Intel Corporation today reported full-year revenue of $54 billion, operating income of $17.5 billion, net income of $12.9 billion and EPS of $2.39 - all records. The company generated approximately $21 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $4.1 billion and used $14.1 billion to repurchase 642 million shares of stock.

For the fourth quarter, Intel posted revenue of $13.9 billion, operating income of $4.6 billion, net income of $3.4 billion and EPS of 64 cents. The company generated approximately $6.6 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.1 billion and used $4.1 billion to repurchase 174 million shares of stock.

AMD decided to ditch its Fusion branding. Bit Tech writes the company has decided to rebrand its Fusion System Architecture (FSA) to Heterogeneous Systems Architecture (HSA).

With AMD supporting languages including C++ AMP and OpenCL for GPGPU offload, the company clearly feels it's time to bring the technology to a new audience under a more professional brand identity.

'We have built a heterogeneous compute ecosystem that is built on industry standards,' boasted AMD corporate fellow Phil Rogers in a statement regarding the renaming exercise. 'As such, we believe it

Intel announced the introduction of new program called the Performance Tuning Protection Plan (PTPP) which allows K- and X-series processors owners to purchase an additional warranty for their CPU, enabling them to get a replacement in case the old one is killed thorough overclocking.

This new plan is an addition to the standard 3 year warranty covering all Intel processors, which means that it will go into effect only if the CPU is damaged when running beyond its reference specs, otherwise the standard warranty applies.

The only catch right now is that the so called PTPP program will be launched as a test that will last six months, and afterwards Intel will decide if it will continue with its new plan.

In roughly three months

AMD has just posted a blog announcing the availability of a scheduler update for the Windows 7 operating system. The hotfix was developed by Microsoft, based on the Windows 8 scheduler code.

Unfortunately, the performance benefits only amount to 1-2% on average, not to the 10% that AMD claims to have seen during initial testing of Windows 8. Also, not every application got a performance boost in AMD's tests, especially the heavily-threaded ones which use all 8 cores of the AMD FX-8150.

This is explainable by the fact that such programs are

As people may or may not know, the Core i7-3000 chips are the workstation versions of the latest, high-end CPU line. Meanwhile, the Romley X79 will replace the X58 based Tylersberg chipset. There is one truly important detail about all the chips that will draw attention: the core count.

The best Core i7 SB-E chips so far unveiled have but 6 cores active. This is already more than enough for anything a desktop could possibly have to deal with. However, the architecture clearly has two extra cores that haven't, so far, been put to use, due to Intel's chosen TDP limit of 130W.

It is also worth noting that there are barely any consumer applications that can use six cores, much less eight. Professional systems are much more prone towards scenarios where it helps to have as many cores as possible, though. As such, there will definitely be 8-core Sandy Bridge-E processors by the time CeBIT 2012 is over. As a side note, the activation of the extra cores will lead to an extra 5MB of cache being enabled, leading to units with 20MB.

Add to that support for RAID0 and TRIM and there is little chance that anything will be able to challenge the Romley as the next best thing for professional systems. The Romley platform will support Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), something that will spell doom for many SAS controller chips and their makers.

Intel

In Q2 we expect AMD to unveil their next-gen APUs based on the Trinity architecture, a die shot was published on the Web revealing some new details about AMD

As ARM is continuing its push on the computer market, Intel has begun to step up its own game, apparently going as far as increasing the core number on its low-end processors, reports softpedia.

Even though 2012 has only just begun, there are already rumors about what may or may not happen in 2013. Intel is the subject of the latest report, along with a certain series of CPUs (central processing units). It is said that the Atom line will start to include quad-core members next year. This would fit with the announcement made by the Santa Clara, California-based company in May, 2011.

Intel said, back then, that it would release three major updates for the Atom family of products over the following 36 months. Saltwell will be the first new batch of CPUs, based on the 32nm manufacturing process technology and due out in 2012. It will be followed by a generation codenamed Silvermont, powered itself by the 22nm/tri-gate fabrication process.

Finally, the third chip generation will bear the name of Airmont and will utilize the 14nm process. The slide uncovered by ComputerBase places the release of quad-core Atoms in 2013, suggesting they will either be late Saltwell units or early Silvermont processors.

Micro-servers, nettops and ultra-portable mobile personal computers (notebooks) are all eligible applications for them. The CPUs will have a new memory controller and likely better graphics as well, not just more processing engines. ECC memory (Error-correcting code memory) will also be supported, hence the suitability for servers. Alas, Intel did not say anything about the leak, as was expected. It is natural for companies to hold their silence in regards to unannounced products.

Quanta has filed a lawsuit against AMD, alleging the chipmaker sold defective products. World's largest contract maker of laptops claims AMD and its ATI division sold chips that caused notebooks to malfunction because they didn't meet heat tolerances and were unfit for particular purposes.

AMD spokesman Michael Silverman says his company disputes Quanta's allegations and believes they are without merit. In an e-mailed message to Bloomberg, Silverman states AMD is aware of no other customer reports of defective chips, and points out that Quanta has itself acknowledged to AMD that it uses the identical chip in large volumes in a different computer platform that it manufactured for NEC without such issues.
AMD and its ATI Technologies Inc. unit sold chips that didn

Scythe has launched a new BIG Shuriken 2 Rev.B processor cooler with support for Intel's LGA2011 processors. This model will hit retail stores for 30EUR (excl. VAT).

The cooler will obviously remain compatibility with Intel LGA 1155, LGA 1156, LGA 775, LGA 1366 and AMD Socket AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+ and FM1 chips.

Scythe's cooler measures a whopping 125 x 135 x 58 mm and features a nickel-plated copper base, five copper heatpipes (Oval Heatpipe Structure), and a Slip Stream 120 Slim fan boasting a Sleeve Bearing that can operate at 500 to 2.000 RPM (9.32

Intel has issued a notice to suspend the supply of Core i5-661/660, Core i3-530, Pentium E5700 and Celeron E3500 and will cease the production of those models in the second quarter of 2012, the sources indicated.

Intel is also set to crease production of Core i7-960/950/930/870, Core i5-2300/680/670, and Pentium G960 in the second quarter of 2012, added the sources.

Intel will also terminate the production of Core i7-875K/860S, Core i5-760/750S/655K and Celeron 450/430 in the first quarter, as well as Core i7-880S/870S, Core Duo E7500/E7600, Pentium E6600/E550 and Celeron E3300 in the second quarter, revealed the sources.

Intel is set to launch 40 new processors including those for its upcoming Romley platform, in the first half of 2012 with the company to release 20 models each quarter, according to sources from server players.

In the first quarter, Intel will release two six-core processors Xeon E5-1660 and 1650 and a quad-core processor priced at US$1,080, US$583 and US$294, respectively and will launch seven eight-core processors including Xeon E5-2690, four six-core processors including E5-2640, three quad-core processors including E5-2609 and dual-core processor E5-2637.

In the second quarter of 2012, Intel will release 11 Ivy Bridge-H2 series CPUs including Xeon E3-1290v2, priced between US$189-884 and seven more processors including Xeon E5-2470, priced between US$192-1,440.

As for its low-power consumption platform, Intel will release eight-core Xeon E5-2650L, six-core E5-2630L, priced at US$1,106 and US$662 in the first quarter, and will launch Xeon E5-2450L and six-core E5-2430L priced at US$1,106 and US$662.

Intel reelased its Atom N2600 and N2800 processors for netbooks, they are now shipping. These CPUs promise to deliver netbooks with a battery life of up to ten hours.

Cedar Trail CPUs bring a few updateslike a 32nm fab process (enabling higher clocks and a drop in power draw of up to 20% for the whole platform), plus a media engine that allows for Full HD (1080p) video playback and Blu-ray support, an integrated memory controller supporting DDR3-800/1066 memory, and updated, but still DirectX 9-enabled graphics (Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3600/3650 based on the PowerVR SGX 545 from Imagination Technologies).

Intel Corporation today announced the availability of the latest mobile Intel Atom processor-based platform, formerly codenamed "Cedar Trail." Designed to provide small, compact, on-the-go computing with great battery life at an affordable price, the latest platform adds several new features to netbook computers made popular by students, families, and those looking for light productivity and Internet browsing. These devices will be available in early 2012 from major OEMs including: Acer*, Asus*, HP*, Lenovo*, Samsung*, and Toshiba*.

The new design's dedicated media engine enables full 1080p high-definition playback of videos and Blu-Ray content and includes additional digital display and output options including HDMI and DisplayPort. The integrated Intel

Intel's upcoming "Centerton" Atom processor will be a true single-chip SoC, without the PCH. This chip is aimed at low-power servers and NAS units.  Centerton's core and uncore components, housed on the same piece of silicon, are detailed in the first picture, below. It packs two x86-64 cores. Each core has 32 KB L1I cache, 24 KB L1D cache, and 512 KB of dedicated L2 cache.

There is no shared tertiary cache between the cores, however, they converge at the integrated memory controller (IMC). This IMC can control a single DDR3 memory channel, supporting 1.5V DDR3 UDIMMs with ECC support or 1.35V DDR3 SO-DIMMs, at speeds of PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333 MHz). Up to 8 GB of RAM is supported. The core can be clocked as high as 1.60 GHz. It features HyperThreading technology, enabling four logical CPUs for the OS to deal with. Any current 32-bit or 64-bit x86-capable OS should run.

Intel officially introduces its next-generation Atom processors for mobile devices, code named Medfield at CES, the first performance figures regarding this system-on-a-chip (SoC) device were leaked on the Web.

The system used for providing these numbers was actually an Intel-designed 10.1-inch tablet powered by an unnamed Medfield processor running at 1.6GHz.

The CPU was paired together with 1GB of LP-DDR2 memory, a WLAN/Bluetooth/FM Radio chip produced by an unnamed manufacturer, a 1280

Intel has adjusted its Atom development focus to embedded and server applications, due to low demand for netbook Atom CPUs. In Q2 2012 the company will introduce the 32nm "Centerton" Atom, which is expected to be followed by the 22nm "Silvermont" in 2013 and the 14nm "Airmont" in 2014.

Intel reportedly plans to launch new members of its Atom CPU-lineup for network-attached storage devices and entry-level servers in the second quarter of 2012, according to industry sources.

The new Atom CPU, codenamed Centerton, will be made with a 32nm process with SoC design in slim architecture and low power consumption, the sources indicated.

BIOS updates for mainboards made by Elitegroup Computer Systems and Jetway reveal that Advanced Micro Devices may be preparing a new line of multi-core microprocessors called Phenom II X8. Based on alleged specifications of the products, the new central processing units (CPUs) will be aimed at cost-sensitive segment of the market as x-bitlabs reports:

Based on CPU support list of Jetway HA18 mainboard based on AMD 9-series chipset and AM3+ socket, AMD is preparing a series of new microprocessors based on Zambezi design (Bulldozer micro-architecture, 4, 6 or 8 cores) of different revisions with rather low clock-speeds and with 95W thermal design power. Jetway lists the new processors as "engineering samples", but a well-known Japanese observer/blogger Northwood.blog60.fc2.com points to an alleged ECS A890GXM-A2 CPU support list that calls the chips as AMD Phenom II X8.

The list of AMD Phenom II X8 microprocessors includes four models:

• AMD Phenom II X8 2420: 2.40GHz, 95W, ZD242046W8K43
• AMD Phenom II X8 3020: 3.00GHz, 125W, ZD302051W8K44
• AMD Phenom II X8 2520: 2.50GHz, 95W, ZD252046W6443
• AMD Phenom II X8 2820: 2.80GHz, 95W, ZD282046W8K43

Although AMD FX family does not play in the ultra high-performance segment of the market where microprocessors cost $400 or more, the Sunnyvale, California-based company clearly positions the chips as premium products. Therefore, the company is not interested in selling products with relatively low performance under the FX brand.

It is known that AMD does have a lot of Zambezi processors that have all cores functional, but which cannot work on high clock-speeds and therefore provide premium "FX-class" performance, but AMD is definitely interested in selling those chips. In a bid not to harm the appeal of the FX brand, the chip designer may sell low-frequency Zambezi processors with disabled Turbo Core dynamic clock-speed acceleration technology and/or cut-down L2/L3 cache under Phenom II X8 brand. AMD already sells some processors based on Llano APU design with disabled graphics engine under Athlon II and Sempron monikers, thus, a refresh of the Phenom II line should not be a complete surprise.

With low frequencies and without Turbo Core, the new eight-core Phenom II X8 will likely be considerably slower than the existing six-core Phenom II X8 processors based on Thuban design.

A recent series of leaked Intel slides have come to detail the performance of the Xeon E5  in comparison with Westmere-EP.

The new Xeon E5 chips are also known under the code name of Sandy Bridge-EP and feature a series of changes when compared with the desktop version of these CPUs.

These include support for up to eight processing cores, which can run a maximum of sixteen threads thanks to Intel

This one comes traight from TPU, they sourced a presentation, allegedly by Intel, detailing its Sandy Bridge-EP platform, and giving out early performance figures. After successful and trouble-free launches of its Sandy Bridge architecture across all PC form-factors, including the recently-launched Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" HEDT (high-end desktop), Intel is taking the architecture to its ultimate market, enterprise, where processors derived from it will make up new lines of Intel Xeon processor families. Intel has two branches of enterprise variations the architecture, Sandy Bridge-EN, designed for high-density, low-power servers, and Sandy Bridge-EP, designed for high-performance servers and workstations. Sandy Bridge-EP is multi-socket capable.

Sandy Bridge-EP uses essentially the same piece of silicon as Sandy Bridge-E, but enabled with several of its features otherwise off limits to the Core processor family. These include twoQuickPath Interconnect (QPI) links, which facilitate high-bandwidth inter-socket communication in multi-socket systems, up to eight cores, sixteen threads enabled by HyperThreading, and up to 20 MB of L3 cache memory. Like its Core family cousins, Xeon Sandy Bridge-EP packs a quad-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller, and PC3-12800 (DDR3-1600 MHz) is its optimal memory standard, but unlike it, supporting up to 768 GB of memory (by two sockets, eight DDR3 channels in all, LRDIMMs). Other key features are listed in the first slide below.