Intel launches the Centrino 2: what's new?   Posted on 15/07/2008 at 21:23 by Nicolas

	It was finally yesterday that Intel launched its Centrino 2 platform a little more than 5 years after the introduction of the first laptop PCs based on the first version of this flagship brand for the mobile segment. The concept is basically the same as it still includes a CPU, chipset and WiFi controller. In terms of processors, six new models were launched: While these are all still Penryns (already found on the Centrino "Santa Rosa Refresh") they now use an FSB 1066 which should be amply sufficient given the fact that they only have two cores. Concerning the chipsets, there will first be the PM45 and GM45 (which has a DirectX 10 graphic circuit) sold for $39 and $43, respectively, combined with an ICH9M. One interesting innovation is that they support DDR3-1066 whose voltage is 1.5V (following JEDEC recommendations) versus 1.8V for DDR2. This should enable reducing power consumption in addition to the obvious performance increases. Otherwise, PCI Express 2.0 support is finally a reality with the Centrino 2. For WiFi, Intel offers its Link 5000s whose prices vary between $19 and $30 depending on the model. Being prudent, the Santa Clara giant mentions support for the 802.11n specification project which offers five times the bandwidth (up to 450 Mbit/s) and double the range on a Wireless N network compared to wi-fi 802.11a/g norms. We’ll just have to wait and see what this means in practice because the 802.11n is supposed to be everything but new for the Santa Clara company. An optional element has appeared on the Santa Rosa. Intel Turbo Memory is still present but this time there are 2 GB modules sold for $27 to $30. You may recall that this consists of integrating flash memory interfaced via the PCI-E bus. Otherwise, we can now use Vista’s ReadyDrive and ReadyBoost technology that adds gains in performance and autonomy. Finally, on the professional segment the Centrino 2 vPro supports AMT 4.0 which should facilitate administration.

Rambus vs Nvidia: patent violations   Posted on 11/07/2008 at 19:57 by Nicolas - source: Rambus

	Yesterday, Rambus, a company specialized in technologies used by the latest generation of memory as well as its intensive "legal activities", announced that it would take Nvidia to court for the violation of 17 of its patents. These involve SDR, DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR and GDDR3-SDRam memory controllers and it concerns chipsets, GPU as well as media communication processors, multimedia applications processors and other products from at least six NVIDIA product lines. In short, this means almost all of Nvidia’s products except software. In addition, the plaintiff is seeking an injunction that will forbid the sale of concerned products as long as the case is unsettled. Tom Lavelle, Senior Vice-President of the company, says that they tried to find a friendly solution with Nvidia for six years which only led to unsatisfactory results. While it seems that it’s been possible at times to find an agreement with Rambus (for example, AMD signed one with the firm in early 2005), we should keep in mind that the former Intel partner is under investigation by the European Commission for abuse of dominant position involving "patent ambush". Evidently, the Commission isn’t any more pleased with this company than certain manufacturers that have to pay significant royalties…

Price of DDR2 over the last 18 months   Posted on 04/07/2008 at 17:45 by Marc

	Here is the price of DDR2 64 and 128 MB chips in dollars as we have recorded them these last 18 months on Dramexchange. As you can see, prices have been stable in 2008 compared to collapses in 2007. Consumers can only be satisfied with the current market; however, manufacturers are impatiently waiting for prices to rise which has not yet happened. This is understandable given their financial results compared to last year. For example, Qimonda (ex-Infineon) showed 412 million Euros in sales for the first quarter and a 482 million loss compared to 984 million in revenue and 57 million in profits a year ago. Also, a year ago, Elpida had 144.2 million dollars in sales for 8.5 million in profits while this year gross revenue reached 90.4 million for a loss of 29.2 million.

JEDEC validates DDR3L and its 1.35V   Posted on 20/06/2008 at 12:11 by Nicolas - source: Xbit-labs

	Before moving, the JEDEC had the time to validate an improvement called DDR3L which is part of the current DDR3 standard. It enables reducing the default voltage of 1.5V to 1.35V. Thus, this is a 10% reduction which may enable some to decrease energy use by 20% in many standard applications. Modules equipped with DDR3L will be labeled ‘’PC3L’’ and they should function with current motherboards in an optimal way because the SPD (a small EEPROM memory which fits on memory modules) communicates the specifications of the module. The JC-42.3 memory committee which is the origin of DDR3L hopes to go even further (probably going as low as 1.25V) and that manufacturers develop designs which are sufficiently flexible to be able to benefit from other future low power products.

AMD: the first to be OpenGL ES 2.0 certified   Posted on 12/06/2008 at 19:45 by Nicolas

	AMD has announced being the first to have obtained certification from the Khronos Group for its solutions supporting version 2.0 of OpenGL ES (Embedded Systems). This is rather good news because circuits developed by ATI, which use unified shader type architecture, already enabled the company to sign with ST, Freescale and Qualcomm amongst others. Some of these have also adopted OpenVG 1.0 circuits (a 2D vector graphics norm) sold by AMD’s graphic division. Tests were carried out on the Z430 development kit. You may recall that a Z460 was announced last February at the last Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and that ATI has also offered an OpenGL ES 2.0 emulator for roughly 10 months now. Note that Nvidia is likewise interested in this API as it is now supported by theAPX 2500.