ATI : HyperMemory VIA C5J Esther = VIA C7 AMD Sempron 3000+

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ATI : HyperMemory   Posted on 17/09/2004 at 16:21 by Damien

	To reduce the cost of graphic cards, ATI launch the HyperMemory Technology. This technology object is to extend the memory available for the graphic card by using some of the central memory. We have a déjà vu impression. This is also the target of the AGP Texturing! The idea is to avoid the integration of too much memory especially on entry level graphic cards. According to ATI, The HyperMemory will use efficiently the PCI Express bus and will really make possible the use of central memory as graphic memory. That was also the AGP Texturing promises during its release. Today, everyone knows that this solution is far from being efficient. The drivers are also partly responsible of the AGP Texturing failure. Will the history repeat itself with the HyperMemory Technology? For the moment too many details are kept secret. But we hope it will be an AGP Texturing without bugs and efficient drivers rather than an AGP Texturing with a new name for the PCI Express. Currently the PCI Express is still restricted to 4 GB/s in bi-direction. This result has to be compared to the 9.6 GB /s of the card with some “simple” DDR 128 Bots 300 MHz frequency. Even with the best solution we are still far from the speed of standard memory. Also, using most of the central bandwidth will reduce the global system performances.

VIA C5J Esther = VIA C7   Posted on 17/09/2004 at 13:51 by Marc - source: VIA

	VIA just announced that their next CJ5 Esther architecture, available during the first semester 2005, will be called C7 for the desktop version and C7-M for the laptop version. The core C5J Esther has been designed by Centaur, creator of the Winchip and bought by VIA in 1999. With a 90nm+SOI fabrication process by IBM, the electrical consumption announced is very low: 3.5W for 1 GHz. One of the innovations is a faster FSB able to reach up to 800 MHz. So we think that VIA might change for a Pentium 4 type bus and a more important cache L2, 128 Kb instead of 64 Kb for the current processors. The C5J Esther will be compatible with the SSE2/SSE3 instructions and the No Execute (NX) technology already supported by the Athlon 64 and Itanium. So Windows XP SP2 will be able to prevent the access of viruses to some memory areas. The C5J Esther architecture should be able to reach over 2 GHz.

AMD Sempron 3000+   Posted on 17/09/2004 at 11:45 by Marc - source: x-bit labs

	AMD has added to their price list a new Sempron processor: the 3000+. The 3000+ price will be $123 instead of $126 for the 3100+ and $109 for the 2800+. Like the 2800+ version, the Sempron 3000+ is compatible with the Socket A and has a 2 GHz frequency in FSB333. The difference is the cache, 512 Kb for the 300+ and 256 Kb for the 2800+. Our opinion on the Sempron is still identical to the one of our last test: only the 3100+, an Athlon 64 derivates, is really interesting. According to our pricer partner it is possible to find an Athlon XP 2800+ for the price of a Sempron 2800+. The Athlon XP 2800+, a socket A processor, has a 2.08 GHz frequency, 512 Kb of cache and is using a FSB333. And even if the Sempron 3000+ is more expensive it is less efficient.