Acer's Aspire 5551G: AMD's Budget Gaming Laptop

A couple months ago, we looked at AMD's quad-core P920 processor and HD 5650 GPU combination (with HD 4250 switchable graphics) courtesy of the Toshiba A660D/A665D. The combination wasn't without promise, but we walked away with a few concerns. First, we didn't think the Toshiba notebook was the best-built system on the block, with its glossy textured plastic. Then there's the issue with the CPU: the Phenom II P920 may be a quad-core processor, but the slow 1.6GHz maximum clock speed can be a serious bottleneck. And while we like the idea of switchable graphics, Toshiba garners two more marks against their offering: first, they don't participate in AMD's mobile driver program (you can get around this by downloading the drivers on a different laptop from a vendor that does participate, interestingly enough); second, they take the Radeon HD 5650 and clock it at 450MHz instead of 550MHz. Combine all of the above with a minimum price of $800 and we walked away without a clear winner. Here's our wish list from the conclusion of the A660D review:

    Frankly, it just doesn't seem like anyone has yet come up with an ideal AMD-based laptop—not that they can't, but more like they won't. So to help, here's what we want. First, give us more than a 48Wh battery—look at ASUS' U-series laptops with 84Wh batteries for inspiration here. Second, keep the CPU clock speed above 2.0GHz, because when Intel's i3-330M beats a quad-core 1.6GHz part in virtually every benchmark you know there's a problem. Third, give us a decent GPU (5650 or faster), but don't force us into 16" and larger notebooks; P520, 5650, and a 63Wh battery (at least) should all fit in a 14" chassis. Bonus points for the first laptop to provide all of the above and not use a cheap LCD (and we'd even pay an extra $50-$100 for such a display). Considering the competition on the Intel side of the fence, realistically all of this needs to fit into a budget of under $800, since an extra $100 brings Core i5 parts into direct competition.

Besides the above, we also had to question whether P920 made sense with the 5650—a higher clocked dual-core processor seemed like a better overall gaming solution, given the dearth of games that truly benefit from having more than two cores. Not long after that review, AMD contacted us and asked if we'd like to look at the Acer 5551G-4591, a laptop that at least meets several of the above wish list bullet points. Now, we haven't been particularly kind in our comments on some of the Acer/Gateway laptops of late, but that doesn't mean they can't fill a niche. We still think the keyboard is one of the least desirable options for a notebook (which is putting it kindly), and they're not likely to ever win an industrial design competition, but one thing Acer tends to do better than anyone else is to pack some decent performance options into very affordable offerings. So just what does the 5551G-4591 bring to bear? Here's the spec rundown.

Acer Aspire 5551G-4591 Specifications
Processor	AMD Athlon II P520 (2x2.3GHz, 45nm, 1MB L2, 25W)
Chipset	AMD RS880M + SB850
Memory	2x2GB DDR3-1066 (Max 2x4GB)
Graphics	AMD Radeon Mobility HD 5650 1GB DDR3 (400 Shaders, 550MHz core clock, 1540MHz effective memory clock)
Display	15.6" LED Glossy 16:9 768p (1366x768) AU Optronics B156XW02-V2 Panel
Hard Drive(s)	500GB 5400RPM (Seagate Momentus 5400.6 ST9500325AS)
Optical Drive	DVD+/-RW Drive (Matshita DVD-RAM UK890AS)
Networking	Gigabit Ethernet (Broadcom BCM57780) Wireless 802.11n (Atheros AR928X, 300Mb capable)
Audio	Realtek ALC272 HD Audio Stereo speakers, headphone and microphone jacks
Battery	6-Cell, 10.8V, 4400mAh, 48Wh battery
Front Side	Flash reader
Left Side	Headphone and microphone jacks 1 x USB 2.0 HDMI Ethernet jack VGA Exhaust vent AC plug
Right Side	2 x USB 2.0 Optical drive Kensington lock
Back Side	None
Operating System	Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Dimensions	15.0" x 10.0" x 1.0"-1.3" (WxDxH)
Weight	5.7 lbs
Extras	1.3MP Webcam 103-Key Keyboard with dedicated 10-key Flash reader (MMC, SD/Mini SD, MS/Duo/Pro/Pro Duo, xD)
Warranty	1-year standard warranty
Pricing	Estimated price of $649 [Possibly discontinued]

Acer To Use AMD Zacate Chip In 7-inch Tablet?

Acer will become the first major manufacturer to use AMD's next generation Fusion processors (potentially a Zacate APU, the direct competitor to Intel's Atom) in a tablet format device.

The device will sport a 10.1-inch screen (possibly 1024x600 pixels) and will combine a touchscreen with a physical keyboard (a full size version) with the latter being presented as a docking station that enhances the tablet's connectivity as well.

The tablet, which has yet to be named, will weigh less than 1Kg and will be less than 15mm thick. Acer says that it will come with two 1.3-megapixel cameras, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity and will be available as from February 2011.

As expected, the tablet that doubles as a netbook, will come with Windows 7, possibly Starter; we couldn't see any connectors on the docking station or on the tablet itself.

No pricing details have been published yet and we're not sure whether the device will be marketed as a consumer-oriented Aspire brand or for a more professional, upmarket one with the Timeline.

AMD claims its image quality is on par with Nvidia

FINGER POINTING has broken out again between the pixel pushers Nvidia and AMD over the image quality of their graphics drivers.

On Monday reports surfaced that Nvidia claimed its arch-rival, AMD, has lowered the image quality of default settings in its Catalyst drivers. Essentially the Green Goblin charged that AMD is cheating in order to attain higher benchmarking scores and thus garner more favourable reviews.

Nick Stam, the technical marketing director at Nvidia hammered home the point in a blog post, saying "Nvidia GPUs provide higher image quality at default driver settings, which means comparative AMD [versus] Nvidia testing methods need to be adjusted to compensate for the image quality differences."

It was a pretty serious indictment of AMD and not surprisingly it drew a response from Nvidia's competing GPU designer. In a statement sent to The INQUIRER, AMD said it takes the issue of image quality seriously, writing, "We are committed to the PC gaming community and take all feedback on image quality very seriously."

The firm continued, "To that end, we have recently revisited the current default image quality settings used in Catalyst drivers and found them to be on par with the default settings provided by our competitor. We take great care in determining the default settings of Catalyst drivers and believe current settings deliver a very good gaming experience."

Questions over image quality settings in drivers have been around for years, first hitting the headlines back in 2003 with Nvidia's decision to treat the popular 3DMark benchmark with disdain by lowering image quality and not rendering out of frame objects. Many INQUIRER readers still remember that saga and not surprisingly shouts of the pot calling the kettle black were heard in response to Stam's recent claims.

Nvidia has said that it won't go down a similar route of image quality reduction in order to seemingly perform better in benchmarks, however with AMD holding firm that it doesn't compromise image quality in its drivers' default settings, a race to Lego-esque image quality might be just around the corner.

Acer 10.1 inch tablet supposedly has AMD C-50 APU

We’ve reported on Acer’s 10.1 inch Windows 7 tablet before, and there is a rumor that it may be powered by an AMD C-50 APU.

According to DigiTimes, it will have AMD’s dual-core C-50 Ontario APU, which “consumes just 9W of power and packs a built-in Radeon HD 6250 graphics chip”. There is even reports that Acer will produce a 10.1 inch Android slate with Tegra 2 with support for WiFi and 3G. As far as any other features that we know, it will have a”1GHz processor, 4 megapixel rear facing camera, an HDMI port capable of outputting 720p HD videoand the ability to playback Flash 10.1 content”.

Amazon Cyber Monday sales Sony Black 17.3″ VPCEF22FX/BL Laptop AMD Athlon II

Now is the most opportune time to find deals on workbooks which you have been waiting for all year. During the sales of Cyber Monday, Amazon.com gives away unbelievable laptop sales and coupons on a huge number of nearly all brands of eReaders. No matter whether you’re purchasing for yourself or a loved one, you absolutely should not let Amazon.com laptop bargains pass you. Check out Amazon.com for the newest laptop Cyber Monday bargains!VPC-EF22FX/BI Vaio Notebook, Black
Enjoy powerful performance and massive multimedia entertainment on this affordable 17.3″ widescreen laptop PC from Sony. With Sony VAIO, you can experience an AMD Athlon II X2 processor, loads of RAM and amazing picture quality, giving you everything you need to keep track of your mobile life in one sleek package. It even includes an integrated number pad, ensuring that you feel just as comfortable with your laptop as you feel with your desktop.

List Price: $ 699.99

dell7-inch Streak | Dell to launch 7-inch Streak next year

BANGALORE, INDIA: With lot of talks about the small size of Dell's tablet Streak, the company is looking at launching the bigger version in a few months and stay in the competition-driven market.
Addressing the media, during the earnings call at Dell's quarterly financial results announcement today, Steve Felice, president – consumer, small and medium business, Dell, said, “We are looking at the launch of the 7-inch version of our tablet called Streak somewhere around early next year.”
Though he declined to divulge further details he added that the 10-inch tablet from Dell will come around latter half of the year. The present model has a scree size of 5 inches.
He shared that the company is buoyant about the tablet business and is glad to see the performance of the consumer business.
The performance of Streak and the bullish expectation of the company comes with the concern for their mobile unit. According to a report by Wall Street Journal, Ron Garriques, president, Communication Solutions, for Dell is parting ways from Dell, as the company is closing down its mobile unit.

Dell third-quarter profit more that doubles

Dell Inc. more than doubled its profit in the third quarter thanks to stronger sales to corporate customers and falling prices for computer components, the company said Thursday.

"We had a very good quarter with solid revenue growth and good profitability and cash flow," said Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden .

The computer-maker made a profit of $822 million, or 42 cents a share, on revenue of $15.4 billion for the quarter ended Oct. 29. Revenue was up 19 percent from a year ago, while profit jumped 144 percent.

The company said it saw a richer mix of profits while keeping costs down and benefiting from the falling prices of components such as memory chips, storage drives and flat-panel displays.

Analysts were pleased with the profits, which were well ahead of estimates. Dell shares jumped almost 7 percent in extended trading, to as high as $14.58 a share.

"Revenues were light, but earnings were solid and profit margins were very solid," said Brian Marshall with Gleacher & Co.

"They hit gross margins out of the park," said Ashok Kumar with Rodman & Renshaw .

Gross margins for the company totaled 19.5 percent of revenue, compared with 16.6 percent in the second quarter. Analysts had criticized the company earlier in the year for disappointing gross margins, which are sales minus the cost of production.

Dell's strongest growth came in large corporate products and services, where revenue was $4.3 billion, up 27 percent from a year ago. Public sector revenue totaled $4.4 billion, up 20 percent, and small and medium-size business revenue totaled $3.7 billion, up 24 percent. Consumer sales totaled $2.9 billion, up 4 percent.

The company said it generated $913 million in cash in the quarter and ended with more than $14 billion in cash and short-term investments.

"Our strong results demonstrate that we are listening to customers and delivering what they want," said CEO Michael Dell.

The company said it expects to see continued strong growth in sales of desktop and notebook computers to large corporate customers.

It expects its revenue growth for the fiscal year ending next January will "track toward the mid-point of the 14-19 percent" projection made this summer.

For the first three quarters, the company made a profit of $1.7 billion, or 87 cents a share, on revenue of $45.8 billion. That compared with a profit of $1.1 billion, or 56 cents, on revenue of $38 billion for the same period of last year.

Gladden said Dell continues to make good progress with its infant business of making mobile Internet devices despite the abrupt departure of Ron Garriques , the head of that business, which was announced Wednesday. Garriques, a former Motorola executive who has worked at Dell for nearly four years, will receive more than $8 million in severance, bonus pay and consulting fees from the company over the next year.

"We are the pleased with the progress there," Gladden said.

The CFO also discounted repeated speculation about whether the company will go private, although he also said recently that the idea has been discussed at Dell.

"We have no plans to take the company private, period," he said.

dell :- Dell Q3 net income doubles to $822 mn, revenue up 19%

Computer-maker Dell Inc today reported an over two-fold jump in net income to USD 822 million for the three-month period ended October 29 on robust growth in commercial and enterprise business, coupled with the strong performance of emerging markets like India.

The company's net income stood at USD 337 million in the corresponding year-ago period, Dell said in a statement.

The company's revenue rose to USD 15.39 billion in the third quarter ended October 29, 2010, from USD 12.89 billion in the same quarter last fiscal, translating into a 19 per cent gain.

Dell has registered double-digit revenue growth in all operating regions, with revenue in Brazil , Russia, India and China rising by 30 per cent overall, led by a 55 per cent jump in revenue from Dell's India business.

"The company continues to expand its presence in these important countries, which now represent 13 per cent of total company revenue," Dell said.

In addition, Asia-Pacific and Japan revenue grew by 29 per cent, while Dell's Europe, Middle East and Africa revenue increased by 15 per cent. Furthermore, revenue from the Americas was up 18 per cent.

Commenting on the result, Dell Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden said: "Our teams delivered outstanding results in the quarter. With solid demand in our commercial segments, we executed well and that led to record profitability for the company and especially in our important enterprise solutions and services business."

During the quarter, sales of Dell's consumer products rose by 4 per cent vis-a-vis the year-ago period to USD 3 billion, while commercial sales grew 24 per cent to USD 12.4 billion.

Revenue from large enterprises climbed 27 per cent to USD 4.3 billion and revenue from the public sector was up 20 per cent to USD 4.4 billion. Revenue from small and medium-size businesses grew 24 per cent to USD 3.7 billion.

The computer-maker ended the quarter with cash reserves and investments worth USD 14 billion.

amd :- Leaked AMD slides claim to reveal CPU timeline and new 'FM1' socket

Summary

Two slides have surfaced which it is claimed detail the company’s timeline for the release of upcoming CPUs and APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit, CPU/GPU hybrids).

wo slides have surfaced which it is claimed detail the company’s timeline for the release of upcoming CPUs and APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit, CPU/GPU hybrids).

Origin of the slides is the German website ATI-Forum which claims the slides came from a ‘business-related source.’

    Note: I don’t speak German so I’m relying on Google translation.

If accurate this is excellent news because it means AM3+ compatible 4, 6 and 8 core CPUs based on the Bulldozer architecture and all featuring Turbo Core by the middle of next year, with the 8 core version coming in 95W and 125W TDP.

Nice.

But there’s more …

What we have here is the timeline for the Fusion APUs (the CPU/GPU hybrids. What’s interesting here is that this slide introduces a new socket - FM1. This was to be expected given that the silicon features both CPU and GPU. Maintaining AM3+ compatibility couldn’t really be expected. If a new socket is in the pipeline I’d expect that we’ll start to see samples of these board by early next year.

This slide also backs up the rumor that Fusion has been delayed until the second part of 2011.

Looks like we can expect some really good stuff from AMD next year.

amd :- Office Depot Black Friday Ads 2010- HP AMD Quad Core Desktop for $550

New York- Office Depot Black Friday Ads 2010- Office Depot is offering deals on the HP AMD Quad Core Desktop. This desktop is now available at a price tag of $550.

HP AMD Quad Core Desktop would come for $550 after rebate only. There won’t be any cost for the shipping of the product.

This $50 mail-in rebate drops it to $549.99. With free shipping, that’s $170 off and the lowest total price we could find for such a quad-core Pavilion bundle.

Sales tax is added where applicable. Features include an AMD Athlon II 635 2.9GHz quad-core processor, 4GB RAM and 750GB 7200 rpm hard drive.

At the same time, it has dual-layer DVD burner with LIghtScribe, memory card reader, 802.11n wireless, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Deal ends November 20.

Quad-core processor offers extra power to handle today’s complex software.

amd :- Mage XLC M1 Extreme Liquid-Cooled AMD Gaming PCs Introduced by iBUYPOWER

A custom, liquid-cooled PC gaming system capable of delivering an extreme level of performance within the latest graphics-intensive titles is a dream for quite a lot of gamers from all over the world, and since at least some of the respective gamers tend to favor AMD CPUs over Intel's processors, iBUYPOWER has decided to add an AMD powered system to its popular new super-cooled XLC (Extreme Liquid Cooling) line of gaming systems.

As the custom gaming systems' integrator informs us, its new Mage XLC M1 can be configured with a AMD Phenom II X6 1055T, 1075T or 1090T six core processor cooled by Asetek’s maintenance free 240mm large radiator liquid cooling system.

The new Mage XLC also comes ready to do battle out of the box with 8GB of DDR3 memory, AMD Radeon HD 5770 graphics card, 1TB of storage space and Windows 7 Home Premium.

iBUYPOWER is also now offering Black and White Phantom case options with the XLC line.

Previously available only in red, the NZXT Phantom offers some very interesting cooling solutions that include up to 7 fans - dual 200mm, single 230/200mm, triple 120mm and a front 140mm fans.

Furthermore, gamers looking to get the most out of their new Paladin XLC system can take advantage of the iBUYPOWER Labs’ Power Drive Overclocking Service, which overclocks the CPU by as much as 30%.

“We try to offer the highest level of customization possible across all our product lines,” said Darren Su, Executive Vice President of iBUYPOWER.

“AMD’s powerful six core Phenom processors are a natural fit with the XLC line’s commitment to best in class performance through advanced cooling solutions,” added Mr. Su.

Of course, such best-in-class performance does come at a pretty hefty price point, the Mage XLC system starting at $1,099 (but going a lot higher, should one decide to add only top-range, latest-gen components to it).

INTEL :- 2010 Intel® Core™ i3 Processor

The wait is over—now everyone can move up to smart performance. As the first level in Intel’s new processor family, the 2010 Intel® Core™ i3 processor is the perfect entry point for a fast, responsive PC experience.
Smart style starts here

Get the smart performance you need without compromising the stylish looks you want, thanks to an ultra-thin notebook powered by the 2010 Intel® Core™ i3 processor, featuring enhanced battery life and sleek design.
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology◊1

Enables each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time, delivering the performance you need for smart multitasking. Don't let too many open applications slow you and your PC down. Get smart performance now.
Intel® HD Graphics

Intel® HD Graphics provides superb visual performance for sharper images, richer color, and life-like audio and video.◊2 Watch movies and Internet videos in high-definition, play popular game titles and get full support for Microsoft Windows* 7. It's all built in; no need for an extra add-in video card.
Connect in More Places

Access to the Internet is increasingly important, no matter where you are. When you're on the move, pairing Intel®-powered devices with wireless broadband and a tiny USB modem from your service provider enables you to connect to high-speed Internet service just about anywhereΣ without depending on WiFi hotspots. Look for embedded WiMAX capability when you’re shopping for your next PC.

INTEL :- What makes the 2010 Intel® Core™ processors so smart?

SMART TECHNOLOGY

Imagine having a processor smart enough to know when your PC needs a little more juice. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology gives you speed when you need it and delivers energy efficiency when you don't.◊1

Also available on select models of the 2010 Intel® Core™ processor family, Intel® HD Graphics◊2 provides superb visual performance for sharper images, richer color, and life-like audio and video.
SMART SPEED

We're all multitaskers. We edit photos, send email, watch video, sync our iPods*—and we want to do it all at once. Now we can. Intel® Hyper-threading Technology lets your processor do more simultaneously.◊3
SMART INVESTMENT

Intel® Core™ processors adapt to your needs now and down the road. So, you won't just keep up, you'll get ahead.
SMART STYLE

Boost your performance and your style with a smart 2010 Intel® Core™ processor, now available in sleek ultra-thin notebooks that are light enough to carry all day and offer enhanced battery life.

INTEL :- Desktop Board :- Intel Extreme Series P4 LGA 775 Socket Motherboards

Harnessing the advanced computing power of the Intel® Pentium® processor Extreme Edition, the Intel® Desktop Boards Extreme Series are optimized to deliver new levels of performance that is essential for needs of power-users and high-end gamers.
The Extreme Series boards showcase one of the most advanced integrated audio solutions to be found on an Intel desktop board. Intel® High Definition Audio provides the sound quality foundation enabling a 24-bit/192Khz capable audio solution with support for 7.1 channel surround sound.

INTEL :-Intel® Core™ processors :- Processor numbers for the Intel® Core™ processor family

Processor numbers for the Intel® Core™ processor family

Processor numbers for the Intel® Core™ processor family have an alpha/numerical identifier followed by a three digit numerical sequence.

A higher number within a processor class or family generally indicates more features, including: cache, clock speed, Front Side Bus, Intel® QuickPath Interconnect, new instructions, or other Intel technologies¹. A higher processor number may also have more of one feature and less of another.

Processor numbers for the Intel® Core™2 processor family brands are categorized with an alpha prefix followed by a four digit numerical sequence. The table below explains the alpha prefixes used for the Intel Core 2 processor families.

Alpha Prefix	Description
QX	Desktop or mobile quad-core extreme performance processors
X	Desktop or mobile dual-core extreme performance processors
Q	Desktop quad-core high performance processors
E	Desktop energy efficient dual-core processors with TDP greater than or equal to 55W
T	Mobile highly energy efficient processors with TDP 30-39W
P	Mobile highly energy efficient processor with TDP 20-29 W
L	Mobile highly energy efficient with TDP 12-19W
U	Mobile ultra high energy efficient with TDP less than or equal to 11.9W
S	Mobile small form-factor with 22x22 BGA package

Processor numbers for the Intel® Core™2 Quad family have an alpha prefix followed by a four digit numerical sequence. Additionally, low power Intel Core 2 Quad processors are identifiable by an "S" suffix which represents processors having a lower thermal design power.

INTEL :- Intel® Core™ i7-960 Processor (8M Cache, 3.20 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI)

SPECIFICATIONS

Essentials
Status	Launched
Launch Date	Q4'09
Processor Number	i7-960
# of Cores	4
# of Threads	8
Clock Speed	3.2 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	3.46 GHz
Intel® Smart Cache	8 MB
Bus/Core Ratio	24
Intel® QPI Speed	4.8 GT/s
# of QPI Links	1
Instruction Set	64-bit
Instruction Set Extensions	SSE4.2
Embedded Options Available	No
Supplemental SKU	No
Lithography	45 nm
Max TDP	130 W
VID Voltage Range	0.800V-1.375V
1ku Bulk Budgetary Price	$562.00

Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type)	24 GB
Memory Types	DDR3-800/1066
# of Memory Channels	3
Max Memory Bandwidth	25.6 GB/s
Physical Address Extensions	36-bit
ECC Memory Supported	No

Graphics Specifications
Integrated Graphics	No

Package Specifications
Max CPU Configuration	1
TCASE	67.9°C
Package Size	42.5mm x 45.0mm
Processing Die Size	263 mm2
# of Processing Die Transistors	731 million
Sockets Supported	FCLGA1366
Halogen Free Options Available	Yes

Advanced Technologies
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology	Yes
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology	Yes
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)	Yes
Intel® Trusted Execution Technology	No
AES New Instructions	No
Intel® 64	Yes
Idle States	Yes
Enhanced Intel® Speedstep Technology	Yes
Intel® Demand Based Switching	No
Thermal Monitoring Technologies	No
Execute Disable Bit	Yes

INTEL :- Intel® Core™ i7 Processor

Brilliantly fast

With faster, intelligent, multi-core technology that applies processing power where it's needed most, Intel® Core™ i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in PC performance. They are the best desktop processor family on the planet¹.

You'll multitask applications faster and unleash incredible digital media creation. And you'll experience maximum performance for everything you do, thanks to the combination of Intel® Turbo Boost technology² and Intel® Hyper-Threading technology (Intel® HT technology)³, which maximizes performance to match your workload.

INTEL :- Desktop Board DP55KG

Designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, the Intel® Desktop Board DP55KG delivers incredible performance. Enjoy great over-clocking hardware and software while boasting new features like Bluetooth* technology. Support for ATI Crossfire* and NVIDIA SLI* technology rounds off the platform with amazing graphics performance.

intel and amd :- AMD Tries to Draw Intel Into Chip Battle

Advanced Micro Devices is offering prizes to drum up more interest ahead of this month's launch of its 12-core server chip, as rival Intel also has server-chip launch plans.
AMD will award prizes valued at US$8,189 to the person who best describes in an essay, video or blog post how to use 48 cores in a server, according to a blog entry by John Fruehe, director of product marketing for servers and workstations products at AMD. The prizes are a copy of Windows Server 2008 and four Opteron 12-core processors running at 2.2 GHz, which adds up to 48 cores in a four-socket server.
AMD is already shipping Magny-Cours processors, which will be called Opteron 6100 after they officially launch, to manufacturers. The server chips will be officially announced and available through retail channels later this month.
In the blog entry, Fruehe said the Magny-Cours chip would offer more memory channels than Intel's upcoming Westmere-EP server products. Intel said it will release its Westmere-EP server processors, which will include up to six cores, and the eight-core Nehalem-EX server processor by the end of this month. Intel will launch the chips under the Xeon product line.
AMD's chip will contain the highest number of cores in an x86 server processor, analysts said. The contest may be a way for AMD to showcase the number of cores in comparison to Intel chips to capture the performance crown, analysts said.
Intel and AMD reverted to adding cores to boost chip performance earlier in the decade, as cranking up clock speed led to excessive heat dissipation and power consumption. Adding cores to server chips continues, even though the battle has cooled off at four cores for consumer desktop and laptop processors, said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research.
Servers manufacturers are always looking to boost performance, and thousands of cores are being added to supercomputers in the high-performance computing space to do complex math calculations, McCarron said.
AMD's 12-core chip will provide good boost in performance over Intel's Westmere-EP chips as it has more computing resources at work, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64. However, the real battle will be between AMD's 12-core Magny-Cours and Intel's eight-core Nehalem-EX chip, which are both targeted at four-socket servers.
However, Intel insisted it won't launch a competition or offer prizes to drum up attention behind its chips.
"We don't need a contest to figure out what our customers are going to do with our products," said Shannon Poulin, Xeon platform director at Intel.
Users care less about cores than they do about price and performance-per-watt, Poulin said. An excessive number of cores could add to the software licensing costs for customers, Poulin said.
However, analysts agreed that beyond the number of cores, factors such as on-chip cache, RAM and memory bandwidth help improve system performance. Intel is putting four memory channels in the Nehalem-EX chips, which puts it on par with AMD's Magny-Cours chip.
For most enterprise applications, memory throughput is a significant contributor to performance, McCarron said. For example, memory bandwidth matters for large databases as they try to get data to the RAM as quickly as possible.
Poulin also said that Intel holds a manufacturing advantage that allows it to put more on-chip cache in its microprocessors than its competitors, while delivering power savings, performance and better prices than its earlier chips. However, AMD's Fruehe argued that "customers don't buy nanometers, they buy products."
Transistor size is one attribute of the processor, but the architecture behind it is just as critical, Fruehe said. AMD's chips will size up well on power consumption and performance compared to Intel's upcoming server chips, Fruehe said.
Intel's Nehalem-EX holds an architectural advantage with new features like error correction, but AMD may offer better bang-for-the-buck with its Magny-Cours chips, especially as users migrate from two-socket to four-socket servers, analyst Brookwood said.
"AMD is going to change the economics as they bring out the new systems," Brookwood said. Intel may charge a premium for the Nehalem-EX chips, which could go into new markets traditionally dominated by chips based on the RISC (reduced instruction set computer) architecture, like IBM's Power and Sun's Sparc chips, he said.
"It's going to be an interesting year in the x86 server market. Both companies are executing well." Brookwood said.

INTEL : Intel Atom Platform

Intel has released an Atom-based platform targeted at home and small office networked storage devices. The new platform comprises a single-core D410 or dual-core D510 Atom processor and the Intel 82801IR input/output controller. Manufacturers planning to use the package in storage products include LaCie, LG Electronics, QNAP, Synology, and Thecus, the chip maker said. The latest technology is aimed at home server and small office/home office network-attached storage(NAS) devices that act as centralized hubs for organizing, managing, and sharing documents, photos, videos and music. Such devices are useful in locations with multiple computers. The new platform features six PCI Express lanes, 12 USB 2.0 ports, a port multiplier function and eSATA ports that give equipment manufacturers the ability to add peripheral devices and expand storage capacity outside the box, according to Intel. Other features include hot plug capabilities for capacity upgrades and integrated gigabit Ethernet MAC controller for improved bidirectional data transfers to and from the storage device.
The platform supports Windows Home Server and Linux operating systems.
Intel on Thursday also announced embedded versions of the D410 and D510 and the single-core N450 Atom chip. The processors have a seven-year life cycle and are targeted at small, energy-efficient designs for print imaging, digital security surveillance and industrial market segments.
The three processors are paired with the Intel 82801HM controller, which offers I/O capabilities in two-processor devices via high-bandwidth interfaces, including PCI Express, PCI, SATA and USB 2.0 connectivity.
Intel's Atom product line is primarily found in netbooks, low-priced mini-laptops with screens from seven to 10 inches. However, Intel is developing versions of the low-power processors for other devices, particularly smartphones and mobile Internet devices.

INTEL : systems raises $7 mln in Intel capital-ded round

systems raises $7 mln in Intel capital-ded round

The Series C round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital and Footprint Ventures.
July Systems, a mobile media company, has raised $7 million Series C investment in a round led by Intel Capital. Existing investors in the firm, Sequoia Capital and Footprint Ventures too participated in the round, the company said in a statement.
The company plans to utilise the fund in strengthening its sales and distribution platforms in North American and Asia Pacific region. It will also make substantial investment in R&D, added the statement.
July Systems helps brands publish, distribute and monetise their mobile internet services. It has also announced that it has turned cash flow positive and has achieved a 300% growth in revenue over the last year driven by the exponential growth in mobile internet consumption and a growing customer base. July Systems has recently added clients like ESPN Cricinfo, Univision and Discovery Networks.
July Systems founder and CEO Rajesh Reddy, said, in a statement: “We chose to raise this new round of funding to further strengthen our market leadership by investing in technology, operations and bolstering our team. We will also focus on driving incremental revenues into our ecosystem through July-led programmes.”
Privately-held July Systems has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Bangalore.
Intel Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of world's largest chip maker Intel, has so far invested $9.5 billion across 1,050 portfolio companies globally.
In November last year, the fund announced follow-on investments in two Indian companies, Financial Information Network & Operations Pvt. Ltd (FINO) and Wortal, Inc, owned local entertainment events portal Buzzintown.com. Some of its other investments in India include mobile services company One97
Communications, online B2B marketplace IndiaMART.com and vocational training institute Global Talent Track.
-- Copyright 2008 VCCircle.com. All rights reserved.
This content/article is provided by Mosaic Media Ventures Private Limited and not by Reuters. All rights, including copyright, in this content/article provided by VCCircle.com are owned or controlled by Mosaic Media Ventures Private Limited. The content may not be copied, broadcast, downloaded and stored (in any medium), transmitted, adapted or changed in any way whatsoever without the prior written permission of Mosaic Media Ventures Private Limited.

 

AMD :- ATI tvPORTAL™ for MAC : Amd

ATI tvPORTAL™ for MAC 

Feature-Packed, User-Friendly Interface

ATI tvPORTAL™ Media Center is our new sleek TV application designed to engage and deliver the abundant features of the TV Wonder 650 USB for Mac. Straightforward controls, large, bright, and easy-to-read buttons make for an attractive, user-friendly and intuitive interface to navigate all of the TV functions you come to expect. Easily switch between Digital TV and Analog TV with full PVR functionality.

Features & Benefits

• Ability to watch analog TV and over-the-air Digital TV on your Mac
• Full PVR and time shifting functionality, providing ease of use to schedule TV recordings
• Fast forward, rewind, or pause live TV and DTV
• Record MPEG-2 videos with ease to your hard drive
• Easy to use interface to navigate through TV show lineup and library of recorded TV shows

AMD :- ATI Catalyst Media Center ™ :- Amd

ATI Catalyst Media Center ™ 

Unleash the power of visual velocity with ATI Catalyst Media Center™. ATI Catalyst Media Center™ gives enthusiasts the flexibility to use hybrid tuners for both analog and digital signals. MulTView allows picture-in-picture for systems with more than one TV tuner card, while ThruView plays translucent video over a spreadsheet, word processing or other window or over the whole desktop - a true play while you work solution. ATI Catalyst Media Center™ takes the concept of the multimedia PC to an entirely new level, taking over where other media center solutions leave off. 

Features & Benefits

• Full PVR functionality: stop, pause, and rewind live TV on the PC
• 3D interface powered by ATI graphics cards
• MulTView functionality. Record and watch two shows at the same time, or watch one show in a picture-in-picture window while watching another full-screen.
• Advanced video compression and conversion settings - record or convert to MPEG2, MPEG4, DivX, WMV9, H.264
• Capture video from VCRs or camcorders
• ThruView - translucent video window over other desktop applications
• Hybrid tuner support - both analog and digital TV with one TV card

 

AMD :Multimedia Software : AMD

Multimedia Software 

ATI TV Wonder™ includes the world's finest multimedia software approved and certified for users with ATI TV Wonder™ products. Our applications deliver abundant features in attractive, easy-to-use, intuitive interfaces. Now when watching your TV Program you'll be able to pause, rewind and fast forward live TV. The built-in Electronic Guide allows you to view exactly what programs are available. Control stunning home entertainment from your PC.
We will continue to improve performance of our software and bring the most innovative new features to our software solutions.

Multimedia Software

• ATI Catalyst Media Center™

• ATI tvPORTAL™ for Mac

• AMD LIVE!™

• Watching TV in Windows Media Center in Windows Vista®

• Watching TV in Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005

AMD :- ATI All-in-Wonder™ HD

ll-in-One HD Graphics and HD TV Tuner

With the ATI All-in-Wonder™ HD, your PC and your TV “play nice”. It is now easy to create the ultimate digital entertainment center. With the ATI All-in-Wonder™ HD graphics and video card your PC is transformed into the ultimate high-definition PVR and 1080p Blu-ray and DVD movie showcase^1,5. Enter the realm of high-def gaming and experience life-like graphics or use your PC to create your own custom video and entertainment library.Features & Benefits

• Variety of Broadcast Signals.  The ATI All-in-Wonder™ HD is a feature-rich tuner providing the ability to receive analog (NTSC), digital/HDTV (ATSC) and unencrypted digital cable (ClearQAM) signals with time shifting functionality ^1,2,3 as well as FM radio stations.
• Personal Video Recorder (PVR) Functionality - Watch, pause and record live TV with the ATI All-in-Wonder™ HD. Now you can watch your favorite TV programming when it's convenient for you.
• Ultimate image quality and Unified Video Decoder - Enjoy the latest Blu-ray movies and other HD content with a dedicated hardware video decoder¹. The UVD offloads the intensive process of HD video decoding and playback from the CPU to the GPU while improving visual quality.
• Video capture and convert- Capture and convert MPEG2 video with ATI Avivo™ HD Video Converter. Easily convert your video into the latest formats such as WMV9, H.264, MPEG4, DixX and transfer them to your Portable Media Player^5,6.
• Edit and author DVDs - With ATI Catalyst Media Center™ you can edit your home videos and burn your own DVDs^4,7. It's time to start building that video library you have always wanted and start preserving those priceless memories.

AMD :- ATI TV Wonder™ HD TV Tuners

ATI TV Wonder™ HD TV Tuners  

ATI TV Wonder™ is the perfect product for the media and home entertainment enthusiast. Now on your PC watch, pause and schedule recordings of your favorite TV shows¹. Additionally, you will be able to watch the latest DVD movie titles or burn your own DVD (DVD burner required). Bring life to years of analog video stored on camcorders and VHS tapes as you can watch, digitize and preserve all those priceless family moments.

ATI TV Wonder™ products provide simple way to add advanced TV, personal video recorder (PVR) and video capture and editing capabilities to your PC. The ATI TV Wonder™ offers more on screen content, accurate colors and crisp lines and high definition, true to life images. Offered as PCI, PCI Express add-in card or as an external USB 2.0 peripheral, the ATI TV Wonder™ Series adds superior multimedia power to your PC. Exceed your living room experience.

Premium Digital Cable Tuners

• ATI TV Wonder™ Digital Cable Tuner

Dual Tuners (Analog and Digital)

• ATI TV Wonder™ HD 650 COMBO USB for PC
• ATI TV Wonder™ HD 650 COMBO USB for MAC
• ATI TV Wonder™ HD 650 COMBO PCI Express

Single Hybrid Tuners

• ATI TV Wonder™ HD 650 PCI
• ATI TV Wonder™ HD 600 PCI Express
• ATI TV Wonder™ HD 600 PCI
• ATI TV Wonder™ HD 600 USB Stick

Single Analog Tuners

• ATI TV Wonder™ 550 PCI
• ATI TV Wonder™ 200 PCI

 

ATI Theater™ HD 750 - TV on the PC

With ATI Theater™ HD 750 PC TV chip your PC is complete with live HDTV^1,2 (where applicable). Bring it all together for a true all-in-one rich media experience and expand your digital entertainment capabilities - at home or on-the-go. Easily capture and convert recorded TV shows directly to your mobile device and take it with you for TV on-the-go⁴. With ATI Theater™ HD 750, entertainment possibilities are virtually endless - TV when you want, where you want.

Features & Benefits

• High-Precision Live Analog, Digital, and HD TV^1,2 (where available) - With ATI Theater™ HD 750 you can receive free-to-air HDTV/DTV broadcast signals as you travel around the globe making it the ideal travel companion
• More Convenience and Flexibility - Watch, Record, Store and Transfer TV on your PC^3,4,5,6
• TV-on-the-Go - Watch TV where you want, when you want and enjoy your media on-the-go⁷
• NEW! Microsoft Windows® 7 Support – Enjoy you digital TV entertainment with the enhanced features of Windows 7 for an advanced Windows Media Center experience.

1. Supported broadcast signals: NTSC, ATSC, PAL, SECAM, DVB-T, QAM.
2. High-definition-capable display required for HD content.
3. Windows Media Center or other third party PC DVR software/application required to watch, pause, rewind and record TV.
4. Some content protection restrictions may apply.
5. Third party software required for video transcoding capabilities.
6. Trans-coding done on the CPU.
7. Portable Media Player required.

NOTE: Performance, technologies and features listed above can vary with specific system and/or board implementations. Please refer to manufacturer's documentation and/or consult with vendor for a complete list of supported features.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other jurisdictions All other company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

AMD targets budget buyers

AMD HAS UNVEILED its first 8-series chipset with the launch of the 890GX, which forms the basis for is desktop based 2010 Vision technology.
The 890GX chipset integrates HD4290 graphics, but can also support dual discrete graphics cards in a Crossfire configuration.
The new chipset is designed to be compatible with the upcoming Phenom II X6 six-core processors and aimed predominately at budget minded consumers with relatively simple computing requirements such as a home theatre PC or entry level workstation.
The 890GX Chipset supports SATA 3.0 6Gbps and SuperSpeed USB 3.0, as well as Gigabit Ethernet, HyperTransport 3.0 and second generation PCI Express, although which of these features are utilised will be up to the individual motherboard manufacturers.
AMD also reckons that the integrated HD4290 graphics can handle 1080p Blu-ray playback including dual-stream Picture in Picture as well as other HD content in MPEG2, VC-1, and H.264 formats.
Chimpzilla also announced that it is expanding its Fusion Partner Program to include its commercial channel and software partners.
Under the new structure partners will be placed into one of three business tracks, either system distributors, commercial volume resellers or commercial solution providers, and will also be placed in one of three tiers: Elite, Premier or Select.
Partners include the likes of Microsoft, Adobe, Sony, Gas Powered Games and Nero. µ

six-core desktop processor in Q2

six-core processor for desktops will ship in the second quarter of this year.

The processor will be called Phenom II X6, an AMD spokesman said. The company displayed a working unit of the chip in a desktop at the Cebit trade show being held in Hanover, Germany.

The company declined to comment on specific details about the chip, including the speed and cache size. However, the company has said it would go into desktops targeted at enthusiasts like gamers. AMD already offers six-core Opteron chips for servers.

AMD announced the processor's shipment date just a few days after details about Intel's first six-core chip for desktops, called Core i7-980 Extreme Edition, surfaced on the site of German retailer Alternate.

AMD initially announced the chip, code-named Thuban, during the financial analyst day in November. At the time the company said the processor would be manufactured using the 45-nanometer process. Intel's six-core chip, code-named Gulftown, will be manufactured using the 32-nm process.

AMD currently offers dual-core and quad-core Phenom II chips for desktops.

That six-core chip is a targeted at a very small segment of the market that includes gamers, video producers and corporate workstation users, said Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist at In-Stat. The chips are designed to run applications that require a lot of processing power, like 3D gaming or engineering applications.

"Does it mean something for the average consumer? No. Would it be absolute overkill? Yes," McGregor said. Desktops with six-core processors will be expensive, and for most average consumers dual-core and quad-core systems are adequate, he said.

Intel and AMD will also try to use the six-core chips to capture the performance crown, he said. Intel would seem to have an edge because of the advanced manufacturing process and the ability to run two threads per core, but in terms of cost, AMD may hold an advantage, McGregor said.

AMD Waiting For Fusion

Two news articles popped into our inbox earlier today, one piece from Xbitlabs that brings us more information about the first Fusion product from AMD, which goes by the sweet name of Sabine, while the other is a review by the same outlet that explores the difference between in performance between a single core and a dual core Atom processor when paired with an Nvidia ION processor.

This brings us to an interesting situation; The new Atom "Pinetrail" processor from Intel is elegant but fails to offer the kind of performance that one can expect from a contemporary graphics solution and pairing it with the new Nvidia ION chipset essentially negates the benefits associated with bringing the GMA3150 graphics module on Atom.

According to Xbitlabs, the first AMD Fusion will be offered either as a two or four core product complete with a GPU with 480 Stream processors which means that the most power-efficient model is likely to have a TDP of 45w, a number that can be slashed by decreasing the number of stream processors.

The HD5730 has 400 Stream processors and would totally obliterate the new ION processor which is based on the GT218 chip. Even with 160 stream processors, which is half what you'd expect to find on the Mobility Radeon HD5165, the combined TDP would be slashed to around 35w.

Given the fact that the AMD's will use the 32nm SOI process technology and the APU will be a more tightly integrated solution than just combining a CPU and a GPU, one can expect that number to hover around 30W.

 

The New 2010 Intel® Core™ i7 {The New 2010 Intel® Core™ i7 }

About the New 2010 Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition

Unrivaled smart features

With overclock enabled,‡² you can tune your system for extra performance and feed your need for speed.◊¹ Plus, greater cache size and higher frequencies give you ultimate performance for the toughest tasks. You'll be outperforming, overwhelming and overthrowing your competition.

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology◊¹

The Intel® Core™ i7 processor Extreme Edition automatically speeds up when your PC needs extra performance so you can dominate the gaming world.

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology◊²

Eight-way multi-task processing enables each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time, delivering the performance you need for smart multitasking.

Intel® Xeon® Processor 3000 Sequence

The Intel® Xeon® processor 3000 series-based platforms unleash the computing power of Intel® Xeon® processors. Based on the next-generation Intel® microarchitecture, codenamed Nehalem, these processors provide your business with exceptional performance and power efficiency at a very affordable cost.

The Intel Xeon 3000 processor-based servers protect critical business information and offer the performance and headroom to make employees and businesses more productive, making them ideal for small and medium business owners looking for ways to support rapid business growth on small technology budgets.

Intel® Server Processors | Intel® Server Processors

Intel® Server Processors

Intel® server processors deliver enhanced, energy-efficient performance for data-intensive business applications. Powering a range of multi-core 64-bit servers◊, Intel server processors enable you to optimize and scale computing environments to maximize server utilization to workload, while providing you with headroom for growth.

Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series

• Faster performance enabled by Intel® microarchitecture, codenamed Nehalem
• Automatically increase processor frequency and utilize Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) as needed
• Efficiently manage energy expense by scaling power consumption to workload, enabled by Intel® Intelligent Power Technology
• Next generation Intel® Virtualization Technology enables best-in-class virtualization performance, superb scalability, enhanced flexibility, and simplified server management
• Intel® Data Center Manager (Intel® DCM) software development kit provides power and thermal monitoring and management for servers, racks, and groups of servers in data centers. Management Console Vendors (ISVs) and System Integrators (SIs) can integrate Intel® DCM into their console or command-line applications and provide high-value power management features to IT organizations.

Intel to install solar on Chandler complexes

Intel Corp. plans to install rooftop solar panels at its Chandler complexes as part of a companywide solar power initiative.

The company says photovoltaic panels will be installed on office buildings at its manufacturing complex and its research campus in Chandler.

Intel's director of global utilities, Marty Sedler, says the panels will supply only a few percentage points of the building's total electrical use, but that Intel hopes to expand the effort in the future.

Sedler says the work at the Chandler locations is expected to begin in a few weeks and the installations should be completed in April.

Intel says it plans to install a total of 2.5 megawatts of solar generating capacity at eight locations in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon during the next seven months.

Vadodara realtors offer land to Intel for IT centre

A body of local realtors has offered one lakh square feet of land to American chip-maker Intel Corp for setting up an infotech centre in the city.

The offer was made by the Baroda Land Developers Association (BLDA) to Ajay Bhatt, fellow at Intel Corp, a $40-billion company manufacturing chips, boards, systems, and software for the computing and communications industries.

Talking to PTI, BLDA Joint Secretary Ashok Thakkar said "the purpose behind the offer is to make Vadodara an IT hub and put it on IT map of the country on the lines of Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad."

"Vadodara has the potential of emerging as an IT hub provided experts like Bhatt take up the cause. Bhatt is a native of Vadodara and moved to the US in 1980 and is now working for Intel," he said.

Thakkar said the land offer was made to Bhatt on the occasion of his felicitation programme organised by the Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan (VMSS) here last night.

Responding to this offer, Bhatt said he would consider it sympathetically as he wants to contribute in the city's development. He also informed about Intel entering healthcare business.

Bhatt agreed to help update the IT syllabus of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology of the Maharaja Sayajirao University, from where he obtained his degree.

Vadodara realtors offer land to Intel for IT centre

A body of local realtors has offered one lakh square feet of land to American chip-maker Intel Corp for setting up an infotech centre in the city.

The offer was made by the Baroda Land Developers Association (BLDA) to Ajay Bhatt, fellow at Intel Corp, a $40-billion company manufacturing chips, boards, systems, and software for the computing and communications industries.

Talking to PTI, BLDA Joint Secretary Ashok Thakkar said "the purpose behind the offer is to make Vadodara an IT hub and put it on IT map of the country on the lines of Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad."

"Vadodara has the potential of emerging as an IT hub provided experts like Bhatt take up the cause. Bhatt is a native of Vadodara and moved to the US in 1980 and is now working for Intel," he said.

Thakkar said the land offer was made to Bhatt on the occasion of his felicitation programme organised by the Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan (VMSS) here last night.

Responding to this offer, Bhatt said he would consider it sympathetically as he wants to contribute in the city's development. He also informed about Intel entering healthcare business.

Bhatt agreed to help update the IT syllabus of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology of the Maharaja Sayajirao University, from where he obtained his degree.

AMD shares slide despite upbeat earnings

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. fell sharply Friday, a day after the company posted upbeat results that apparently failed to ease investor concern about the chip maker's prospects.

Analysts cited several possible factors, including investor anticipation of muted earnings in the first and second quarters, heightened competition with rival Intel Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!intc/quotes/nls/intc (INTC 19.97, -0.03, -0.15%) and worries about the impact of China's bid to restrict credit.
Japan hones face-recognition software

As global concerns about security rise, Japan is advancing its face recognition technology for use anywhere from rail stations to nursing homes. (Reuters)

AMD /quotes/comstock/13*!amd/quotes/nls/amd (AMD 7.98, -0.11, -1.36%) closed down 12.35%, leading a tech sector-wide retreat that saw the Nasdaq Composite Index /quotes/comstock/10y!i:comp (COMP 2,203, -0.37, -0.02%) fall 2.7% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index /quotes/comstock/10y!i:sox (SOX 333.19, -0.27, -0.08%) decline by 5.3%.

Analysts were generally upbeat about the company's report, which showed strong gains in sales, particularly for graphics chips.

AMD also unveiled a plan to deconsolidate its financials from those of GlobalFoundries, which was spun off from its manufacturing operations in a move widely expected to ease AMD's financial woes.

"We are increasingly more positive on shares of AMD following stellar results highlighted by revenue growth which actually exceeded that of Intel," Wedbush analyst Patrick Wang said in a note.

He added: "It is the expected completion of its metamorphosis from 'AMD Proper' into the world's second largest fabless company that deserves the most attention. With the consolidation overhang gone, we believe AMD gradually exits the penalty box and transitions into a more typical valuation framework."
Fears over fundamentals

However, Auriga analyst Daniel Berenbaum had a different take, as he downgraded AMD's stock from hold to sell.

While AMD's deconsolidation from GlobalFoundries may be seen as generally positive, he argued, it also means "investors are likely to refocus on fundamentals." And AMD's fundamentals, when viewed next to rival Intel Corp.'s /quotes/comstock/15*!intc/quotes/nls/intc (INTC 19.97, -0.03, -0.15%) , aren't that impressive, he suggested.

"Our work suggests that AMD has a relatively weak product cycle in CPU [central processing] and is unlikely to regain lost market share near term," he wrote. "This is somewhat offset by share gains in graphics, but ultimately the CPU roadmap will be the largest single determinant of success or disappointment."

With AMD's history of "past execution missteps and weak cash generation potential," Berenbaum said investors "should look elsewhere for upside -- for investors who must have CPU exposure, we prefer Intel."

On Friday, Wang also said in e-mails that AMD's stock decline may be due to fears of a "potential global slowdown" arising from worries that China "may increase its lending costs, in result likely slowing down their economic growth."

The GlobalFoundries spin-off was widely expected to ease AMD's mounting financial burdens, and the move appeared to be paying off, analysts say.

FBR Capital's Craig Berger also wrote in a note, "Net, this is a positive report showing that AMD's transformation has enabled the firm to generate cash flow at much lower revenue levels, and with fewer investments required going forward."

But Wang also noted that "with the deconsolidation out of the way, some investors are focusing on actual earnings once again."

"The halo effect that lifted the stock washed away," he added.

Douglas Freedman of Broadpoint AmTech said the Friday decline was still puzzling, although he also noted in an e-mail, "I would agree that first quarter and second quarter earnings power from AMD is not strong and normalizing off those numbers would make the stock look expensive. But the second half of 2010 earnings power is extremely impressive and remains underestimated."

Late Thursday, AMD reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.18 billion, or $1.52 a share, compared with a loss of $1.44 billion, or $2.36 a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $1.65 billion, up 42% from the same quarter the previous year. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss of 8 cents a share.

Analysts had expected the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker to report a loss of 17 cents a share, on revenue of $1.49 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research.

AMD cited "net favorable impacts" from its legal settlement with Intel. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor giant paid AMD $1.25 billion as part of an agreement to settle their legal disputes.

For the current quarter, AMD said it expects revenue "to be down seasonally."

"AMD's quarter marks another milestone in our transformation and underscores our growing momentum," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO.

He added: "We enter 2010 having completed the transition to a fabless business model, reached a historic antitrust settlement, and made significant progress strengthening our balance sheet. Our innovative strategy for designing the world's most vivid digital experiences continues to generate demand."

Sales of its core central processing unit chips went up 14% sequentially, while its graphics chip business posted a 40% revenue gain quarter-on-quarter.

AMD unveils new 'budget' processors

AMD is launching an array of new CPUs targeted at those looking to spend as few of their hard-earned dollars as possible.

Here’s the new line-up:

• AMD Athlon II X2 255 65W 3.1 GHz $74
• AMD Athlon II X3 440 95W 3.0 GHz $84
• AMD Athlon II X4 635 95W 2.9 GHz $119
• AMD Phenom II X2 555 80W 3.2 GHz $99
• AMD Phenom II X4 910e 65W 2.6 GHz $169

Note: Prices are for trays of 1,000, retail prices will be somewhat higher.

All these processors are based on existing technology, so there’s no new hardware innovations here. However,what we do have is new frequencies, new model numbers, and new, attractive pricing.

Chip shipments on the rise as AMD makes gains

Chip shipments on the rise as AMD makes gains

AMD pulled back market share from Intel in the fourth quarter, as the PC chip market got back on track after the economic downturn, according to IDC.

In a report released on Monday, the research firm said worldwide PC processor shipments grew 31.3 percent in the last quarter of 2009, compared with the same quarter the previous year. For all of 2009, shipments rose by 2.5 percent year-on-year, though revenue declined 7.1 percent to $28.6bn (£18bn).

"Compared to [Q4 2008], the huge rise in shipments indicates that the market has put the recession behind it," said Shane Rau, director of research for personal computing semiconductors at IDC, in a statement. "[The comparison indicates] that the PC industry anticipates improvement in PC end demand in 2010."

Intel had 80.5 percent of the market in the fourth quarter, down 0.6 percent over the previous quarter, according to the research firm. Meanwhile AMD's share rose 0.7 percent, to 19.4 percent of sales, and third-place Via held 0.2 percent.

AMD also advanced in share for the full year 2009, showing a rise of 0.8 percent to hold 20.1 percent of the market, compared with the previous year. Intel took 79.7 percent of the market, down 0.7 percent, while Via had 0.3 percent of sales.

The pattern was similar across the mobile, PC server/workstation and desktop PC processor segments. In mobile PC chips, where Intel has the Atom for netbooks, the company accounted for 87.3 percent of sales in the fourth quarter, down 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter. AMD accounted for 12.7 percent, up 0.8 percent.

In server/workstation processors, Intel shipments dropped 0.6 percent to 89.8 percent in the same period, while AMD gained 0.6 percent to finish with 10.2 percent share.

In desktop PC chips, Intel's fourth-quarter share fell 1.1 percent to 71.1 percent, and AMD's rose 1.2 percent to 28.6 percent.

On Thursday, AMD reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.65bn, up 18 percent on the previous quarter and up 42 percent year-on-year. It also declared its first profit in more than three years. In its earnings the week before, Intel delivered stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, and outlined a promising outlook for the next three months.

In the market overall, mobile PC chip shipments grew 11.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, IDC said. Growth in x86 server chip sales was 14.1 percent, and desktop chip shipments increased 4.8 percent.

IDC noted that in the fourth quarter, mainstream and high-performance products rose as a proportion of all shipments. That led to a 6.7 percent rise in the average selling price for chips overall, compared with the third quarter. This shift is another indication that consumers and corporate buyers becoming more willing to spend a higher amount on computing products, according to the research firm.

"The sequential rise in mainstream and high-end client processors points to the new products, like Core i5 and Athlon II, that Intel and AMD were shipping into the market for the holiday buying season in the fourth quarter," Rau said. "What's interesting there is that consumers were there to buy systems based on them, and that OEMs were investing in them for future builds."

IDC said it expects 2010 unit shipments for PC chips to grow 15.1 percent, compared with 2009.

It also anticipates that corporations will qualify new client and server platforms and increase their IT spending in the second half of the year, Rau said. "Combined with healthy consumer spending, the resumption of corporation spending will lead to a healthy 2010," he stated.