Excellent news from chipmaking giant Intel. CEO Brian M. Krzanich announced at CES that all of the microprocessors that it ships in 2014 will not contain conflict minerals. The company reported that it “had achieved a critical milestone and the minerals used in microprocessor silicon and packages manufactured in Intel’s factories are ‘conflict-free’ as concluded […]
Is ARM the future of green servers?
ARM is getting a lot of attention lately. The chip designer, whose energy efficient processor technology powers the vast majority of the world’s smartphones and tablets, is benefiting greatly from the popularity of the iPad and other ARM-based devices. Even Microsoft, a long-time x86 devotee, has jumped on the ARM bandwagon for its Windows RT operating system […]
ZT Systems get in on the ARM server fun
The ARM-based server buzz continues this week with an announcement from Secaucus, NJ-based ZT Systems. The server and PC maker unveiled the R1801e, a 1U unit with up to 16 ARM Cortex-A9 processor cores that operates at a mere 80 watts. That includes eight server modules, storage in the form of eight SSDs and dual […]
Intel on server chips: Atom out, McAfee in
SeaMicro, you’re on your own. (And it could be a good thing.) According to Intel’s vice president and general manager of its Data Center Group, Kirk Skaugen, the chipmaker won’t be making a push into the server space with its low-power Atom processor. The market for servers comprised of several Atom processors, like the ones […]
ARM’s Cortex-A15: From smartphones to green data centers
As expected, ARM officially announced its new Cortex-A chip design and in addition to specs that portend a new generation of powerhouse smartphones, it looks like ARM is finally laying the groundwork for some serious competition in the server processor space. ARM’s latest design is an upgrade in every regard, from clockspeed (up to 2.5 […]
ARM: Virtualization support coming to Cortex A
If you want more proof that ARM has data center ambitions, look no further than this article in eWeek. During the Hot Chips conference at Stanford this week, ARM’s architecture program manager, Dave Brash, said that the Cortex A, code-named Eagle, will feature virtualization support. Already, according to Brash, companies including VMware are working hypervisors […]
Smooth-Stone raises $48M for green, ARM-based servers
Smooth-Stone, an Austin, Texas-based startup that’s looking to improve data center efficiency with computer servers that feature non-traditional chip architectures, announced today that it has raised $48 million to develop ARM-based servers. The funds come from a mix of VCs and technology companies, most notably ARM, which has a vested interest in seeing its low-power […]
Near-threshold computing: Super-efficient chips incoming?
Researchers are zeroing in on shrinking chips and vastly bumping up energy efficiency without many of the disadvantages that threaten to derail the onward march of Moore’s Law. According to PhysOrg.com, a team from the University of Michigan is pursuing…
IBM Power 7: A Smart Grid Processor?
This week, IBM unveiled the Power7 processor which will show up in four server models set to start shipping within the next few weeks. Mind you, the release of a faster, more powerful and energy efficient chip isn’t earth-shattering news…
Low-Power Processors in x86 Rack Servers Examined
AMD and Intel are locked in a battle for datacenter and these days that means pumping out processors that make easy work of workloads in an enery efficient manner. Anandtech takes a look at how the chipmakers fare in…
