chipset

In Silicon Valley time, it's been eons but USB 3.0 support has finally landed in Intel chips.

Intel -- somewhat stealthily -- announced today that its 7-series chipset family is now available and "shipping in mobile and desktop OEM systems and motherboards worldwide...[and] they also integrate USB 3.0."

The new chipsets -- companion silicon to the main processor -- support both 2nd Generation Intel Core processors, aka Sandy Bridge, and 3rd Generation Intel Core chips, aka Ivy Bridge.

With today's announcement of availability, it's been roughly ten years since Intel announced support … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Intel badly needs a way into the mobile business, and it may have found it through Motorola Mobility.

Intel and Motorola today announced a multiyear, multidevice partnership in which Motorola would use Intel's processors to power its Android products. The two companies are planning to show off a device later this year, but they didn't specify whether it would be a tablet or a smartphone.

A tie-up with Motorola is a major coup for Intel, which has struggled to get companies to use its processors for mobile devices. Its chips, which run on an architecture type known … Read more

USB 3.0 has gotten the green light for becoming a standard offering on Intel-based Windows PCs next year.

The USB Implementers Forum announced this week that the upcoming "Ivy Bridge" 7 Series Chipset and other Intel chipsets have achieved USB 3.0 certification. Chipsets are support silicon that work in tandem with the main processor.

USB 3.0, aka SuperSpeed USB, delivers up to 10 times the data transfer rate of USB 2.0, as well as improved power efficiency.

Intel's Ivy Bridge silicon, due to ship in Windows PCs in the April-June time frame, will … Read more

Qualcomm expects the first Snapdragon-powered Windows 8 PC to arrive a year from now, marking the entry into a lucrative new business for the wireless chip company.

Qualcomm is already working with Microsoft to ensure that computers running on the next-generation operating system will be able to run on its chips based on ARM's technology, which sacrifice processing power for more energy efficiency and ability to always remain connected. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said he sees a majority of the Windows 8 products coming after the end of fiscal 2012, which comes in September.

"We're going to … Read more

The mobile world moves at a breakneck pace, and it's difficult to keep up--even without the technical jargon most industry insiders throw around. And they do love to toss those terms around.

This week, I explain what the difference between a computer chip and chipset is, the difference between regular and Enhanced 911, and why for companies, breaking up is hard to do.

So for some light reading, here are a few terms (and definitions) commonly used by telecommunications experts who assume everyone understands them.

Breakup Fee: OK, so this isn't exactly a telecom term, but it's … Read more

Advanced Micro Devices will support USB 3.0 in its chips, marking the first instance of a major PC processor supplier getting behind the standard. Intel has yet to support the high-speed interface.

The USB Implementers Forum today announced that AMD will deliver the first chipsets to integrate support for USB 3.0, aka SuperSpeed USB. A chipset accompanies the main processor.

"With [today's] announcement AMD is...disclosing our support for SuperSpeed USB 3.0 in upcoming AMD A75 and A70M Fusion [chipsets]. Both chipsets are shipping today," said Phil Hughes, an AMD spokesman, responding to an … Read more

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Kyocera sees double

Facebook is replacing Craigslist for prostitute recruitment and matchmaking

Fixed Sandy Bridge chipsets will ship in mid-February

Win $10,000 in this Internet video safety contest

White House proposes new copying rules

Facebook firing case will settle

Hewlett-Packard and Dell as of this afternoon were still advertising laptops with the Sandy Bridge processor--despite the fact that Intel has halted shipment of Sandy Bridge's accompanying chipset due to a flaw.

Intel announced yesterday that it had stopped shipment of the Second-Generation Intel Core (Sandy Bridge) chipset due to a circuit design "oversight." The defect in the "Cougar Point" chipset--which accompanies the main Sandy Bridge processor--can potentially affect access to a hard-disk drive, optical drive, or other device that connects to a computer using SATA technology.

Today, it was possible to order a Dell XPS 17 online, for example, with a Second-Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM processor and a delivery date of February 22 (the link to that Dell product page was not accessible from the Dell XPS 17 sales page front door, but was generated from a product search on Google Shopping). This system configuration was generated despite a statement from Intel yesterday that it had "discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix...[Intel] expects to begin delivering the updated version of the chipset to customers in late February and expects full volume recovery in April."

A Dell saleswoman said she was not aware of the Sandy Bridge flaw and gave a quote with a build time of "a couple of weeks."

Today, Dell issued this statement. "Dell and Intel are in communication regarding the design issue in the recently released Intel 6 Series (Sandy Bridge) support chip, code-name Cougar Point. This affects four currently available Dell products, the XPS 8300, the Vostro 460, the Alienware M17x R.3 and the Alienware Aurora R.3, as well as several other planned products including XPS 17 with 3D. We're committed to addressing this with customers who have already purchased one of the four products and will provide further details on this as it becomes available," Dell said. … Read more

Update: Unedited desktop vendor responses added to the bottom of the post. We'll add more as they come in.

Following the news this morning about the serial-ATA chip flaw in Intel's new Sandy Bridge-supporting chipsets, we immediately thought of the two (soon to be three) Sandy Bridge-powered PC's we've reviewed since the January 9 launch.

In addition to the PCs we've gotten our hands on from Falcon Northwest and Origin (and soon Maingear), virtually every other large and small desktop vendor has been shipping Sandy Bridge-equipped PCs for the past few weeks.

In light of this chipset flaw, whether you've spent $5,000 on a gaming system or $1,000 on a more modest desktop or all-on-one, you'd be right to want to know whether you need to send your system back, as well as who is going to pay for and parts, labor, or shipping costs.

First, the problem. According to Intel: "In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives."

A vendor who requested anonymity (Update: Intel is now on the record with the details of the flaw) told us the problem actually affects serial ATA ports two through five on a six-port motherboard. The affected ports are all Serial ATA II, so if you ordered a higher-end Serial ATA III/6.0 hard drive (and the vendor connected it to the right port), you should be safe (upgrade path anxieties not withstanding). If you do have components connected to the afflicted ports, we're told you may not ever see the issue. Intel told Anandtech regarding the frequency of the flaw: "over 3 years of use it would see a failure rate of approximately 5 - 15% depending on usage model." If the issue does manifest itself, you will experience slower read and write performance, but data integrity, according to Intel, won't be an issue.… Read more