Microsoft would have us believing that the hybrid disk drives (containing a standard magnetic disc drive, some Flash memory and the usual cache memory) are the solution to all world’s problems (including hunger and poverty), the culmination of technology finally allowed by Windows Vista. The basic principle of adding Flash memory to a disk drive…
THe news of the week on the CPU front line is definitely the arrival of new triple-core CPUs from AMD. There is an obvious wish to take the marketing and technical lead again on a ground where Intel was starting to appear as the unchallenged leader. But there is also an interesting technico-industrial approach. When…
The latest news from the markets for the electronic components for computers are quite diverse currently. NAND-Flash memory should see its prices raise (or no longer fall) because of a production stop at a Samsung plant that will pressure the offer. But more oddly, DRAM memory prices seem to be aiming low even if some…
The unreadable figures used to describe the performance of DRAM memory certainly need to be explained precisely. If you are ready for some technical reading, I invite you to DRAM latency explained on The Inquirer.
This is quite surprising. After about a month of DRAM memory prices going up (this was quite surprising), the market analyst DRAMexchange tells us that this is now the end and the prices will fall again. Apparently, despite the vows of manufacturers like Nanya whose CEO is confirming that he would not try to limit…
Even if you don’t go the the extremes of CPU overclocking, you may sometimes wonder whether your CPU is too hot or not. For example, my own Athlon XP 2600+ currently displays 62°C. Is it too much? Chris Hare comes to our help with his table of CPU characteristics. You will find there (among other…
If you never entered a electronics plant, seeing how one of the biggest PC motherboard manufacturer builds them may be interesting. ECS Factory Tour – How A Motherboard Is Made
Competition is tough at this level (sub-$200 dual-core processors). That is the reason why TechWareLabs decided to compare both CPUs: Intel’s E6420 vs. AMD’s 5600+. This is a confirmation that prices are set to make CPUs quite comparable. There is a slight performance advantage to Intel but for a slightly higher price.
Now, we had announced them: Summer sales. AMD started with nearly all its CPU products, Intel followed immediately, AMD announced that they would not go further for now. Today, Intel does it again for quad-core processors (but prices are already so high that you need breathing assistance to observe them in the rarefied air of…