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1111152212b55c9cd13033a1b8_jpg_thumbWhen the X79 motherboards hit the scene many people were not interested because they were looking forward to Ivy Bridge. As I wandered around the internet I saw multiple comments telling people not to bother with the new Sandy Bridge E CPUs because of this very thing. How much impact these comments had I really do not know, but what I do know is that a general consensus on the internet can be disastrous for sales. If you do not believe this just take a look back at Windows Vista.

Published in News

sG1-Assassin_2-U-2We all know that Intel is launching a new CPU in the next few months to replace the 1366 socket and the X58 chipset. There is not a whole lot of detail around on this, but we can gauge the time of launch by the number of companies that are currently “launching” X79 motherboards.  If history is any indication we are within about 3 months of seeing a new CPU from the Blue Team.

Still things are a little different this time; when we saw the P55 and P67 launches the boards were flowing to the review sites and we had previews, unboxings, and everything in-between. We even had a stack of P67 motherboards about a month before the CPU arrived on our doorstep.  This time companies are being a little more… careful in how they send products out. I was not the only one to get buried under an avalanche of boxes right up to the actual launch date.
Rampage_IV_E
Now instead of flooding the sites with pre-production boards we are seeing the manufacturers themselves conducting the photo shoots and writing up the details. These are what the press has to talk about (unless you are lucky enough to get invited to a launch event at a company headquarters).  Still that is what we have to go on so that is what we will talk about now. So far we have heard from two of the larger competitors. Asus has pushed out their Rampage IV Extreme and shown it off to a select group of journalists. These lucky few got to see a board that while containing a complete BOM (Build of Materials) was not likely to work. Some have even been able to actual take a closer look at the board in person but those have been few and far between.

sG1-Assassin_2 sX79-UD7 X79-UD3_s

Next up we have a whole line of boards from Gigabyte. Not content to just launch one Gigabyte is showing off a total of four. These boards range from their top end gaming board the G1 Assassin 2 to their more mainstream X79-UD3 (stopping along the way to pick up the crazy overclocker on the X79-UD7).  
X79_motherboards
We really are looking forward to each and every one of these products. They are bringing a new socket, a new memory specification (not really but sort of) and much more. As we find out more about the X79 and Intel’s next generation CPU we will be sure you let you know. One thing we can tell you now, it is certainly not going to be boring.
sX79-UD5_Bevel
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Published in News
Wednesday, 24 August 2011 00:00

Will Buldozer have the memory performance it needs?

4Some specs on AMD’s next generation CPU Called Bulldozer have found their way on to the Internet. In what appears to be a conglomeration of leaked slides and other info from around the web. We took a look at some of this and compared it to what we know about AMD’s existing CPU architecture as well as what Intel has to offer with their Core line up.

First let’s talk about the existing AMD CPUs and why they tend to be so far behind Intel in some performance tests. The biggest issue that we have found is in the memory controller. Where the average Intel CPU shows 18-21GB/s worth of bandwidth even AMD’s top of the line Phenom II X6 tops out at between 14-16GB/s. This is a serious issue when you are dealing with multiple CPU cores and applications that are getting more and more bloated.  But why is this an issue? One of the reasons is AMD’s caching structure. Back in the days when AMD was on top their memory and cache performance was a key component of this success. Part of this was also due to the extremely low latency of DDR (I can remember buying CAS 1 DDR modules which just flew).  Then when the AM2 CPUs came out with reduced cache sizes and their DDR2 controllers (which were little more than the original IMCs improved to support DDR2) the much higher latency had a huge impact on AMD’s performance especially with the smaller cache available to the CPU cores. So while we knew the CPU was improved, the actual performance was negligible.

Moving  forward into the Phenom and Phenom II AMD had even more problems with memory performance on these CPUs this was despite them trying to add in more cache (and associations). The issue still revolved around the fact that the IMC for these processors had still not changed much in terms of core design. Nor had the caching structure; sure it had gotten larger but its overall performance had not improved much.

Now for comparison let’s talk about the technology behind each IMC. AMD’s Phenom II has a 144-bit DDR3 controller under the hood which according to AMD should be able to get you up to 21GB/s of memory bandwidth. The fact that we have never seen that is due to the cache structure each CPU core has two 64KB L1 cache blocks (Data and Instruction) 512KB (16-way associative) to work with while the total L3 shared Cache is limited to 6MB (64-way Associative).

Compared to Intel’s Core IMC (dual channel only) the CPU has two 64-bit Memory controllers, which allows their very different caching structure to operate a little more efficiently. Intel’s Core i7 has two levels of L1 cache per core (again Data and Instruction) each are 32KB while the L2 cache is at 256KB per core (only 8-way associative) and the L3 cache is bumped up to 8MB (16-way associative).  Now that 8MB is also shared with the IGP that is on the Core i7 and is also stretched by the extra thread per CPU, but the core design allows it to operate in a way that AMD’s just cannot (at this time). There is also a lot to be said for the streamlined instruction in the new Core CPUs as well as the smaller process size.

Bulldozer, on the other hand, shows up with two 72-bit wide DDR3 memory controllers (which still add up to 144-bits) this serves four Bulldozer modules (each has two Cores)   . The Caching structure is also different you get L1 at 128KB (still broken into two 64 KB blocks), 8MB of L2 Cache (2MB per Bulldozer Module) and 8MB of L3 Cache. Both the L2 and L3 are 16-way associative.  The last is interesting as it moves away from the massive 64-way Association that Phenom II had.

Of course we are still only seeing 1MB of L3 per real core, but we might have hope for AMD yet. That is IF these changes to the caching and memory will amount to something. Time will tell on this one as we all know and we all are certainly waiting to see just how this new CPU (the first real new CPU in a long time) from AMD will do. I would love to see this new CPU show that AMD can still produce great products, after all it will only push Intel in making improvements of their own and at that point… the consumer wins.

Image and source ComputerBase.de

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Published in Editorials

GeminII S524


Cooler Master GeminII S524: Ultimate Versatility Realized


Chino, California – August 16th, 2011 - Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer, uncovers the ultimate follow-up to the widely popular GeminII CPU Cooler, the GeminII S524. The GeminII S524 is the embodiment of versatility, efficiency, and silence.


Cooler Master’s GeminII reloaded

GeminII S524, a unique alternative to traditional CPU & system memory cooling. Rotated 90 degrees, it harnesses the constant flow of cool air from the side of the system and directs it to the heatsink fins to cool the CPU. Unique to this design, the GeminII S524 channels a portion of this cool air to the system memory to help dissipate the heat generated by critical system components. Benefiting from a larger heatsink surface area, increased clearance for high-end system memory modules, and an easily upgradeable fan, the GeminII S524 claims its position as a transformative cooling solution while maintaining an impressive performance-to-noise ratio.


Electroplated Copper Base and 140mm Fan Support

GeminII S524 is an evolutionary new step in CPU cooling. It features a total of five high-grade 6mm thick copper heat pipes that emerge from a large copper base that, combined, offer optimal heat conduction; quickly spreading and removing heat generated by the CPU. To prevent corrosion of its copper surfaces without impacting its heat conductivity, the GeminII S524 base and all heat pipes have been electroplated with a microscopic layer of nickel. The increased surface area of the heatsink and revised fin design of GeminII S524 not only improve its cooling performance but allow for the installation of a 140mm fan, making it a highly flexible cooling solution suitable for any computing environment.


The GeminII S524 will be available worldwide in August 16th, 2011 for $39.99 MSRP at retail and online locations that carry your favorite Cooler Master, CM Storm, and Choiix products.



Specifications

Product GeminII S521
Model RR-G524-18PK-R1
CPU Socket * Intel Socket LGA1366 / 1156 / 1155 / 775
AMD Socket F1 / AM3 / AM2+ / AM2
Dimension 144 x 144 x 105 mm (5.7 x 5.7 x 4.1 inch)
Heatsink Dimension 144 x 144 x 78 mm (5.7 x 5.7 x 3.1 inch)
Heatsink Material Copper base / Aluminum fins / 5 Heatpipes
Heatsink Weight 490g (1.08 lb)
Fan Dimension 120 x 120 x 25 mm (4.7 x 4.7 x 1 inch)
Fan Speed 800 - 1800 RPM
Fan Airflow 34.2 – 77.7 CFM
Fan Air Pressure 0.43 – 2.46 mm H2O
Fan Life Expectancy 40,000hrs
Bearing Type Long Life Sleeve
Connector 4-pins
Noise Level 15.1 – 31.6 dBA
Rated Voltage 12 VDC
Operating Voltage 6 – 13.2 VDC
Rated Current 0.21A **
Input Power 2.52W
Fan Weight 102g (0.23 lb)

* For the latest CPU support information, please visit our website.
** Tested and certificated under a safety current of 0.32A.
About Cooler Master
Cooler Master was founded in 1992 to provide the world’s best thermal solutions. Since its establishment, the company continues to invest in product development to provide leading-edge innovations. Cooler Master’s line-up includes heat sinks, fans, chassis, power supplies and computing accessories. Headquartered in Taiwan with branch offices located across Europe, America and APAC, Cooler Master offers unsurpassed service to our customers. For more information on Cooler Master, please visit www.coolermaster.com.
Published in Press Releases
Saturday, 30 July 2011 21:51

AMD's Octo-Core Bulldozer could go for $300

41With AMD’s 8-Core Bulldozer getting ready to hit the streets we now find that we may have a potential price for this new CPU from AMD. According to a contest being held by AMD for fans in the US and Canada the new FX 8150P Bulldozer CPU should go for around $300. This little bit of news popped up on the net after the gang over at insideris.com dug into the announcement of the contest.

When looking at the contest page (and scrolling down a little) they found that AMD dropped in a line that stated “Top tier prizes: Five (5) AMD FX series eight-core processors. Approximate Retail Value: $300 USD each”. This puts the new 8-Core (Octo-Core) CPU in the same price range as the Intel Core i7 2600k. The question now is, can the Bulldozer keep up with the 2600k? After all we have seen what this CPU is capable of and know that even at stock speeds it is very powerful. We do hope to get one in the lab to find out the answer to this question and you can bet we will be sure to pass this on to you once we find out. For now, I guess we all can speculate and listen to the Intel Vs AMD rhetoric (and secretly get a kick out of it).

Published in News



02GOOC Round one has jsut finished up; we have seen the fastest scores for WPrime and PiFast. Next up is Max Mem and SuperPi. Things have been a little dicey here with the power dropping out a couple of times. This was quickly resotred and the fun went on.

Published in News
Tuesday, 03 August 2010 20:35

Asus Dual Socket 1366 Z8NA-D6C stops by the lab



01The workstation server market is one that has been neglected in the mainstream technical media. Yes there are a few “upper-end” sites that cover the workstation arena but they tend be a little snobby at times and almost always talk over the heads of the average consumer. So we are going to try and bring some of that talk to you in plain English. To kick things off we have a very nice product. This is the first Dual socket 1366 motherboard in a standard ATX package. It has been brought to you by the Asus Work Station team. These guys are a very talented bunch and have made some workstation products that can even compete head to head with some of the Republic of Games boards that Asus has. So let’s introduce to you the Asus Z8NA-D6C.

Published in Pro Motherboards
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