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.