads on your machine; Vista Manager offers 1-clicking cleans your system automatically.

Optimizer
Tweak your system to improve windows startup and shutdown speed; tweak your hardware to increase system speed and performance; Optimize Task Schedule to turn off unnecessary system tasks.

Cleaner
Find out which files or folders engross your disk space and shown with chart; Find and clean junk files to increase Hard Disk space; Duplicate Files Finder can scan your computer for files with the same size, name and modification time; Registry Cleaner can easily checks your registry and repair incorrectly linked registry entries, automatically remove invalid entries; Registry Defrag rebuilds and re-indexs your registry to reduce application response time and registry access time.

Customization
Control what is started on Windows startup; tune up Vista boot menu; edit context menus of mouse Right-Clicking; customize system desktop, menus, toolbar and notifications settings; automatically change your desktop wallpaper on background.

Security
You can improve desktop, menus, Windows logon securities, and enable numerous hidden performance options of system, disable system updates and error reports; hide and restrict to access drives, specify which applications are not allowed to be executed on your computer; encrypt/decrypt and shred files, change the location of system folders; Privacy Protector can maintain your personal privacy by eliminating the tracks that you leave behind; create lots of randomization password once.

::Download Link::

http://www.yamicsoft.com/vistamanager/software/vistamanager.exe

Network
Optimize your Internet connection speed, manage all shares items; tweak your Internet Explorer easily.

Misc. Utilities
Show the collection of Windows utilities; help you find out the installation key of Windows, Office products; shutdown your PC or remind you automatically.

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Hardcore Phenom II Overclocking--6.2GHz

2009-06-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hardcore Phenom II Overclocking--6.2GHz Anyone?

Earlier today, Gigabyte sent us a link to a video featuring some hardcore overclocking that we thought many of you would like to see. In the video, Chew*, a member of the XtremeSystems community, overclocks an AMD Phenom II X4 955 processor on GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P and GA-MA790FX-UD5P motherboards, and shows his results using air, phase change, dry ice, and liquid nitrogen cooling.

When all was said and done, Chew* was able to break 3DMark06 records for dual Radeon HD 4850s and 4890s running in CrossFire mode and achieved stability at processor speeds in the 5.7 - 6.2GHz range.

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AMD intros Athlon X2 chips featuring Phenom design

2009-06-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

AMD intros Athlon X2 chips featuring Phenom design

AMD has introduced new dual-core desktop processors aimed at the value end of the consumer market. Available now, the new Athlon X2 7000 series are the company’s first dual core chips based on its Phenom quad design, which means they have three levels of cache and support the faster HyperTransport 3.0 bus.

The new series comprises the 2.5GHz Athlon X2 7550, which will be available only to system builders, and the 2.7GHz Athlon X2 7750 'Black Edition' with an unlocked multiplier for improved overclocking priced at $79 – check out some benchmarks here. Both processors include 512KB of L2 cache per core and a shared L3 cache of 2 MB. The chips are part of AMD’s latest Cartwheel platform aimed at the budget market, which also includes the AMD 780G chipset and ATI Radeon 3200 integrated graphics.

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AMD's Phenom goes on a budget with the Athlon X2 7000 series

2009-06-07T09:13:00.001-07:00

AMD's Phenom goes on a budget with the Athlon X2 7000 series

Hot on the heels of word that the 45nm Phenom II chip is up for grabs, AMD has announced that its 65nm predecessor has been relegated to budget duty. The new Phenom-based Athlon X2 7000 chips are now available, replacing the aged X2 6000 and delivering an affordable HyperTransport bus boost to 3.6GHz, 2MB of L3 cache, but still just 1MB on L2. It's a dual-core processor, unlike the higher-spec Phenoms, and consumes 95-watts. That's a handy drop from the X2 6000's 125-watt rating, but isn't exactly frugal compared to some of AMD's other Phenom offerings. The 2.7GHz X2 7750 black edition is available now in bulk for just under $80, and appears to be retailing for around $90. Meanwhile a paler, cheaper, 2.5GHz version is shipping just for OEMs -- but that shouldn't stop you home builders from finding one if you're really inclined.

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Intel Core i7 975 Extreme Edition Processor

2009-06-04T05:49:00.000-07:00

Intel Core i7 975 Extreme Edition Processor

When you consider Intel's recent success at introducing new, cutting-edge processor architectures as of late, you can't help but appreciate the fact that the company is executing extremely well. The cold, hard fact of the matter is, even their last generation Core 2 architecture competes admirably with AMD's most recent update of the Phenom II, dollar for dollar and clock for clock. In fact, Intel's Core 2 architecture has done so well, that further roll-out of Intel's newer Core i7 line-up has been limited, no doubt in part because Intel doesn't absolutely need their fledgling new chip architecture to compete vigorously with their rival. There's no question, AMD's Phenom II is a solid alternative to the Core 2 but playing catch-up to Intel's legacy architecture is still not a very exciting position to be in, obviously.

Thus far there have been a mere three different models of Intel's new Core i7 processor that have been released to any channel, OEM or retail - the Core i7-920, Core i7-940 and the flagship Core i7-965 Extreme Edition. With clock speeds starting at 2.66GHz and scaling to 3.2GHz, Intel's new Core i7 proverbially lights up , anything from AMD's high end line-up right now, even comparing the chip's slowest speed bin, never mind at like clock speeds. That said, the semiconductor business is pretty much a ruthless and relentless game of one-upsmanship; or in Intel's case currently, perhaps its two or three-up. As such, you can be sure Intel is looking for another kill shot, whenever they can.

Today Intel is finally releasing new Core i7 models and speed bins to the market, as well as announcing a new flagship chip, the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition. Though it will definitely command a hefty price tag, at a stock clock speed of 3.33GHz and Intel Turbo Boost speeds at 3.45GHz (all cores) and 3.6GHz (single core), you can bet this new Core i7 is one hot-rod of a quad-core CPU. In the pages ahead, we'll wind it out around the test track and show you what the fastest desktop processor on the planet can do when it's tuned up for a touch more horsepower at the factory and made ready for production.

The new Core i7 chips being announced today are Intel's new top-dog, the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition, as well as the new upper mid-range Core i7-950, which in fact will supplant the Core i7-940. These new chips share identical Intel Nehalem-based microarchitectures, with the Core i7-975 offering a faster 6.4GT/sec QPI (Quick Path Interconnect) serial link to Intel's X58 Express Northbridge chipset, as well as a faster 3.33GHz core clock speed with a stock 25X multiplier and a 133MHz reference clock. The Core i7 950 has a 23X stock multiplier that is locked for higher multiples but can be dialed down, while the Core i7-975 is unlocked for higher multiples as well, since it is an "Extreme Edition" product.

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AMD Ships 'Istanbul' Six-Core Opteron Server CPU

2009-06-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

AMD Ships 'Istanbul' Six-Core Opteron Server CPU

We aren't quite calling this the turnaround of the decade just yet, but with just six months to go until 2010, AMD is doing its best to make a late run for said crown. In years past,Advanced Micro Devices had become notorious for delaying products. Now, they're doing their best to right the ship by unveiling a product's availability some five months ahead of schedule. In CPU years, five months is an eternity.

The new six-core AMD Opteron (codenamed " Istanbul")is shipping out to OEM customers today, and the chip should be available to consumers by the end of this month. Hailed as the world’s first six-core server processor with Direct Connect Architecture for two-, four- and eight-socket servers, this chip has up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt over the previous generation quad-core processors.in the exact same platform. Over the next few weeks, systems will begin to creep out from Cray, Dell, HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems, and support from motherboard and infrastructure partners will follow suit. Also of note, HE, SE and EE versions of the six-core AMD Opteron processor are planned for the second half of 2009.

For those concerned about upgrade costs, chew on this: six-core AMD Opteron processors leverage existing platform infrastructure and a low-cost, power-efficient DDR2 memory architecture. Nice going, AMD -- let's hope this is the start of an all new way of doing business.

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AMD Athlon II and Phenom II X2 Processors Debut

2009-06-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II and Phenom II X2 Processors Debut

AMD is using the prominence of the Computex show in Taipei to unveil a slew of new, affordable desktop processors. A few of them are based on the existing core employed within their Phenom II processor line-up, but one of them is comprised of a new piece of silicon that pays homage to the once mighty Athlon brand.

We've got four new AMD processors on tap for this article, low power quad- and triple-cores, and a pair of new dual-cores. The 3.1GHz AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition is positioned as AMD's fastest dual-core processor ever, while the Phenom II X3 705e is a low-power triple-core CPU. The Phenom II X4 905e is a low-power 65w quad-core, and the brand new Athlon II X2 250 is AMD's latest high-performance, budget-class dual-core processor.

All of these processors share some similarities, of course, but each one is positioned for a somewhat different market segment. Take a look at the specifications and features below, and then we'll move on to the juicy details...

AMD Athlon II and Phenom II X2 Processors

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All of the Phenom II processors launching today are based on the same core, codenamed Deneb, used in the current generation of Phenom II processors. As such, they all share the same platform specifics and base feature set, and differ only in their clock speeds, and core and cache allotments. We've covered the details of AMD's Phenom and Phenom II processors and supporting chipsets a number of times in the past, so we won't do the same again here. We would, however, recommend taking a look at a few of our previous articles if you'd like a refresher on all of the pertinent details regarding the Phenom II.

The Enter the Dragon: AMD Phenom II X4 940 article listed above talks about the changes brought forth by AMD's 45nm Phenom II processors. And the various 7-series chipset, Phenom processor, and Spider / Dragon platform related articles cover the remainder of the platform specifics.

The Athlon II X2 processor series is a somewhat new animal, though. It is based on a new 45nm, native dual-core design that supports faster HT link speeds than current Athlon X2s, it is compatible with DDR2 or DDR3 system memory, and socket AM2+ or socket AM3 motherboards. As you can see in the specs above, the Athlon II X2 is comprised of roughly 234M transistors and has a die size of only 117.5mm2--less than half the size of a Phenom II. It's small die should made the Athlon II very economical for AMD to produce, and incedentally, inexpensive to purchase.

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AMD Athlon II and Phenom II X2 Processors Debut News

2009-06-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

AMD Athlon II and Phenom II X2 Processors Debut News

AMD is using the prominence of the Computex show in Taipei to unveil a slew of new, affordable desktop processors. A few of them are based on the existing core employed within their Phenom II processor line-up, but one of them is comprised of a new piece of silicon that pays homage to the once mighty Athlon brand.

We've got four new AMD Processors on tap for this article, low power quad- and triple-cores, and a pair of new dual-cores. The 3.1GHz AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition is positioned as AMD's fastest dual-core processor ever, while the Phenom II X3 705e is a low-power triple-core CPU. The Phenom II X4 905e is a low-power 65w quad-core, and the brand new Athlon II X2 250 is AMD's latest high-performance, budget-class dual-core processor.

All of these processors share some similarities, of course, but each one is positioned for a somewhat different market segment.

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Ms Office 2007 Enterprise

2009-05-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Ms Office 2007 Enterprise

::Download Link::

http://megaupload.com/?d=5RAHLGFW

Ms Office Enterprise 2007 Such a Greate Software For office work.

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Deva xFTP v6.0

2009-05-24T01:52:00.000-07:00

Deva xFTP v6.0

Whether you're a novice or a Webmaster , Deva xFTP has what you need. Queue files from multiple folders for upload and download and nothing will stop your transfer from completing. Includes full drag and drop, ability to browse server during transfer, recursive directory delete, anti-idle, dynamic Transfer diagrams , dynamic and configurable Transfer curves, download AND upload resume, and support for many types of Proxy/firewalls, including FTP, HTTP, SOCKS4, SOCKSA and SOCKS5 .

In Deva xFTP, you have a variety of features which enhance file transfer and Web manage. The cool Office 2007 style Modern Graphical User Interface (GUI) allows you to have excellent experience, easily update and maintain sophisticated Web sites. You can speed the transfer of large architectural, graphic, or engineering files with multi-part accelerated downloads. Site caching allows you to minimize bandwidth while you browse. You can even schedule FTP transactions with minimal overhead using the Main File Transfer Engine.

Using Web tools integrated in Deva xFTP, you can check Web sites for broken links and orphan files. Generate any kind of sitemaps you require, including Googl XML sitemap, ROR XML sitemap, Text URLs and HTML format Sitemaps. And using the Deva HTML/xHTML Validator, check the markup validity of Web documents in HTML, XHTML, SMIL, MathML, etc.

::Download Link::

http://www.miscosoftware.com/deva-xftp/store/Deva-xFTP.exe

Deva xFTP has many features, here are some important of them:
» High-powered File Transfer Engine.
» Supports the following protocol types:
Standard FTP;
FTPS over TLS/SSL implicit port 990;
FTPS over SSL explicit through AUTH FTP extension;
FTPS over TLS/SSL explicit through AUTH FTP extension;
SFTP using SSH2(Secure Shell);
Standard HTTP(Hypertext Transfer Protocol);
HTTPS(Hypertext Transfer Protocol Over TLS/SSL).
» Office 2007 Style Modern Graphical User Interface (GUI) ;
» Replaceable Skins of Graphical User Interface (GUI) ;
» Advanced Site manager integrated ;
» On-the-fly Compression (MODE Z) ;
» Multiple Connections ;
» Auto reconnect and resume of broken transfers ;
» FXP (Server-To-Server Transfer) support ;
» Queue files from multiple folders for upload and download;
» Scheduling transfers;
» Uploads/Downloads controlled by client;
» Unlimited simultaneous threads ;
» Proxy / Firewall support :SOCKS5, SOCKS4, SOCKS4A, HTTP Proxy ,FTP Proxy ;
» Easily update and maintain sophisticated Web sites ;
» Cache Remote Directories ;
» Full drag and drop;
» Local and remote folder comparation;
» Advanced Local and remote file finding;
» FTP command line ;
» Easily add files to the Transfer Queue from Windows Explorer;
» Dynamic Transfer diagram window;
» Dynamic and configurable Transfer curves feature on Fly window;
» Integrated Windows Internet Explorer;
» Watching Windows clipboard;
» Integrated Deva Web Link Checker web tool;
» Integrated Deva Site Map Generator web tool;
» Integrated HTML/xHTML Validator web tool.

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Auslogics Disk Defrag 2.0

2009-05-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

Auslogics Disk Defrag 2.0

Disk fragmentation leads to system slowdowns,

PC crashes, slow startup and shutdown and sometimes to system failures.

Auslogics Disk Defrag is designed for fast optimization of today's modern hard disks.

Get the maximum performance out of your expensive hardware investments. And it's absolutely FREE.

Auslogics Registry Defrag is fast becoming a useful and essential tool in keeping your registry defragmented.

::Download Link::

http://www.auslogics.com/en/downloads/disk-defrag/disk-defrag-setup.exe

As a result, the Registry becomes compact and small, greatly improving your computer performance.

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Itanium Delayed Again While Intel Improves It

2009-05-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Itanium Delayed Again While Intel Improves It

It's hard to say if there is anything to this, but it's certainly interesting at the very least. For years now, Intel has been notoriously good at shipping its products on time. If Intel says a chip is coming in a certain quarter in a certain year, it'll be there. On the other hand, AMD has been the polar opposite; year after year, the chip maker has announced delay after delay, spoiling even the hopes of diehard fanatics.

Now, however, the tables seem to be turning, albeit slightly. While Intel's dealing with a $1.45 billion fine, Advanced Micro Devices is enjoying the success of its Neo platform and finally holding its head up high. Furthermore, Intel is now delaying a chip of its own -- for the second time.If you'll recall, its next generation Itanium chip line was originally scheduled to launch in early 2009, and now that said time window has come and gone, we're hearing of yet another setback. Now, Intel is saying that Tukwila won't hit the market until Q1 2010, and we're beginning to wonder how serious it is even about that.

Still, Intel's spinning this in a way that makes it seem at least somewhat responsible here. In a statement, the company said that "during final system-level testing, we identified an opportunity to further enhance application scalability." In other words, we're being forced to wait because Intel is improving upon the product. Sure, that sounds fantastic, but it can only work in the court of public opinion for so long. Meanwhile, AMD's taking the opportunity to boast about the early release of Istanbul -- got to love the rival instinct, don't you?

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