Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Intel® Server System SR1520ML

For applications requiring high compute density, exceptional performance-per-watt, and reduced footprint

The Intel® Server System SR1520ML is purpose-built for high performance and high density computing. The small form factor enables high compute density and the uniprocessor architecture delivers outstanding performance per Watt. The SR1520ML is a true server class product with support for IPMI 2.0, SATA 3.0 Gbps, SW RAID, and a complete line of server class operating systems, adapters, and peripherals.

Intel® Server Systems SR1500AL, SR1550AL, and SR2500AL

A family of rack-optimized highly integrated server systems designed for flexible, high-density server solutions

Intel® Server Systems SR1500AL, SR1550AL, and SR2500AL are intended to provide different levels of power and cooling redundancy and flexible storage solutions including 2.5"/3.5" SATA or SAS drives, as well as support for both tape drives and optical drives. These systems designed for space-constrained environments are optimized in either a 1U, 1U with redundant power or a 2U form-factor. The 1U systems (Intel® Server Systems SR1500AL, SR1550AL) are designed for organizations running front-end Internet, Web-hosting and HPC applications. The 2U system (Intel® Server System SR2500AL) can handle more demanding departmental database, datacenter and other high-transaction applications.

Intel® Server System SC5400RA

High performance server board for maximum reliability and manageability

With support for Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5000 Sequence and 64GB of memory, the Intel® Server System SC5400RA provides high-performance while enabling future expansion. With the addition of Intel Intelligent RAID controllers, optional support for six hot-plug SAS or SATA drives and redundant power supplies, the Intel Server System SC5400RA delivers reliability, data protection and advanced remote management.

Intel® 4-Processor Server System S7000FC4UR

Consolidate and reduce costs with the ideal choice for your data-intensive computing needs. Revolutionize your data center with the scalable, future-ready Intel® 4-processor server system S7000FC4UR.

Businesses of all sizes can maintain a competitive advantage through an ongoing commitment to increase IT productivity, flexibility, and systems manageability. Intel® Server System S7000FC4UR supports the Intel® Xeon® processor 7400 series with four multi-core processors to deliver leading scalable performance within each server system. For virtualization, the Intel Server System S7000FC4UR offers expansive processor, memory, I/O capacity, and bandwidth. By combining these benefits with proven enterprise-class dependability for consolidation, the Intel Server System S7000FC4UR becomes the best choice for your data-intensive computing needs.

Intel® Itanium® processor 9000 sequence

Large-scale databases, data warehouses, ERP, business intelligence, and data analytics
  • Scales up to 512 processors and an incredible full Petabyte (1024TB) of RAM
  • Ultimate scalable performance, flexibility, and reliability

Intel Xeon processor 3000 sequence

  • Great for e-mail and file/print services
  • Enhanced Intel® Core™ microarchitecture for exception performance and power efficiency
  • High-density entry-level configurations and high-performance computing

Intel Xeon processor 5000 sequence

  • Designed for robust high-performance computing
  • Ideal for e-mail, database, and Web servers
  • Outstanding price/performance and broad 64-bit industry support
  • Available high-density, low-power options

Intel® Xeon® processor 7400 series

  • Extending today's lead in virtualization performance with built-in hardware assisted features and breakthrough gains in performance and energy efficiency²
  • Built for data-demanding enterprise applications with up to 6 cores and a large shared 16MB L3 cache per processor, enabling more transactions per server
  • More headroom, improved reliability, and the highest scalability available for large scale server consolidation and business-critical virtualization

Sunday, February 15, 2009

AMD Announces Widespread Availability and Broad Global OEM Support for New Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ Processor

AMD announces the widespread availability of its 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, which delivers up to 35 percent more performance with up to a 35 percent decrease in power consumption at idle. With IT decision-makers looking to do more with less, the newest Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor can help drive data center efficiencies and reduce complexities with innovations that offer superior virtualization performance and increased performance-per-watt. Global OEMs are expected to immediately offer enterprise and SMB customers more than 27 systems, available between launch today and the end of the year, based on the 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, formerly code-named "Shanghai."

AMD Platform for Ultrathin Notebooks - Press Kit

The AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks enables exceedingly thin and light OEM designs with rich entertainment capabilities at an affordable price. Previously codenamed “Yukon,” the platform is based on the new AMD Athlon™ Neo processor, ATI RadeonTM X1250 integrated graphics and ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3410 discrete graphics and brings true HD entertainment to a new category of stylish notebook PCs.

Media can direct inquiries to: Kristie Taylor, AMD Public Relations, Kristie.taylor@amd.com or
(512) 944-5317.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Intel to eliminate toxic lead from its microprocessor chips

Intel Corp. has announced plans to stop using lead as a soldering agent in its microprocessors. Lead is a chemical element with widespread industrial use. It is particularly useful as a semiconductor, due to its specific electrical and mechanical properties. The element, however, is a highly potent toxin known to cause blood and nervous system disorders, including mental dysfunction, especially in children.

Intel began phasing out the use of lead in its products in 2002, with the introduction of a tin-silver-copper soldering alloy. This alloy had replaced lead as a soldering agent in nearly all Intel chip sets and processors by 2004, with the exception of 0.02 grams of lead that continued to be used inside each chip.

This lead will now be eliminated in favor of the tin-silver-copper alloy, beginning with the Penryn line of processors. The company plans to have its microprocessors be lead-free by the end of the year, and to phase out lead in its 65-nanometer-process chips in 2008.

The use of toxic metals in electronics manufacture has become a serious health problem worldwide. High rates of obsolescence have contributed to a global "electronic waste" problem, in which vast quantities of electronics have been ending up as garbage, particularly in Third World countries that are paid to dispose of First World waste.

Unregulated disposal of this waste, whether by landfilling, burning or even disassembly for parts, exposes local workers, residents and ecosystems to a heavy toxic payload. Lead in particular is known for its ability to contaminate soil and groundwater.

According to Solving the E-waste Problem, a United-Nations-led alliance between three U.N. agencies, 16 businesses and several government agencies and universities, electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing types of trash in the world, with levels rapidly approaching 40 million metric tons per year.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Intel® Desktop Board DG33TL

The Intel® Desktop Board DG33TL Media Series in the uATX form factor delivers improved performance and capabilities for multimedia creation and enjoyment. With support for Intel® processors and Intel® Viiv™ processor technologyΔ, this desktop board merges the energy-efficient power of the Intel® Core™2 Quad processor with enhanced expandability, graphics, and consumer electronics integration.

The Intel Desktop Board DG33TL is Microsoft Windows Vista* Premium Ready. The Intel® 3 Series Chipset fully supports the visually stunning Windows Aero* user interface with amazing transition effects and realistic animations.

Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO

The Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO is designed to unleash the power of the all new Intel® Core™ i7 processors with support for up to eight threads of raw CPU processing power, triple channel DDR3 memory and full support for ATI CrossfireX* technology. Today’s PC games like Far Cry 2* and Call of Duty: World at War* need a computing platform that delivers maximum multi-threaded CPU support and eye-popping graphics support.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Computer and the Abacus_ are They Any Different …?

Are there any philosophies that would interlock the simple abacus to the computer circuit? The early Chinese juggled and transfixed the beads across the stakes of the abacus to obtain results from addition and subtraction. More poles in the frame of the abacus would imply more digits, which would accommodate as many figures as would contain it…

The civilization at that period had fewer problems to solve. Their level of technology just reflected that. A precise model made it easier to handle numbers, for a digit limit, in simple, everyday calculations. In a nutshell one could as well gather four stakes to represent a thousand digit bundles, saving him time and energy needed to assemble same number of stakes from reality.

In intrinsic sense, nothing substantial has changed of late. A strip of film on the first computer device- in essence- and the modern-day computers, align perfectly for a play out in motion picture. Several technological axioms being incorporated into the racks may confuse the storyboard altogether-wiping away its artistic beauty. The rapid advancement in technology would cause a person of Newton’s caliber clueless, as to the underlying mechanism the latest computers operate on. We need not end that way: getting a close-up view on the microprocessor would aid in fitting this clue together_ the past and present computer system: millions of circuits are virtually drowned in a sea of electricity enclosed in their own space. In this seeming universe, different elements respond, in infinite permutations, to a finite impulse, which is well modulated. Though lifeless, the intricate arrangements of the circuits bear evidence to the fact they do interpret the language of arithmetic and logic. By the command of a rational individual, the emergence of its evolving intelligence takes place in earnest. The mechanisms in our world deviate from this… time frame. A flash of lightening would always run faster than a world record holder in sprinting.

The microprocessor is an interface between the human end of the input, where it receives instructions_ most times storing it in the memory or disk drive_ in the language it is built to discern; and the output which would swiftly receive the results that had been processed, in an audio-visual display, or graphic details a literate individual would read at first glance. An orderly arrangement of the components within the control unit ensures that justice is done on common sense, better known as logic.

A computer system which is an embodiment of all the parts mentioned above- input, output and control unit. But its branches could extend further: to control other devices to very core of their circuits if possible. For example, experienced pianists knows that a computer system, attuned to a task relevant to the piano or keyboard, would control the quality, rhythm, pitch…and compose any music just as it plays in his imagination; saving the discomfort he would get, having strained his fingers for long.

The keyboard viewed from a different context does the task of inputting texts into the system, mainly for word processing. Typing a key with a document or program for a text (controls) to be displayed on the monitor involves a sequence of functions, which includes retrieving the magnetic or electrical equivalent from its slot in the hard disk, and printing the intelligible soft copy to screen. Word characters grouped, and allocated for a slot in the disk, constitutes a file; deleting the file entails demagnetizing a magnet that had already been magnetized at the slots. A hard copy could be made from the file; that is when the printer is needed.

By virtue of the overwhelming complexity of the tiny components squeezed into the motherboard, it is no fluke that the computer system is employed to various uses, including the ones yet to be carved out. There is strength in numbers, best explains why the modern computer edges out the abacus to a very wide margin. However dissimilar; both evoke generate same opinion…there seems to be so much order in the inanimate world. The capacity of the computer system has evolved rapidly, with time, to stem the reasonable fraction of the challenges of civilization. So much has taken place in a few thousand years which makes it very young, especially on the evolutionary scale of humans.

The computer isn’t an extraordinary tool after all: it has no will of its own, and it can’t imagine on its own, but humanity remains dazzled by its accuracy, precision, efficiency and speed. In fact it computes results at the speed of light, which is a common place in our physical world. Electromagnetic waves, adequately rectified by the chips are coded into workable data that generates energy at the slightest contact with hardware. Without the power output, memory capacity and a chip, the amount of energy generated within the control unit alone could cause an electrical mishap.

Memory lapses and a relatively limited medium of communication which boils down to the efficiency in the thought processes in humans_ are they to blame…? However the response, the fact remains that we are wired to control computer and not the other way round: to relish its sheer simplicity and beauty in delineating the dimensional array of the body of knowledge… it cannot be ranked above the infinite intelligence that is squeezed in between the lobes of the human brain_ left for his will to unleash it_ the dignity, and esthetic appeal to nature scattered across peoples and cultures. Humanity travels in a vehicle, bolting across a technology road of computers (and similar ground breaking inventions): As many as the human brain can count; as smart as the human mind can invent; as extraordinary as his sixth sense can foresee.

How many are seated in this large vehicle…? Perhaps, a century ago, if one had coined the term cybercafé... _as sensible as the word would sound on hearing_ many would likely think he or she is crazy. But we all know now that every syllable in that term in fact coins out correctly to create a beautiful picture in our minds eye- a system of one or two computers, hooked up to a network_ like stakes of the abacus_ with which one can canvass the whole world and beyond just at the touch of a button.

The Fiercest Microprocessors

Everybody who is into computer processors is on his toes because of the competition in the industry. There are established brand names in this industry such as Intel and AMD who are constantly competing for your business and many other up and coming companies who would like to enter the scene. How do you know which one is the best and how do you know what to choose if your old processor is giving trouble? One of best ways to go about making an informed decision is to compare and contrast some processors that are enjoying high demand. The AMD Quad Core Opteron Processor is one of the top names out there, but there are some other products that could meet your requirements.

AMD Quad Core Opteron Processor
The Quad Core Opteron is one of the power products enjoying great popularity today. AMD tried to take control of the processor market with this product and seems to have successfully placed their company name at the top of the list in the computer processor world. This powerful computer piece is one of the most fundamentally sound products to hit the market in the last five years. The price tag is a mirror of this success.

Depending on where you would want to buy this product, you can count on paying somewhere between $1,200 and $2,000. You may think that this is a lot for a computer processor. But judging from reviews of the product, this processor provides value for money. The quad core Opteron incorporates all of the function of up to eight different processors in one, making it a fully functional, fully capable machine that is powering various kids of computers.

Intel Core 2 Quad Processor
Though the AMD Quad Core Opteron has been gaining in popularity, there are still other products out there that do an admirable job of powering a computer. Intel has long been one of the top providers of these products and still keep producing great deals. The Intel Core 2 Quad Processor is the next in that long line of really great computer processors. It comes equipped with not only enough power to run major functions on any computer, but also with a price tag that won't make you broke.

As the name of the product states, the Intel Core 2 Quad Processor features four working threads which come together to power any desktop computer. They work well with any operating system and can serve to power all of the functions of that system. It really does not matter what the system is like. One of the main differences in this product, however, is that you will get quite a low price for other processors are costly. Standard retail price sits somewhere between $200 and $300, so getting a hold of one is something that will not be out of our reach. You won't sacrifice much quality, either. Though it isn't the top notch device that the AMD Quad Core Opteron is, this Intel still packs enough punch to remind people why Intel continues to be a market leader.

Intel Pentium D Processor
With all of the new products making their presence felt, people might have a tendency to forget the pioneering processors. The Pentium D Processor by Intel is a solid desktop computer processor that has the ability to run any number of advanced applications in a computer. Though it may not be the trendy choice for some of the new wave computer owners, many of the most technologically savvy owners would agree that sometimes it may make sense to get hold of a product by a reputed brand.

Intel has been providing computer processors for several years now and they have always been able to come out with cutting edge products that ensure future success. The Pentium D Processor may only have two dedicated cores, but it is designed well enough to take on the jobs of the larger, more expensive processors. For a person who is looking for a great deal of quality while maintaining a relatively reasonable price range, few deals will be better bargains.

These three products all bring something different and exciting to the computer world. Depending upon what you need in a processor and how much you can afford, there are a bunch of great options which need to be taken into account. AMD's new product has climbed to the top of the heap and is easily the most popular, but not enough is made of the quality associated with the other products that are mentioned. Intel knows what they are doing, too, and continue to surprise us with their tenacity and with their desire to make better products regularly.

The Rousing History Of Microprocessors

The single biggest improvement in the history of the computer could be the development of the first microprocessor. This little chip allows a mind boggling amount of processing power to be packed into a very small space. Space is one of the biggest limiting factors in actually assembling a computer at a reasonable price. By being able to pack more and more processing power into a smaller area, the strength of modern computing is able to expand exponentially through advanced chip development.

The first microprocessor chip was invented by Intel back in November of 1971. This little chip was crucial to new development. Integrated circuit technology had opened the door for advanced computing that was only limited by the amount of chips that could put together.

This chip, the 4004, made the crucial development step of managing to pack all of the computer's "brain" into one part. This small microprocessor contained the full power of the central processing unit while also providing for the computer's basic memory and the control methods for incoming and outgoing data. This progress was simply amazing when one considers that the company was just a little start up by two engineers.

This chip was actually the development of a rather normal contract assignment for Intel. They received one of their first jobs to design twelve different computer chips for Busicom, a small Japanese company. They wanted designs for chips that would provide for keyboard scanning functionality, controlling the display on the monitor and the printer and just about anything else that their brand of calculator hoped to do. There was just one big issue that they had to overcome.

They needed the money but faced an interesting issue. They lacked the sheer manpower necessary to actually design twelve chips in the time frame. So, their engineers figured out a way to build one chip that was able to do every single function. Busicom liked the idea and decided to fund the project. Time passed and a new chip that had more power than any of the old computers was developed.

Ironically, they decided to buy back the design from Busicom, which subsequently went bankrupt, leaving them completely in control of the new technological breakthrough in electronic parts. The sky was the limit from this point onward. This basic technological idea has been applied time and time again to give us electronics capable of amazing power and ability.

The average calculator now has more processing power than was required to plan the first missions to the moon. The shrinking of this technological power has worked perfectly alongside the development of many other electronic parts to make everyday life just a little bit easier for everyone. In just the time span of about 40 years, we have advanced to computers that are almost able to mimic true human intelligence.

These advancements in micro processing have improved all of our lives in ways that we may not even realize. The power of a computer is now literally at our fingertips.

Microprocessor Progression: Intel

The first microprocessor to make it into a home computer was the Intel 8080, a complete 8-bit computer on one chip, introduced in 1974. The first microprocessor to make a real splash in the market was the Intel 8088, introduced in 1979 and incorporated into the IBM PC (which first appeared around 1982). If you are familiar with the PC market and its history, you know that the PC market moved from the 8088 to the 80286 to the 80386 to the 80486 to the Pentium to the Pentium II to the Pentium III to the Pentium 4. All of these microprocessors are made by Intel and all of them are improvements on the basic design of the 8088. The Pentium 4 can execute any piece of code that ran on the original 8088, but it does it about 5,000 times faster!

The following table helps you to understand the differences between the different processors that Intel has introduced over the years.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

How Microprocessors Work

The computer you are using to read this page uses a microprocessor to do its work. The microprocessor is the heart of any normal computer, whether it is a desktop machine, a server or a laptop. The microprocessor you are using might be a Pentium, a K6, a PowerPC, a Sparc or any of the many other brands and types of microprocessors, but they all do approximately the same thing in approximately the same way.

A microprocessor -- also known as a CPU or central processing unit -- is a complete computation engine that is fabricated on a single chip. The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004, introduced in 1971. The 4004 was not very powerful -- all it could do was add and subtract, and it could only do that 4 bits at a time. But it was amazing that everything was on one chip. Prior to the 4004, engineers built computers either from collections of chips or from discrete components (transistors wired one at a time). The 4004 powered one of the first portable electronic calculators.