cpu

Intel's next-gen quad-core processors tested

In what has become an annual ritual, the higher-end segment of Intel's new generation of processors has been launched at the Computex trade show in Taipei. This includes the quad-core versions of what Intel calls the fourth-generation Core i-series, which was until recently known by the code name Haswell, and was extensively previewed at CES 2013.

Quad-core CPUs are generally found in higher-end desktops and laptops, and are part of Intel's i7 CPU line. Most mainstream PCs use Core i3 and i5 dual-core CPUs -- the Haswell versions of those are coming later.

For laptop and desktop shoppers, … Read more

AMD launches new processors

The prerelease code names of AMD's new low-power and mainstream CPUs, Temash, Kabini, and Richland, may not mean much to laptop shoppers, but these components aim to give ultrathin laptops, tablets, and other PCs better value and battery life.

For the past several years, AMD has actually named its processors APUs rather than CPUs, which stands for accelerated processing unit, and combines a CPU and integrated graphics into a single part. The new chips follow that model, and take aim at where a lot of the action in tablet, hybrids, and laptops is right now, at the low-to-middle part … Read more

Why your next Android tablet will be more powerful

Your Android tablet sucks. At least compared with what's coming. Later this year we'll see the release of three new Systems on Chip (SoC). SoC is simply the name used for the collection of silicon that makes up the brains of the tablet and includes the CPU, GPU (graphics processing unit), onboard memory, and other processors.

The new chips will no doubt be used to power many high-end Android tablets and are expected to deliver better-looking games, faster Web surfing, increased battery life, and in at least one case, could allow you to take better-looking photos.

Of course, … Read more

Process Lasso 6.0.3.4 Review

At Download.com, we've long recommended the excellent Mark Russinovich-created and Microsoft-supplied Process Explorer freeware, which provides scads of info on all of your Windows PC processes and options for managing them. Well, Process Lasso is like the peanut butter for Process Explorer's chocolate. It lets users set default priorities and CPU affinities for specific processes, establish rules for how processes behave, and also create alerts and automatic events for when processes misbehave or use too much memory. The interface is outdated and not beginner friendly, but Process Lasso offers very useful features in a powerful little package.… Read more

3Dmark for Android separates performance champs from chumps

As a lifelong gamer, 3D performance (and by "3D" I mean polygonal, not stereoscopic) in tablets is something of particular interest to me. Over the last couple of years, I've watched mobile devices increase in performance, getting closer and closer to the capabilities of PCs and consoles. Judging by their performance histories, tablet and smartphone 3D performance is likely to exponentially increase over the next few years and we may soon be carrying around devices that are as powerful as an Xbox 360 (or more powerful) right in our pockets.

Futuremark's latest version of its long-running … Read more

Older and slower systems will get the biggest PCBoost

We've seen plenty of tools that promise to boost your PC's speed, but like the proverbial bear in the woods, some do and some don't. PCBoost promises to boost your PC's speed, too, and it has some options and displays that can help you do that, up to a point. It's shareware, though you can try it for free for 30 days. It's affordable, but it doesn't do more than many free system optimizers, and actually does less than others. It claims to exert control over how your PC prioritizes processor resources, "… Read more

Microsoft explains how Windows 8 smokes Windows 7

Microsoft spelled out acceleration improvements in Windows 8, in a blog post Monday. Needless to say, Microsoft says the overall experience is a lot snappier.

The latest Building Windows 8 entry, penned by Rob Copeland, the group program manager at Microsoft's graphics team, is titled Hardware accelerating everything: Windows 8 graphics.

Some context is first provided at the top in order to illustrate how Window 8 "builds on the well-established foundations of DirectX graphics" in Windows 7.

In Windows 7, we expanded the capabilities of DirectX to provide a common hardware-accelerated graphics platform for a broader range … Read more

Test and compare your system's CPU and RAM with CPU-M Benchmark

Major Share's CPU-M Benchmark is a free program that runs benchmarking tests on your CPU and RAM and displays detailed test results in an easy-to-read interface. You can also post your results online to share and compare. That's all this tool does, but it's enough to have so much useful technical data in one place. Most users won't need CPU-M Benchmark's detailed reports; at least, not beyond basic performance data. But technicians and geeks will find lot of useful information.

CPU-M Benchmark's compact, dialog-based user interface looks a lot like the system data and … Read more

Intel not joining graphics chip alliance

Intel will not join a chip-related alliance aimed at making it easier for software developers to take advantage of the compute power locked up in graphics silicon.

Advanced Micro Devices, ARM, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek Inc., and Texas Instruments announced the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation on Tuesday.

Here's how Lisa Su, an AMD senior vice president, described it in a phone interview with CNET.

"The point is, even if you put a really powerful CPU next to a really powerful GPU, if these [chips] don't interact and the applications don't know when it's better to … Read more