The Core Truth

April 16th, 2008

Intel says business is fine, especially in notebooks

Posted by John Morris @ 7:16 am

Categories: Uncategorized, Intel, Desktops, multicore processors, notebooks, semiconductors, flash memory, quad-core processors, OLPC

Tags: PC, NAND, Intel Corp., Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, John Morris

The key message from Intel’s earnings call last night: consumers and businesses are still buying lots of PCs and microprocessors despite economic woes in the U.S.

The ramp of the company’s latest 45nm Penryn processors, which first appeared in servers, then notebooks, and finally desktops, is impressive. Intel has shipped more than 8 million 45nm chips so far–double the shipments it reported a little more than a month ago at an analyst meeting. More important, Intel said it still expected PC unit shipments to grow in double-digits this year. Market researcher IDC predicts the number of PCs shipped will grow from 258 million last year to 286 million this year, a growth rate of 11 percent.

Much of the growth has been notebooks, and that will continue. People tend to buy more laptops per person, and replace them more frequently than desktops, according to Intel. “I think a notebook is becoming a bit of a fashion statement and that has a cache associated with it, and we are seeing some of that,” Intel CEO Paul Otellini said on the call. “You have certainly seen that with the Apple product line growth.”

What’s more surprising is Intel’s optimism about a particular category of notebooks, low-cost laptops that use its Atom processor. Rather than replacing existing laptops with cheaper ones, Intel thinks this new category could significantly expand the overall market.

“Our unit shipments [of notebook CPUs] were up sharply versus last year and with the introduction of the low-cost Netbook category, we believe that the shipment crossover of desktop PCs to mobile PCs will now happen this year and not next year, as we originally anticipated,” Otellini said. “The bulk of the early sales of the Netbooks has been either in mature markets or tier one cities of places like China, and most people that are buying them are buying them as a fashion accessory, as a second or third notebook in the household . . . But I really think the unknown dynamic is what happens when these $200 to $300 Netbooks are unleashed in India and China and Indonesia and there is no model for that at this point in time because you are dealing with something that’s never existed before.”

The only negative note was flash memory, a business that shows no signs of improving anytime soon. Intel manufactures two types of flash: NOR, which is used in cell phones, and NAND, which is used in a wide variety of electronics. Combined revenues were down 15 percent simply because there’s too much flash in the world, so prices are dropping at a faster rate than the actual manufacturing costs.

Intel recently completed the spin-off of its NOR business to new company Numonyx, which also includes the NOR assets of STMicroelectronics. Intel will continue to supply NOR flash to Numonyx for a few quarters. The NAND flash comes from a joint venture with Micron. In its own earnings call a couple of weeks ago, Micron essentially said things were going fine. It has made progress cutting manufacturing costs, and it announced some moves to slow down the growth in the amount of NAND flash it manufactures for both companies. But last night it sure sounded like Intel is prepared to make more drastic moves if NAND flash doesn’t pick-up. “I want to assure our shareholders that we entered this business to make money and we will continue to make the appropriate decisions necessary to that end,” Otellini said.

March 28th, 2008

The new, improved AMD Phenom

Posted by John Morris @ 4:12 am

Categories: Uncategorized, Intel, AMD, Desktops, multicore processors

Tags: AMD Phenom, Quad-core, Link, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Chip, Phenom X4 Line, 95W, Processors, Performance Management, Semiconductors

As expected, AMD announced its updated quad-core Phenom processor lineup, and made the new triple-core version official.

The expanded Phenom X4 line includes four chips: the 2.2GHz 9550, 2.3GHz 9650, 2.4GHz 9750, and 2.5GHz 9850 Black Edition. AMD also released a low-power version of the quad-core, the 1.8GHz Phenom X4 9100e, which has a TDP of 65W. The triple-core chips, which I’ve written about previously, include the 2.1GHz Phenom X3 8400 and 2.3GHz Phenom X3 8600.

The quad-core chips with model numbers ending with “-50″ are the latest version, the B3 stepping, that corrects the cache problem in the original design and effectively improves performance. The triple-core chips, however, are not the B3 stepping. AMD said they will be replaced by the 2.1GHz 8450, the 2.3GHz 8650, and 2.4GHz 8750.

Several sites have posted reviews of the new chips. The links are below if you want all the ugly details. The short version: The B3 stepping corrects the cache problem and improves performance, and faster clock speeds make the Phenom X4 more competitive (previously the fastest version was the 2.3Ghz Phenom 9600). But even the 2.5GHz Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition can’t match the performance of Intel’s mainstream quad-core chip, the 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad Q6600, which was released more than a year ago. Meanwhile, the newer–and much more costly–Intel Yorkfield quad-core chips are starting to ship. Ars Technica concludes that AMD would have to push the Phenom X4 to at least 2.7GHz just to match the Q6600, and lately the company has been talking a lot about 45nm transition, but hasn’t said much about further ramping clock speeds on the existing 65nm Barcelona processors later this year.

That means for now AMD Phenom X4 processors, and certainly the X3 chips, will be a value play. Despite the performance improvement, the new versions will be a bit cheaper than the original Phenoms:

New processors:

• Phenom X4 9850 (125W): $235
• Phenom X4 9750 (125W and 95W versions): $215
• Phenom X4 9650 (95W): $215
• Phenom X4 9550 (95W): $209

Old processors:

• Phenom 9600 (95W): $251
• Phenom 9500 (95W): $209

The pricing of the Phenom X3s was not in AMD’s press materials (and still isn’t on the company’s price list), but clearly they need to be well below $200 and the fact that they’ll be making their debut in systems on QVC is an indication of the target audience. Other reports indicate that they will be priced between $160 and $180.

None of this is necessarily a bad thing. AMD says typical mainstream desktops using multi-core Phenoms and its new 7890G chipset will cost $600 to $800, which should make them very attractive. But for now Intel retains its solid lead on desktop performance.

AMD Phenom B3 reviews coverage:

• Phenom, part deux: Ars reviews AMD’s B3 silicon revision [Ars Technica]
• Higher Clock Speeds, No TLB Issues and Better Pricing: The New Phenom [Anandtech]
• AMD Phenom X4 9850 Processor Review - B3 Stepping [Legit Reviews]
• AMD Phenom X4 9850 Processor Review - Long Awaited B3 [PC Perspective]
• AMD Phenom X4 9850 B3 Revision [Hot Hardware]
  
• AMD’s Phenom X4 9750 and 9850 processors: Let’s try this again [Tech Report]
• AMD Phenom Changes Stepping to B3: TLB Bug - in the Past [X-bit Labs]

March 13th, 2008

AMD ships triple-core Phenoms

Posted by John Morris @ 7:32 am

Categories: AMD, Servers, Desktops

Tags: AMD Phenom, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Chip, Semiconductors, Network Technology, Processors, Hardware, Networking, Components, John Morris

AMD has begun shipping triple-core Phenom processors.

The company had promised the Phenom 8000 series would ship by the end of Q1, so this seems to be a sign that AMD is getting things back on track. There is no press release on its site and the new Phenoms do not yet appear on the company’s official price list, but PC World says AMD confirmed it is shipping a limited number of the new chips to major PC companies.

Dell and HP both appear to have plans to use the triple-core chip, most likely the 2.3Ghz Phenom 8600, in business desktops. And a UK-based PC company, Mesh Networks, is already offering models with a 2.1GHz Phenom 8400 and 2.3GHz Phenom 8600.

Separately, Daily Tech reported that AMD is now shipping a new version of the quad-core Opteron and Phenom chips. These are the “B3 stepping” that should eliminate the issues with the cache in the initial Barcelona design. Key server customers had been testing these chips earlier this year, so this was expected. After filling orders from computer manufacturers, the new Opteron and Phenom B3s should be available in boxed versions at retail sometime in April. (This should include the 2.2GHz Phenom 9550, 2.3GHz Phenom 9650, and 2.4GHz 9750, according to other reports.)

The new B3 versions of Opteron and Phenom chips have the letters “GH” at the end of the product number. Credit: Anandtech.

Anandtech has tested a B3 2.2Ghz Phenom versus an earlier 2.3GHz AMD Phenom 9600–with and without the workaround that fixes the cache problem but degrades performance. It concluded that “all is good with B3. . . [but] it will take a combination of higher clock speeds and very competitive pricing to really save Phenom.”

Those faster Phenoms are on the roadmap for later this year, but first AMD says it plans to ship low-power versions of the quad-core chips. As these new processors begin to ship in volume, AMD will also cut prices in early April on the older Phenom, Athlon 64 X2, Athlon and Sempron chips, according to X-bit Labs.

March 11th, 2008

Decoding AMD’s 45nm processor announcement

Posted by John Morris @ 9:23 am

Categories: AMD

Tags: Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel Corp., Penryn, Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, John Morris

After a dismal 2007, AMD is trying to regain its footing. The company made several technology announcements at a computer tradeshow in Hannover, Germany last week–including progress on 45nm processors. But it remains to be seen whether AMD can deliver on all of this, and be more competitive in 2008.

In the past week or so, AMD has announced:

• A new graphics chipset, the AMD 780, for desktops and notebooks
• Working demonstrations of notebooks using its Puma platform due in the second quarter
• An updated graphics driver (Catalyst 8.3) that supports multiple AMD GPUs on Windows Vista
• A milestone in the use of new type of lithography for manufacturing future microprocessors

The most significant news, however, was the demonstration of desktops and servers based on 45nm Deneb and Shanghai processors, respectively, running multiple operating systems and different applications.

A photo of a wafer showing AMD’s 45nm processors. Source: AMD.

Semiconductor companies design and manufacture processors with smaller and smaller features because it lets them cram more transistors on a chip, reduce power consumption and lower production costs. Intel is currently shipping 45nm Penryn processors for servers, desktop and laptops, while AMD uses 65nm process technology even on its latest K10 (aka Barcelona) processors. So AMD is racing to catch up.

Based on AMD’s 45nm timeline, The New York Times reported the company was closing the gap with Intel by shrinking the time it takes to shift to a new generation, or “node,” to 12 to 18 months. That’s possible, but not likely. AMD released its first 65nm chips, dual-core Athlon 64 X2 processors, in December 2006. It plans to release the first 45nm processors sometime in the second half of this year, which means the actual transition could be as short as 18 months, but more likely it will be closer to 24 months.

That’s still impressive–about the same as Intel’s vaunted tick-tock strategy–but it won’t necessarily close the gap with a very tough rival. Last week, Intel gave an update on its process technology at an annual conference for financial analysts. So far the company has shipped 3.5 million 45nm processors and by the third quarter, it will be shipping more Penryns than 65nm chips. (Though Intel announced Penryn last November, those were mostly server chips, and it wasn’t until CES in January that 45nm desktop and laptop processors really got rolling.) To underscore how fast Intel is moving, CEO Paul Otellini told the audience he was giving his presentation on a PC using a Nehalem processor–those aren’t due to ship until late 2008–and that work on the 32nm and 22nm generations was on track.

The planned roll-out of Intel’s 45nm Penryn processors. Source: Intel.

Then there’s the fine-print on AMD’s 45nm announcement. AMD promises its 45nm chips will deliver a 20% performance boost through the use of strained silicon and an ultra low-k dielectric. (A dielectric is a layer of material that insulates the metal wires that connect transistors to improve performance and reliability.) But a separate FAQ notes that the ultra low-k dielectric will actually be used on “some later 45nm products,” not the ones AMD demonstrated. And the new gate materials (metal and high-k dielectrics) found in Intel’s Penryn are a ‘future option’ on AMD’s 45nm processors to “further enhance transistor performance.” That’s curious since IBM announced more than a year ago that working with AMD, Sony and Toshiba it had developed the high-k/metal gate technology for use in 45nm products starting in 2008.

It’s also interesting to note what AMD apparently did not mention at the CeBIT tradeshow: No Phenom 8000 series triple-core processors–due by the end of this month–and no updates on the new versions (the B3 stepping) of the quad-core Phenom–either low-power parts also due by the end of this month or ones with faster clock speeds due sometime in Q2. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will be late. It could simply be that AMD has already left embattled Barcelona behind–from a PR standpoint–and is focusing on future technology.

But as AMD executives have admitted, what the company needs to do this year is make fewer promises, and ship more products. If it can deliver on a very aggressive roadmap for 2008, it will lead to more choices in desktops and laptops.

March 4th, 2008

Intel and AMD finalizing new notebook technology

Posted by John Morris @ 6:30 am

Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: AMD Turion, Dual-core, Platform, Roadmap, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel Corp., Chip, Montevina, U3300, PM45

Within the next couple of months, both Intel and AMD will be releasing new notebook platforms. Here’s what we know so far.

Details of Intel’s new platform, called Montevina and due in June, have been slowly leaking out for months. But Daily Tech has filled in a lot of the details.

Earlier this year, at the CES trade show, Intel announced its new 45nm processors for both laptops and desktops. These Penryn processors are gradually replacing the 65nm Merom chips found in most Intel-based laptops. Montevina is a new platform, meaning it includes the system chipset, integrated graphics and new network controllers, as well as a dozen additional Penryn processors to round out the lineup. Montevina will replace the current notebook platform known as Santa Rosa, which is used with both Merom and Penryn processors. Intel will reportedly brand the new platform Centrino 2 to emphasize its new features.

Here are the details on the new processors as reported by Daily Tech and others:

Like the chips found in the Apple MacBook Air and the Lenovo X300, the Small Form Factor chips use new packaging that is more compact. The U3300 is a specialized chip that is nearly as power-efficient as Silverthorne/Atom (3W), and it is clearly designed for the smallest subnotebooks.

Montevina also includes three new system chipsets. The GM45 and GM47 will include Intel’s new integrated graphics. The PM45 is designed for use with AMD and Nvidia graphics. In addition to the usual Ethernet and Wi-Fi options, Montevina will also offer WiMax mobile wireless broadband, though given the difficulties facing Sprint and Clearwire, it could take some time to build out a national network.

AMD is also working on a new notebook platform, known as Puma, which is scheduled to ship in the second quarter. The platform includes a new processor family, Griffin, and a new chipset, the RS780M. Griffin is an updated version of the current 65nm K8 chip with more cache. Puma promises some novel power management features, and AMD has been positioning it as the best performance per watt solution to extend battery life. More recently, AMD said it has about 100 “design wins” for Puma, but otherwise has provided few details.

Last week, a German-language site, ComputerBase.de, posted what it claims is AMD’s notebook roadmap for 2008 (here’s a translated page). The roadmap shows a total of six new Griffin processors in the second quarter under the Turion Ultra, Turion, Athlon and Sempron brands:

• Turion Ultra ZM-86: 2.4GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 2MB L2 cache; 35W
• Turion Ultra ZM-82: 2.2GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 2MB L2 cache; 35W
• Turion Ultra ZM-80: 2.0GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 2MB L2 cache; 32W
• Turion RM-70: 2.0GHz dual-core; DDR2-800MHz; 1MB L2 cache; 31W
• Athlon QL-60: 1.90GHz dual-core; DDR2-667MHz; 1MB L2 cache; 35W
• Sempron SI-40: 2.0GHz single-core; DDR2-667MHz; 512KB L2 cache; 25W

Next year, things will get more interesting. AMD plans to release the Swift platform, which will include the first Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) with both a dual-core processor and an integrated graphics processor on the same chip–one of the key product goals of its acquisition of ATI.

February 26th, 2008

AMD Phenom triple-core coming soon

Posted by John Morris @ 4:00 am

Categories: AMD, Desktops, multicore processors, quad-core processors

Tags: AMD Phenom, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Chip, Processors, Semiconductors, Network Technology, Desktops, Hardware, Components, Networking

AMD’s triple-core Phenom processors should be arriving soon. The company said last month that shipping the new Phenom 8000 series–along with fixing the problem plaguing its Barcelona server and desktop chips, and releasing a low-power version of Phenom–were its top priorities this quarter. According to a report at DigiTimes, AMD will release the triple-core version, known by the code-name Toliman, in March for OEMs only. In other words, you won’t be able buy boxed versions of the Phenom 8000 yet. The site had previously said these first triple-cores will be the 2.1GHz Phenom 8400 and 2.3GHz 8600.

These will be B2 “stepping,” or version, of the chip, which means they have the same potential issue with the cache, and a workaround for this problem causes a performance hit of as much as 15%. So why would OEMs want to offer desktops using the first Phenom 8000s? The same reason Gateway, HP and others sell desktops with B2 steppings of the quad-core Phenoms: price. The official tray price (in quantities of 1,000) of the 2.2GHz Phenom 9500 quad-core is $209, but you can get it on Newegg for $190. So the Phenom 8000s will presumably need to be priced well south of $200, which means they will quickly bump against the fastest dual-core chip, the 3.2GHz Athlon 64 X2 6400+, which has tray price of $178 and sells in retail for about $165 to $175. It will be interesting to see how these stack up in terms of price and performance.

AMD says it has fixed the cache problem with Barcelona, and by now server customers should already be testing samples of the B3 stepping, but it won’t be until Q2 that the B3 versions of the server and desktop chips will be available in any real quantity. Before then we should also see a 65W version of the Phenom quad-core (the current versions have a TDP of 95W), but AMD has been very quiet about faster versions of the processor–once a top priority. Also on its 2008 roadmap: faster Phenom 8000s, dual-core Phenoms, a new laptop platform (Puma) and a shift from 65nm to 45 process technology.