Quantum computing is now within closer reach thanks to a major breakthrough in which scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a key building block can be assembled.
Intel rang in 2011 with its second-generation Core processors, promising vastly superior performance, better graphics capabilities, and improved energy efficiency. How much of a difference can a new CPU generation really make? If our tests of the first systems to use these revamped CPUs are any indication, the answer is "quite a lot." The new processors -- formerly code-named Sandy Bridge -- deliver stronger performance than their predecessors did, and at palatable prices.
Intel <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/218247/intel_finds_design_flaw_in_sandy_bridge_chipset.html">discovered a fatal flaw</a> in the "Cougar Point" chipset--interrupting and delaying the launch of the new "Sandy Bridge" processor line. Because of Intel's dominant role in the PC processor market, and the reliance of the PC industry on Intel chips, that glitch has a ripple effect that spreads across the entire industry, creating a unique opportunity for tablet PCs.
Dirk Meyer, CEO and president of AMD, has resigned effectively immediately. AMD's Board of Directors has announced that Senior Vice President and CFO Thomas Seifert will replace him as interim CEO.
AMD has been talking about Fusion for years now. Over time, the term has sort of morphed from referring to specific future products to a general marketing catch-all designed to help people think of the CPU and GPU (graphics processing unit) as the same thing.
In the wake of the success of the Apple iPad, there seems to be a virtually endless line of competing tablets on the horizon. Most of the attention is focused on the operating system platform that drives the tablet, but the battle for the processor that provides the tablets engine is also heating up. As chip manufacturers compete to establish a presence in tablets, though, AMD will be conspicuously absent from the melee.
Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridge microprocessor design is generating a lot of buzz, primarily because it'll integrate the chipmaker's high-end graphics technology with its CPUs.
The energy cost of home appliances like washing machines and refrigerators could drop if a new microcontroller announced by Arm on Monday lives up to expectations.
No one should be surprised that the big action in the CPU market this year will be in the mobile and low-power processor segments.
Intel is set to start production of its next-generation Xeon quad-core server chips ahead of schedule, which could then appear in systems as early as the first quarter of next year, a company official said on Tuesday.
Next year, Advanced Micro Devices will begin providing PC makers with samples of the much-hyped Fusion chips that incorporate graphics processing into the CPU.
Intel has announced it will be shipping an enhanced version of its dual-processing Nehalem Xeon chip that is aimed specifically at the data storage and communications market with the ability to natively create RAID and is integrated with PCI Express (PCIe).
Even as it is pushing mobile computing, Intel expects desktop computers to continue to be in demand in the long term, an Intel executive said on Thursday.
Advanced Micro Devices on Monday said it had started shipping the dual-core Athlon Neo processor for thin and light laptops, upping the ante in its battle with rival Intel, which offers processors for similar laptops.