Pentium D 900 Series

While more than six months remain before Intel launches its next generation processor to replace the less-than-venerable Pentium 4, Athlon 64 processors have bested the Pentium 4 by offering better performance and lower power consumption for more than a year. Now, today, Intel's counterstrike begins, as the firm leverages the advantages of its 65 nm process, but without offering significant upgrades in design.
The first product of the 65 nm generation was the dual core Pentium Extreme Edition 955, which we reviewed in late December. It is based on the Presler dual core, which now also powers the regular Pentium D 900 family. Presler is nothing else than a combination of two Cedar Mill Pentium 4 single cores into one package, which adds up to an impressive 4 MB L2 cache.
We could not take a look at the single-core Pentium 4 6x1 family yet because Intel did not provide test samples. This makes sense for the chip giant because it clearly focuses on dual-core processors now. In addition, we can understand that Intel also does not want the media to focus on the single-core parts, because these do not perform any faster than the 90 nm Prescott-2M cores. Lastly, the 3.6 GHz Pentium 4 based on a 65 nm process has yet to reach the high clock speeds of 3.8 GHz 90 nm devices.

The Pentium D 950 has a 200- MHz FSB that is quad-pumped (FSB800). We used our Pentium Extreme Edition 955 test sample, disabled Hyperthreading and changed the clock speed in order to benchmark all Pentium D speed grades.

The Pentium D does not support Hyperthreading, so the task manager shows two threads only.

The device manager shows two units as well.

Intel first to demonstrate 45 nm silicon

Concerns are growing that the end of the scalability of silicon structures may come into sight in the next 10 to 15 years. But for now, Moore's law appears to be live and kicking as Intel today demonstrated the first working chips built in a 45 nm process. The announcement comes not even one month after the company rolled out its first 65 nm processors.
When Intel claims it is "one generation ahead" of the competition, the company does not necessarily refer to performance of a certain processor, but to its currently greatest asset in the microprocessor industry - its manufacturing technology, Shrinking chip structures allows the company to not only chip features, but also enhance the economics of a processor by increasing output and decreasing the material cost per die. With the first 65 nm processor already on the market, the company believes it has about a one year lead over AMD.
And Intel intends to keep its lead: While a 32 nm technology is currently developed in its research labs, the company today announced that it is holding the first working 45 nm silicon in its hands. As in preceding generations, Intel prototyped the technology with SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chips.
"Being first to high volume with 65nm process technology and the first with a working 45nm chip highlights Intel's leadership position in chip technology and manufacturing," said Bill Holt, vice president and general manger of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group in a prepared statement. "Our 45nm technology will provide the foundation for delivering PCs with improved performance-per-watt that will enhance the user experience."
The first 45 nm SRAM chips have a capacity of 153 Mbit and carry more than 1 billion transistors on a die with a size of 110 sqmm. The memory cell size is 0.346 μm2, which is almost half the size of a 65 nm cell, according to Mark Bohr, director of process architecture and integration at Intel.
The company believes that 45nm process technology will allow chips with more than five times less leakage power than those made today. Mass production of 45 nm is expected to begin in the second half of 2007 - two years after the first 65 nm CPU's reached customer's hands.

How to choose and buy an iPod at good prices

ipod is a renowned brand of portable digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Computer. The ipod is currently the world's best-selling digital audio player. The ipod family devices provide a simple user interface designed around a central scroll wheel, with the exception of the ipod shuffle.
The majority of ipod models store media on a built-in hard drive, while the smaller ipod shuffle and ipod nano use flash memory. An ipod, like most digital audio players, can serve as an external data storage device when connected to a computer. The discontinued versions of the ipod include two generations of the popular ipod mini and four generations of the full-sized ipod, all of which had monochrome screens except for the fourth-generation ipod with color screen, which was previously sold as ipod photo before it replaced the monochrome ipod in the top line. As of December 2005, the lineup consists of the fifth-generation ipod that can play videos, the ipod nano that has a color screen, and the ipod shuffle; all three iterations were released in 2005.
The bundled software used for uploading music, photos, and videos to the ipod is called iTunes. iTunes is a music jukebox application that stores a comprehensive library of the music on a user's computer, as well as being able to play and rip it from a CD. The most recent incarnations of ipod and iTunes have video playing and organization features. Other forms of data can be added to ipod as if it were a normal data storage device.
ipod or ipods is the most frequently searched keyword online. There are numerous websites offering tons of valuable information on video ipod, ipod accessories, used ipods and cheap ipod. Some sites offer ipod blog, ipod reviews, ipod news and ipod articles.
These ipod blogs, reviews, articles, news and other information are very helpful to the potential ipod customers. The guys planning to buy ipod products are advised to go through these online sources and read ipod reviews before buying any ipod product.

Xbox Catching Up in 2006

Although there was a delay in delivering the number of Xbox 360s that consumers demanded for the 2005 holiday season, Microsoft is expected to manufacture over 2 million of the gaming consoles in the first quarter of 2006. It's estimated that about 1 million Xbox 360s made it to stores in time for the holidays, so there's a pent-up demand for the console. In addition, reported bugs and cooling problems will likely be worked out in the near future.
The Xbox isn't the only consumer electronic hitting the news these days. At the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, a number of manufacturers of cell phones will be honored with innovation awards. For example, Firefly Mobile will be honored for their "Mobile Phone for Mobile Kids," which is specifically designed for tweens. In addition, Auvi Technologies will be presented an award for their innovative PHIP100 VoIP-enabled cordless speakerphone with a built-in webcam.
CES will also honor a number of innovative computer manufacturers, including Hewlett Packard. HP has two products, the Media Center Photosmart PC and the Pavillion desktop PC, which combine computing with cutting edge digital entertainment features. Logitech will be accorded the 2006 Best of Innovations award for its customizable computer mouse, which allows the user to change the mouse's weight and balance.
Consumer electronics continue to be integrated into car design and sold as after market features. Audivox, for example, offers dual DVD players that offer backseat passengers a choice in which DVD they each watch, while Panasonic has an in-dash DVD monitor and receiver. Manufacturers are also producing after market products to integrate MP3 players and iPods into a vehicle's sound system. As a result, drivers and passengers no longer have to rely on a CD to bring their favorite tunes on the road.
Although many developers of video games seem to be waiting until the next generation of gaming consoles saturate the market, a few recent titles are noteworthy. Psychonauts is a hit, and for the role-playing crowd, Jade Empire is the video game du jour for the Xbox. In portable gaming, the Sony PSP comes out on top with Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, while the Nintendo DS offers Mario Kart.
On the whole, consumer electronics continue to improve in reliability and performance, while becoming increasingly affordable. In all respects, 2006 looks like it will be a stellar year for everything from video gaming systems to cell phones.

The Wonderful Future Of Cell Phones

The popularity of the mobile phones is constantly on the rise like a snow ball. There are numerous reasons for that and they are well beyond mere communicating with each other.
The development of the cell phones and technology in the past decade along with social and cultural processes as well as sharp decrease in prices contributed to their phenomenon success.
Cell phones have long become a symbol of status as well as a fashion statement. Some manufacturers have started to produce special designed phones for women. Other models are designed with interchangeable facades to cater for the youngsters. A lot of young people are transferring their instant-messaging habits to their cell phones.
The integration of so many different functionalities and technologies into the cell phones is more impressive and beneficial than the all-in-one office devices that integrated a scanner, a copier, a fax and a printer into a single compact space saving multifunctional machine.
The current generation of G-2.5 technology as well as the very near future G-3 units that are starting to emerge right now will carry in it so many functions which are mind blowing. These new Cell phones are going to be a multimedia center, a mobile office, a navigation device GPS (Global Positioning system), a computer with fast Internet access, a text messenger, a high resolution camera and video, a watch, a calculator, a PDA, an MP3 music player, TV and a Wallet! Yes, we will be able to pay with it for things we today pay with coins like vending soda or coffee machines as well as for parking space, trains and buses tickets etc’. It has become our “Swiss Army Knife”...
In Israel they used the cell phone to send SMS message and approval for one dollar donation payment for needy children. I guess that in the future it will be a legitimate tool for voting in contests and may be even in Elections.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, an executive for a wireless company noted that “in Slovakia, people are using mobile phones to remotely switch on the heat before they return home,” and in Norway, “1.5 million people can confirm their tax returns” using cell phone short text messaging services. Paramedics use camera phones to send ahead to hospitals pictures of the incoming injuries; “in Britain, it is now commonplace for wireless technology to allow companies to remotely access meters or gather diagnostic information.” Construction workers on-site can use cell phones to send pictures to contractors off-site. Combined with the individual use of cell phones—to make appointments, locate a friend, check voicemail messages, or simply to check in at work—cell phones offer peoplean unknown level of convenience. (Source: The New Atlantis – Article by Christine Rosen).
Other interesting applications are providing a locating service of your friends, or in other words if one of your friends is very close to where you are right now an SMS massage can alert you of this fact.
Cell phones and Dating Services
Several companies now offer a way to flirt and meet people anonymously. These services offer cell-to-cell texting and PC-to-cell texting. (Text-messaging phones also can receive messages sent over the Internet from a PC.) Companies including UPOC (Universal Point of Contact) and SMS.ac allow users to fill out a profile as they would at any dating service (some dating sites are dabbling with texting) and then search for an ideal match. Profiles can include photos and can be accessed either with a picture-enabled cell phone or through a PC. Say you want to meet a 20- to 30-year-old man in Kentucky who is interested in hiking. Do a search and three names pop up. You can send one a text message without ever exposing your phone number
Cell phones as safety device
One of the main reasons the cell phones have become so wide spread nowadays is that besides convenience it is perceived as a security and safety aid, Parents provide their children with mobile phones in order to track their whereabouts, to make sure they arrived safely to their destinations, to give them a mobile phone to report in real time when in any sort of trouble. Many women feel much safer in the street knowing they can call for help when in need.

AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core 4200+

What is dual core? Well to put it simply, a dual core CPU has two separate CPUs on the same chip. It is somewhat like having a two CPU system, with only one chip in the computer. One of the best things about the AMD solution for dual core CPUs is having the memory controller integrated right onto the CPU. This allows the two CPUs to share information between them at a very high speed, without being slowed down by a slower memory BUS. While with Intel's Dual core approach, their two CPUs talk to each other through the Front Side BUS, which is MUCH slower. How does the dual core CPU work? Well look at this diagram from AMD.

As you can see in the diagram, there are two separate CPUs, and each of them has their own L2 Cache. Under the L2 cache is the System Request Interface, this distributes the information between the two cores, so that both CPUs are utilized to their full potential, instead of one being used to the max, while the other waits around for information.

The CPU is the Athlon64 X2 4200+, it is the lowest Dual Core CPU made by AMD. It has two separate cores, each of them running at 2200Mhz with a L2 cache of 512KB. It is a Socket 939 CPU, built with the 90nm process. This CPU will work with most 939-socket boards currently out there, but you will need to update the BIOS so that it will support the dual core.
Windows XP detects that there is two cores in the system with this CPU, as you can see from these screen shots of the Windows Task Manager. There are two CPU usage charts on the X2, while only one with an FX-55.

In order to get the full usage of second CPU on the dual core chip, the program you are running has to support the usage of two CPUs.