[O/C]Today in Hardware - Feb. 5, 2010

Featured News:

New Westmere Details Emerge: Power Efficiency and 4/6 Core Plans @ AnandTech.com

Intel released new information, today, regarding their new Westmere 32nm CPU. Intel explains the new additions that Westmere will be gaining from its Sister chip Nehalem, along with what buyers are to expect from Westmere.

One of the big changes that Westmere will be getting, is a SRAM dedicated to the power gates on the CPU. In Nehalem, Intel showed that placing power gates to the supply voltage of a CPU, it would allow the CPU to stop leakage. The problem was that the core needed to save its data before shutting off. The data was saved to the L3 cache, but this was not the most ideal way to save the data. It prohibited the CPU from turning off the L3 cache when it was not used. With Westmere, the power gates will have a dedicated SRAM so that they can save their data outside of the L3 cache. This will allow the CPU to save more power.

Westmere will be available in many variations when it first comes out. Buyers can expect to see 2 core all the way up to 6 core CPUs. Although there will be 6 core Westmere's available, the highest end CPUs are expected to be made for Server platforms rather than Desktops.
News that is a Big deal:

• Patch Tuesday brings 13 fixes @ bit-Tech.net
• Will Nvidia's Fermi Architecture Bring Movie-Quality 3D to Your PC? @extremeTech.com
• Clarkdale's Second Half: Intel HD Graphics Review @ xbitLabs.com
• Biostar confirms 890GX and Phenom II X6 branding @ NordicHardware.com
• Intel announces Core vPro processors @ SemiAccurate.com
• AMD Phenom II X6 "Thuban" Processors to Get Dynamic Speed Boost Technology @ xbitLabs.com

News on the Side:

• Seven Intel P55 Motherboards Tested From Asus, DFI, MSI, Gigabyte @madShrimps.be
• Intel Clarkdale CPU Overclocking With IGP Enabled - Reaching High BCLK @madShrimps.be
• Three AMD 785G Motherboards Compared and Overclocked @ madShrimps.be
• Zotac H55-ITX WiFi @ SiliconMadness.com
• ATI Launches $50 DirectX 11 Cards With Passive Cooling @ DailyTech.com
• Intel Clarkdale: Integrated graphics benchmarks plus SMT and Turbo performance @ pcGamesHardware.com

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