This time next year, when you’re buying Apple’s newly updated Macbook Pro or Mac Pro, you’ll likely see Intel’s latest line of CPUs in your machine. It’s called “Core” and the first CPU due out under the new moniker is the Intel Core i7 and i7 Extreme Edition. Not the most exciting thing, I know, but just think back to that old 486 DX and you’ll be smiling in no time. Just don’t expect Psystar to make the upgrade.
The Wii was Nintendo’s reinvention of the gaming console as we know it, but what’s next for the super gaming company? Microchip manufacturer Intel seems to believe that the next generation of consoles won’t even have hand controls.
“You just set up the cameras around the room and wave your hand like you’re playing tennis,” says Intel chief technology officer, Justin Rattner. This leads us to believe that the next-gen of consoles might integrate a camera sensor system, much like the Sony Eye Toy. Intel is known for supplying the chips that power these next-gen consoles, so this prediction might be one to keep an eye on. — Andrew Dobrow
They’ve done it before and they may do it again according to DigiTimes insiders. Rumor has it that Apple is targeting Intel’s Moorestown Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform for the iPhone which promises ten times the power efficiency than current mobile chips. That could mean better battery life and smaller form factors for future versions of the device. Presumably, these iPhones would be available sometime after 2009 when the chipset is slated to be officially released.
It may only be speculation at this point but a move like this would undoubtedly please consumers given the fact that it would better integrate the iPhone with Apple’s current lineup of Intel based desktops and laptops. — Sean Fallon
Intel has some pretty cool stuff up their sleeves as of late. This “Metro Notebook” concept is Intel’s attempt at creating a restyled, ultra-slim and ultra-light laptop that takes into consideration, the young urbanites need for class and style. The sub-0.7 thick, 1 kg sized Metro has an outside display built into the back of the monitor which serves as an always-on update screen.
The Metro’s outside screen will be made as a colored non-volatile e-ink screen that shows important content, such as e-mail, calandar entries, eBooks and more, even when the power supply is cut off. The Metro is designed for complete wireless communications with a reconfigurable antennae which can be switched between Bluetooth, WiFi, and WiMax. Intel also hopes to ship the item enabled to charge your cellphone and other devices wirelessly through a charge pad. One word: Wow! Hit the jump for an in-depth look at the features with a labeled pic. (more…)
Intel announced today their plans for a third Extreme processor, geared towards the enthusiast-user. The Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 is Intel’s fastest enthusiast featured processor yet, running with a clock speed of 2.93 GHz. According to the press release by Intel, the QX6800 is focused specifically for gamers, digital designers, and those who strive for maximum computing power.
Critics are quick to criticize that the 6800 doesn’t differ much from the 6700, which has reached native clock speeds of 3.2 GHz, though we say, lets not comment until we see this baby in some overclocking action. The QX6800 will cost an equally extreme $1200 and is available now through Intel. — Andrew Dobrow
For the emerging digital trend of the Terabyte, computer scientists are realizing that if there are going to be terabyte sized applications, theres a need for a processing chip that can handle that amount of information.
The Intel R&D department have made a chip that has eighty, thats right, eighty processing cores. The chip can perform more then a trillion operations at once time. And we thought quad core processors were exciting?
The chip is the first to ever display Teraflop performance. Enough processing speed and power to control terabytes of information at a time. Don’t have yourself a coronary now. We know it’s exciting, but as it is still in reasearch and development, we still have some time to wait to see these in common operation.
Even more impressive? The entirety of the chips cores fit in a space smaller then a fingernail. While also using less electricity then most home appliances. Ahh, the wonders of technology. (more…)
Since Intel has released its Core 2 Duo line of processors, AMD has been out of the spot light, shunned to behind the center stage. Ever since, they have been scrambling to come up with something that can overpower the double core chips.
AMD has just released another chip for the Athlon 64 line: the X2 6000+. What’s suprising is that is has been released before what we were expecting. This dual-core CPU makes the jump to the world of 3GHz. It shows similarities to the previous chips in the line through features such as its 2MB level two chache. It carries a $599 price tag from Newegg.com (the go-to online computer store). This price is OEM, which doesn’t ship with a fan. But then again, if you are buying this high end chip, you probably already have your own high end fan! — Nik Gomez
AMD releases Athlon 64 X2 6000+ early [Electronista]
Late last year Intel released the Q6700, their brand new baby that was a Core 2 Quad (not duo) and had a clock speed of 2.66 GHz. So what is the difference between the Q6700 and the brand new Q6600, well, other than 100, there is a difference in clock speed of .26Ghz. The new Q6600 runs at 2.4Ghz intsead of 2.66. Also, the Q6600 is locked, meaning there is no option of overclocking this quad core monster.
The talk that quad cores are essentially two duos placed on the same chip is true, and the Q6600 is just two Core 2 Duo E6600 cores on a single socket with a pair of 4MB L2 caches and a 1066MHz frontside bus. So other than the locked state of the Q6600 and its clock speed, there is no difference between the two CPUs. So why is this new processor significant? It is really the first quad-core CPU to hit and be aimed at the mainstream market. While no solid price has been released by Intel yet, it will probably be priced a bit under the Q6700’s $999 price point.
Asus and Intel [Pcpop]
It’s the quote from the Shuttle web site that best wraps up what this blazing hot computer is: This isn’t your mother’s XPC… Only the 1337 apply. Intimidating? A bit, but you can handle it. This small form factor machine boasts an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor, two AMD ATI Radeon X1950 Pro CrossFire graphics cards, two 10,000RPM Western Digital Raptor 150GB hard drives, 2GB Crucial Ballistix memory, and a fully internal liquid cooling system. Good thing that the liquid cooling system is in there, just look at the flames on this baby. Couterstike, World of Warcraft, Oblivion, this computer can handle them all without breaking a sweat. Who knew a small form factor PC could handle gaming just as well as your brand new (and gigantic) VooDoo or Falcon Northwestern monster. Now to the paint, each one of these computers are hand painted with premium automotive paint that takes the painters eight hours to finish. From the keyboard to the mouse to the PC, if you show up at a local LAN party with this setup and don’t finish every n00b around, something is definitely wrong.
