AMD raises layoff count
30 Dec, 2008, 1003 hrs IST,REUTERS
SAN FRANCISCO: US chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc said that it laid off 600 workers, 100 more than first announced, and was taking yet anoth
er charge related to its $5.4 billion purchase of ATI Technologies Inc.
AMD said it cut 600 employees in its most recent quarter, compared with the 500 it had originally planned. As a result, the company now expects to record $70 million in restructuring charges, versus the $50 million it previously predicted.
In addition, the new cost reductions would result in more charges in the first half of 2009, although AMD would not provide an estimate.
The chip maker also said it would take a goodwill impairment charge related to its 2006 acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI. AMD said its decision was "based on the results of an updated, long-term financial outlook" for the business, according to a filing with US securities regulators.
The company said it could not estimate the size of the charge, which would be material and non-cash, according to the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A company spokesman declined to provide any further detail.
It is the latest charge AMD has taken related to its purchase of ATI. In the June quarter, the impairment charge totalled more than $800 million.
In the December quarter, AMD said it would also take a $20 million impairment charge on its investment in flash memory chip maker Spansion Inc.
Shares of Sunnyvale, California-based AMD closed down 8 cents at $2.10.
Techtree News Staff, Feb 27, 2009 1828 hrs IST Triple core AMD Phenom II's fourth core gets unlocked through BIOS hack
Hack Opens AMD Phenom II X3's Fourth Core
AMD had launched two new triple core 45nm Phenom II X3 processors recently. Technically, the fourth core exists on the CPU die, but is shut off at the factory. A new BIOS hack reportedly can enable this inactive fourth core on a Biostar motherboard.
Korean website Playware demonstrated an American Metagrands BIOS hack that turned triple-core AMD Phenom II into quad-core. The triple core 2.6GHz AMD Phenom II X3 710 was used with a Biostar TA790GX 128M motherboard. An option in BIOS called Auto Clock Caliberation needs to be set to Auto and the fourth core of the triple-core AMD Phenom II will show up.
According to the site, the fourth core left impacts on the benchmarks posted. Also, the processor ran at an overclocked speed of 3.1GHz. Basically, this hack will be possible only on motherboards having SB750 southbridge with AMD chipset and a compatible BIOS featuring Advanced Clock Caliberation support.
AMD Phenom II X3 710 is currently listed at $119 (approx. Rs. 5950) at Newegg.com.
AMD Phenom II: Competition is Back! Here comes another processor from AMD's stable, which has heated up the battle for supremacy in the Quad core CPU space Sunday, February 01, 2009
When AMD first launched the Phenom line of processors a couple of years ago, it couldn't manage to gain too much attention. It was re-launched the following year in 2008 with a slightly better reception, but not enough to make people switch from Intel. Now, Phenom II is the latest addition in the family and an updated brand name for AMD's 45nm multicore central processing units.
Previous desktop class processors from AMD were manufactured on a 65nm process while Intel was out with their 45nm ones. But this time, alongside a new CPU with smaller transistor elements, this release introduces some brand-new technology. With it's launch, the new processor also gives birth to a new platform which is gaining attention rapidly in the world of enthusiasts for its overclocking capabilities.
The new platform is called the Dragon and it consists of the Phenom II and the latest Radeon HD 4800-series graphics cards. We got the X4 940 Processor for review. Let's now have a look at some of the features that these new AMD engines boast of.
Higher clock rates
As the die shrinks, the voltage needed to drive Phenom II is down significantly. The new smaller size in combination with an improved micro-architecture gave AMD a chance to increase the clock rates. Whereas the first-generation Phenoms topped out at 2.6 GHz, the latest Phenom IIs starts at 2.8 and goes as high as up to 3.0 GHz.
6 MB of L3 cache
It just wasn't an option for AMD simply to arm the first-generation Phenom with a larger L3 cache. The power requirements of those 65 nm transistors would have undoubtedly boosted consumption past the 140 W mark. But current draw was sufficiently reduced in switching to 45 nm technology to enable AMD to augment the L3 cache size from 2 MB to 6 MB. In any case, the separate 512 KB caches provided for each individual core did not change with this redesign, nor did the 64 KB L1 instruction and data cache areas.
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Cold bug removed
The 'Cold Bug' as it is known is a physical phenomenon which causes the processors to cease functioning below a certain temperature. As weird as it may sound, the problem is serious for extreme overclockers. The bug prevents the use of extreme cooling methods such as Liquid Nitrogen or Dry Ice. With the elimination of the bug, the CPUs are expected to give overclocking a whole new definition.
Compatible and cost efficient
AMD has always taken great pains to stress their backward compatibility as a selling point. For a consumer, upgrading the processor should not always mean buying a new motherboard and RAM. Now true to it's promises, AMDs new line of processors are compatible with earlier AM2 as well as the AM2+ sockets. Motherboard vendors have already published compatibility lists, and using them to provide information about which of their motherboards will work with the Phenom II,
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Power management: A better Cool'n'Quiet
Due to performance drops when Cool'n'Quite was enabled, the feature was not used much often. The new Phenom ll introduces a better Cool'n'Quiet. If one specific core needs to work on full frequency, CPU doesn't allow independent change of frequency of other cores. Then all 4 cores are operating at full speed (frequency). With Cool'n'Quiet enabled performance drop is minimal and is much lower than on a 65nm Phenom.
The benefit
Though the Intel Core i7 965 is the fastest processor available in the market, it is also insanely expensive. The Phenom ll has been competitively priced near the Intel's Core 2 Quad range of processors but has a better performance. Though the price of the Phenom ll X4 940 and the cheapest of the Core i7 family have a similar price, the Phenom has an advantage. Core i7 can only work with a new motherboard, one which has the X58 chipset. Plus it only supports the triple channel DDR3 memory which is still quite expensive as compared to the affordable DDR2 which the Phenom lls use.The Phenom ll 940 enjoys a performance level in between the Core 2 Quad and the Core i7 at an affordable price. At least till the time Intel cuts prices and DDR3 memory is cheaper.
Rambus has transformed DRAM-making from a commodity business to an IP-heavy business. Kausik Rajgopal IF you follow the markets and have not heard of Rambus recently, you have not been paying attention. And if you have not, you should. The Rambus business model, its patent fights, and its victories and setbacks are likely to set the tone for IP-heavy bus iness models in the new economy. The little stock roared in February-March this year, at one point gaining 400 per cent in value over a stretch of four weeks. After coming back to earth in the Nasdaq ``correction,'' Rambus remains one of the most hotly debated stocks. What Rambus does is license its DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) technology to multiple chipmakers. In order for the microprocessor, which is the heart of any computer, to function, it must dynamically and randomly access the memory of the computer. T he DRAM contains both instructions for solving problems and the related data, which it then supplies to the microprocessor. What Rambus technology does is speed up the rate at which the microprocessor can access the DRAM. This is especially important because microprocessor technology (driven by Intel) has increased exponentially since the early 1980s, while DRAM technology ad vances have been comparatively slower. Before we get to Rambus, it is important to understand why that was the case. Part of it is purely technological; the price to performance ratio for the microprocessor simply had more room for increasing speeds. But part of it is also because the DRAM business was a commodity business in the mid-1980s, when Intel got out of it. At that time, Japanese manufacturers (NEC, Oki, etc) were squeezing Intel's market share and margins. Intel, which knew much more about design than about manufacturing, found that it was playing a losing game. It did not matter that Intel started out as a DRAM company, making the 1103 in 1970-71. By the mid-1980s, DRAM was a commodity business, not an intellectual property (IP) heavy bus iness. But Rambus changed all that. With a mission of maintaining at least an 80 per cent engineering headcount, the company itself is an interesting story: It was founded by two Stanford electrical engineers and was around for several years before its IPO in 1 997. The key event that launched it: Intel signed a 1996 agreement with Rambus that commits the giant to use RDRAM (Rambus DRAM) in controller chips and to meet certain production and sales targets. Intel dominates the business, and an agreement with Int el dictates a ``standard'' for the industry. Rambus merely developed and patented the technology; it does not deal with the hassle of manufacturing. It has patents, legal 20-year monopolies backed by the US Government that allow it to gain royalties on every DRAM. There is competition for DRAM, mos t notably from SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) and DDR SDRAM (DDR is double data rate). But here come the Rambus patent lawyers, and let's listen carefully to what they are now saying. According to Rambus, SDRAM and DDR SDRAM also depend on patented Rambus technologies, and therefore Rambus should get royalties for every SDRAM and DDR SDRAM as well! The math is simple. Royalty rates run from 1 per cent for SDRAM to 3 per cent for DDR. There is some confusion about overall market size. Estimates range from a bottom of $70 billion to a high of $120 billion. Assuming an average 2 per cent royalty rate, that gives Rambus royalty revenue of $1.4 to $2.4 billion. And remember, Rambus sits in the middle of a low-cost intellectual property web, and reaps the benefits of defendable patents. There is obviously uncertainty around whether the patents are defendable. But the track record is compelling: This year alone, Toshiba, Hitachi, and Oki have agreed to give royalties to Rambus for RDRAM, SDRAM and DDR SDRAM. They are, respectively, the s ixth, ninth and tenth largest DRAM makers in the world. The others are not caving in so easily. Micron, another large DRAM maker, recently sued Rambus, claiming that the Rambus patents did not cover their products. Without diving into the merits of the technical case (which even qualified patent lawyers can disagree about), here is why I am bullish about Rambus: Toshiba, Hitachi and Oki are not small companies. They have a lot of money, and they can afford to hire some smart lawyers. Assuming that these highly-paid lawyers did their job in trying to determine if their companies could avoid paying Rambus, we must be forced to conclude that either Rambus had a watertight case, or that the legal costs were so high th at paying the royalties was preferable. Either way, the Micron suit seems like a last-ditch effort to bring Rambus to the negotiating table than a serious threat to avoid paying royalties. IP-heavy business models such as Rambus are likely to be the harbinger of the ``new economy'' company much more than transitory dotcoms. (The author is a consultant to start-ups on business plan writing, partnerships and marketing strategy. He can be contacted at ulticat@stanfordalumini.org) (Please e-mail us at bleditor@thehindu.co.in if you have queries on computer usage or if you find an interesting way of using a computer.)Rambus grabs golden DRAM
BANGALORE: IBM India has launched its Business Intelligence Competency centre at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. The centre will deliver advanced business intelligence solutions and provide the technology infrastructure to IIMB's fraternity to form a national level competency lab. Equipped with an IBM AS 400 server and business intelligence tools such as IBM Intelligent Miner, Visual Warehouse and DB2 OLAP server, the centre is to carry out proof-of-concept development, training, workshops, seminars and symposia, according to Mr V ishwesh Padmanabhan, Vice-President (Software and Solutions Developer Marketing), IBM. According to Dr M. Rammohan Rao, Director, IIM Bangalore, the centre will provide special focus in the area of relationship marketing. ``It will create the courseware in business intelligence-based applications as well as function as a centre for executive development in business intelligence for executives in Indian industry,'' he said. One of IBM's five intelligence labs, the Bangalore centre is meant to identify best practices and benchmarks and develop and showcase the best business intelligence-based applications for relationship marketing. -- Our BureauIBM competency centre in IIMB
Martin Scott, senior vice president of research and technology development at Rambus reported, "As consumer expectations grow for more media-rich applications on their mobile devices, new memory solutions will be needed to keep pace with the rapidly increasing bandwidth requirements." A 32-bit memory device at 4.30GHz clock-speed can offer 17.2GB/sec peak bandwidth. As Rambus wants to make such devices tremendously effective in terms of power consumption, the memory technology may find itself inside powerful mobile multimedia-oriented devices, such as portable video game consoles, smartphones and so on. The high-bandwidth expertise has been combined by Rambus with power-efficient signaling technology with the aim to develop vital innovations for its Mobile Memory Initiative, such as: Rambus' Mobile Memory Initiative, that is build on innovations pioneered through the development of the award-winning XDR memory architecture, and through the Low-Power and Terabyte Bandwidth Initiatives, also integrates important innovations such as FlexPhase and Microthreading technology. A silicon test vehicle for its Mobile Memory Initiative at DesignCon 2009 would be demonstrated by Rambus.
Monday saw Rambus, a developer of high-speed interfaces and memory technologies, announcing its Mobile Memory Initiative. With this initiative, the company aims at achieving data rates of 4.3GHz at best-in-class power efficiency.
