Have you got PhysX

There was a time when we used to play games using the integraed APU(Audio Processing Unit) and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) on board. Later on with the advent of games like Quake, Doom, Far Cry and many more it became a acute necessity to have a good sound and graphics card plugged to your machine. Few days back we had never thought of anything new to come in this field. All Asus launched was a dual-core graphics card which itself can be doubled on an SLI bridge; and i felt it is probably end of the road. But a relatively unknown company AGEIA launched a PPU (Physics Processing Unit) chipset. And now I have starded having wild imaginations of the Games that would be harnessing its power. I am sure these imaginations are not limited to me; id, Eidos, Valve will also be having such dreams.

The card named PhysX now competes with the Havok Physics Engine (Max Payne fame), in the market. But Both have very different way of execution; PhysX is a Hardware Physics accelerator whereas Havok is a software based engine. The software needs to be bound by the game developer with the game. Software based engines puts much stress upon the CPU and the GPU to have its work done. However the PPUs can be plugged by the users and they can do their job dedicatedly.

AGEIA has not disclosed much technical details about this processor, as they are the only player in this field right now and are being cautious enough to reveal too much. But the information they gave isn't too less to make you jump. The PhysX hardware includes-

125 Million transistors
130nm manufacturing process
128MB 733MHz Data Rate GDDR3 RAM
128-bit memory bus interface
20 giga-instructions per second
2 Tb/sec internal memory bandwidth
"Dozens" of fully independent cores

ASUS has recently launched a Physics card based on this PhysX chipset. It looks a lot simpler than some of the recent graphics cards though. The other one which has come out with a PhysX is BFG Tech. I still remember the Far Cry 64bit version demo video, which boasted of advanced physics simulation and rendering due to the power of AMD64 architecture. That was really marvelous. And now I really can't wait to see it done by a fully dedicated hardware. Till now 20 games have been announced for PhysX PPU. To name a few-
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends
Unreal Tournament 2007
With future Unreal Engine 3 and Ubisoft games supporting a PPU, AGEIA has has made a good breakthrough.

Here is a screenshot from Ghost Recon rendered with (left) and without (right) PhysX. (source AnandTech)










Consumer acceptance is key to the success of the PPU. Let's just see if the game crazy consumers who are already spending thousands of bucks on GPU will accept a new expence just on the name of more realistic experience.

Cray chooses AMD for its supercomputers

Today I was going through the reader's comments section of a news article and found this post claiming that Intel's supremacy in microprocessor industry is beyond doubt as most premium brand in household computing, Apple has endorsed Intel processors. I just posted a short reply there asking what would he say if he comes to know that the most premium brand in supercomputing industry has endorsed AMD. But posting just a reply didn't seem enough to me and i thought of posting this story here, though its quite old.

According to a press release on Cray's site on Nov 14th '05 AMD and Cray announced that they have reached an agreeemntto exten their ten year long relationship and hence Cray will use Opteron chips to build its microprocessor based supercomputers in future. The two firms will actively collaborate on Cray's mid-2006 proposal for Phase 3 of the federal government's DARPA HPCS (High Productivity Computing Systems) program.

Cray President and CEO Peter Ungaro stated that after very extensive review of marketplace alternatives they have chosen AMD64 platform as the microarchitecture for our next-generation supercomputer products. He also said "In the near-term, the AMD Opteron processor roadmap provides our customers a smooth upgrade path to multi-core systems. Through 2010, AMD's multi-core processor roadmap and HyperTransport(TM) technology capabilities stand out for their ability to help meet our aggressive performance goals. Our success working with AMD in developing the Cray XT3(TM) and the Cray XD1(TM) systems gives us great confidence that AMD is the right partner to help Cray advance the boundaries of high performance computing."

Currently two of the Cray supercomps run on Opterons, Cray XT3 and Cray XD1; while the Cray X1E is based on Cray custom-built vector processors.

know more

Counting the foolish efforts

AMD has recently setup ticker display billboards in Times Square in New York City and along Route 101 in California's Silicon Valley. According to Brent Kerby, AMD's product marketing manager for Opteron, the display shows a theoretical electric bill representing the worldwide cost incurred by companies running servers with Intel's Xeon chips instead of AMD's Opteron chips. Currently the amount exceeds $1 billion, aggregating $24 roughly per second.

The locations that AMD has chosen to display the tickers are very strategic. One billboard is situated in Times Square only blocks away from the debt clock that inspired it. The other is along U.S. Highway 101, in a spot where it is sure to be seen by Silicon Valley executives on their daily commute.

According to Nathan Brookwood, head of market research outfit Insight64, in Saratoga, California AMD has the advantage over Intel on power consumption, at least for now. Over the last two years AMD processors have been using a lot less power than Intel's.

AMD has started playing the same game excelling in which Intel has managed to keep majority consumers away from AMD processors which undoubtebly outperform their counterparts. But AMD has still got to learn a lot more about marketing. In the words of Jim McGregor, analyst with InStat/MDR "If AMD can learn one thing from Intel, it's about how best to use its resources toward effective marketing. AMD may have learned to be a technology leader, but it hasn't learned how to be a market leader. There's a big difference."

Dance of Dell

The World Congess on Information Technology (WCIT) concluded on the 5th of May inTexas. Nothing very new happened there. But the news that caused ripples was Dell joining the Green Grid. Though Dell is not a technology company (all it does it assembling PCs that aren't even best in the world) and what steps it takes haven't ever bothered me.

Though Dell was not alone to join the nexus, APC and VMware also joined the Green Grid along witgh Dell. Since few years Dell has seen its server market slump against the energy efficient and faster Opteron powered servers sold by Sun, HP, IBM and many more. Knowing the fact that enterprise customers do full study before deciding on what product to buy, and hence calculate the profitabilities like no other home user does; Dell can't cater them just anything that sells by its name.

The Green Grid comprises of companies like AMD, IBM, HP, Rackable Systems and Egenera; and I don't find Dell standing anywhere near them if technological abilities are considered. The main purpose of forming this group was to do research and development to increase computing power by reducing the energy consumptions of processors in future. I wonder how could dell help in doing that.

Dell's move only shows the level of distrust that even the staunch supporters of Intel have in it. Afterall How many of the Intel's claims have come true so far. HP has already paid much price for having blind faith on Intel regarding the Itanium. Dells message is clear, we sell intel products only because it sells ( it's the product of general masses) but it hasn't got a future for sure.

The dirtiest ever marketing strategy

It has been a long time since I heard of something new from the grass root level coming out of the Intel stables. And the last time it happened was with the introduction of Hyper Threading technology (I don't see anything new in Yonah since it's nothing but rebuffed Piii) . Any industry leader failing to make a breakthrough since such a long time and seeing its market share being eroded by an aggresive competitor; may take a step that can be termed unethical, if not illegal. Hence to say, Intel did what they specialize in : dirty marketting. They are accused of paying heavy incentives to Skype to restrict some features for AMD user's which will be enjoyed exclusively by Intel users.

The feature under the lens is the 10 way conferencing from Skype, which has been restricted to max 5 way for AMD users. Skype is using an operation called "Get CPU ID" to identify the type of processor running on the PC. The Skype software has been preset to only accept Intel's chips as having the performance necessary to host conference calls of more than five people. The question is why would anybody deliberately add more code lines, just to make his own software perform badly. Certainly an evil nexus.

This act of Intel only shows the level of desperation which their top level management was feeling to cut the increasing market presence of AMD.

Would you avoid buying a PC with the most efficient processor on earth, only because you can host an internet conference with 6 people with a below par Intel processor. Chip giant Intel is betting that at least some people would. Its really shameful for Intel that it has got nothing else but this, to keep itself clinging where it is.

AMD has now dragged Skype to the court by serving them yet another subpoena case. Though in my opinion AMD should have kept quiet on this matter and maintained a 'love to be hated stance'.

I have been going through the public opinions on this matter and most of then aggresively against the dirty trick played by Skype and Intel. And for those who don't want to give away the best (AMD) but unfortunately have to keep the rest (Skype), the famous Mac Hacker Maxxuss has released a patch to bypass the evil Get CPU ID code.

The point to be noted here is that neither Intel nor Skype are market leaders in their fields (if technical efficiency is considered, market share goes the other why), so why bother about them. Go for AMD, dump Skype. Its no way near Google Talk.

A tour of Fab36

The much awaited Fab36 production facility of AMD has started operations now and started revenue shipments in march this year. Located at Dresden, Germany It seems to be the most advanced chip manufacturing plant on earth. AMD began construction of Fab 36 — its first 300 mm wafer facility — in November 2003. By November 2004, AMD Fab 36 was ready for equipment. Fab 36 had its first silicon run in 2005. AMD Fab 36 implements the third generation of AMD's Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM 3.0).



Fab 36 is designed to continue this rock-solid consistency, ensuring we can effectively and efficiently meet the growing demand for AMD 64-bit solutions worldwide. AMD ramped the new 300 millimeter (mm) fab to 90 nanometer (nm) volume production in record time, hitting every major milestone on schedule and beginning production at mature yields.

The success of Fab 36 builds upon the tremendous achievements of Fab 30, which is located adjacent to Fab 36 and manufactures chips on 200mm wafers.

APM at work

Bird's eye view of Fab36

Take a tour of Fab36

Best Laptops to wear!! (3)

Tulip E-Go :

The Tulip E-Go notebooks are inlaid with solid palladium white gold plates in which thousands of brilliant cut diamonds have been set. The quality is V.V.S. top-Wesselton and the total weight is 80.00 Crt. The brilliant cut diamonds are microscopic and pave set with surgical precision. This magnificent end result is possible thanks to the use of brilliant cut diamonds with a large variety of diameters. A unique square cut ruby has been set in both Tulip logos.

For the Tulip E-Go diamond project, Marcel van Galen Design worked closely together with Design Department product engineering and Laurent de Beer Master Jewelry Designer.


























Specs for Tulip EGO Notebook:

• Mobile AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology
• Changeable Decorative Skins (2 sets included)
• USB memorystick that functions as release key for decorative skins included
• Integrated carrying grip
• Sliding doors that hide connectors
• 15 direct access keys
• Carrying strap with integrated hybrid DVBT module and antenna (for digital and analog television) optional
• Instant on functionality of Agenda, Contacts, Outlook, Internet browsing, DVD playback, CD playback and Restoring Operating System
• 2 integrated stereo microphones
• Integrated camera with mirror like functionality
• UMTS prepared with built-in external antenna
• Voice Recognition Software
  
• Bass Reflex Sound System (4 integrated speakers behind the screen)
• Microsoft Windows XP Mediacenter
• Simultaneous 32- and 64- bit Windows- compatible support
• 1 MB second level cache, integrated on chip
• ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 M chipset
• 12.1 inch WXGA widescreen with anti-reflection foil 1280 * 800 pixels resolution
• 1024 MB So-Dimm DDR Internal Memory
• Front load DVD+-RW player
• 4-in-1 cardreader: supporting SD, MMC, MS, MS Duo
• 80 GB SATA Harddisk drive
• Integrated 801.11 abg WLAN WiFi Certified solution
• Integrated Bluetooth
• Ports: S-Video out, 1 PC Card slot (1 Type II), 3 USB 2.0, 100 Mbit RJ 45, external display (VGA) port, Microphone/ line-in jack, Headphones / speaker/ line-out with S/PDIF support, 1 mini USB 2.0 connector
• 3.5 hour in use battery life, DVD playback/ Audio DJ 7 hours battery life
• Weigth: 2.6 kilogram (battery included)
• Dimension: 36 (length) * 28 (width) * 6 (heigth) centimeters
• 2 * 110 Volt Power Adapter
• price € 283,000 !!!
  

E-Go at CeBIT

Manufacturer's Website

Best Laptops to wear!! (2)

HP Livestrong L2000 :

Have you ever thought of charity while purcahsing anything like a laptop. This one does full justice to the money you spend while making a donation of $50 on your behalf to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The machine bears a Lance Armstrong signature at the bottom right. The machine can be customized while you buy it, but the general specs go as follows :

Processor : AMD Turion 64, 1.8GHz (ML-28), 1 MB L2 Cache
RAM : 1 GB DDR SDRAM
Max Supported RAM : 2 GB
Display : 14" TFT, 1280 x 768
GPU : ATI Radeon Xpress 200M
Video Memory : 128 MB
Storage : 100GB IDE
Battery : Lithium ion
Modem : 56 Kbps Fax/Modem
Networking : Network adapter, Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Interface : Hi-Speed USB, Headphones, Microphone, Display / video, Modem, Network, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), VGA, S-video output, Phone line, Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX,
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP 2
Service & support : 1 year warranty

Manufacturer's website

Other Designer Laptops :
There are some other faishonable laptops with intel processors
Sony vaio
Fujitsu Lifebook
Asus Lamborghini

And the big daddy of all; the very first laptop which made a fashion statement; no surprise if it come from the Apple's stable : iBook 1999 edition. now out of production has still got the looks to kill, is now a part of the Design Museum.

Best Laptops to wear!! (1)

Fashion can't be kept out of something that is meant to show off. And hence all the new gizmos blend features and looks to sell. AMD's two brand ambassador's Michael Schumacher and Lance armstrong both are synonymous to speed, endurance and performance. To harness the best out of their brand image AMD in cooperation with Acer and HP has launced ultra faishonable laptops. The Acer Ferrari is nothing new though; but the new avatar of Ferrari incorporates a 64bit Turion which is way better than the previously used Athlon MP. Recently HP has dragged the livestrong tag into this field too.

Here are the specs of these two designer machines :

Acer Ferrari 4006WLMi

The Acer Ferrari 4000 Series is the world's first notebook to harness the cutting-edge technology pioneered and perfected in the world of Formula One and in the aerospace industry. The magnificent carbon-fiber casing of the Ferrari 4000 conceals the very latest AMD-64 bit technology, defining an exclusive notebook that offers all the performance and elegance gained from the alliance between two companies constantly focused on innovation and renowned for pushing the boundaries of technology.

Product Description Acer Ferrari 4006WLMi - Turion 64 ML-37 2.2GHz Display - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) 14.3 in x 10.5 in x 1.4 in
Weight 6.4 lbs
Localization United States
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN antenna, Bluetooth antenna
Processor AMD Turion 64 mobile technology ML-37, 2.2GHz 64-bit, 1 MB L2 cache
RAM 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700
Card Reader 5 in 1
Hard Drive 120 GB
Optical Storage DVD±RW / DVD-RAM - integrated
Display 15.4" TFT active matrix WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) - 24-bit (16.7 million colors)
Graphics Controller ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 - 128 MB
Audio Output Sound card
Telecom Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Wireless NIC Acer InviLink 802.11g
Input Device Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Power AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery Lithium ion
Run Time (Up To) 3 hour(s)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Manufacturer Warranty 1 year warranty

Acer goes from the brilliant red design of the Acer Ferrari 3000 to a more conservative—but just as sleek—black checkered design. It retains some of the cool-looking red streaks along the side and front edge of the notebook, and yes, the yellow prancing horse emblem still graces the center of the notebook. The cover is made from carbon fiber, which is stronger and lighter than aluminum. (Acer uses it only in its Ferrari line.) The interior of the Ferrari 4000 has a rubberized coating, perhaps emulating the look of Formula One tires. The keyboard has an ergonomic smile contour to it, which is okay for typing but takes a few minutes to get used to. The only real design complaint we have is that the mouse buttons are a bit noisy when pressed.

More pics of Ferrari 4000WLMi
Manufacturer's website

The green grid

Advanced Micro Devices, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and IBM announced the Green Grid project Wednesday to help computing customers reduce energy consumption and to gain a competitive advantage by letting customers know which companies can assist.

AMD has always been looking for efficient tie-ups in the market to keep its pace and momentum maintained. The market has always been cruel to the low profile players. Earlier it was only Intel which held commanding position in the market by keeping the string tight on partners like Dell and HP. After the grand failure of Itanium (often known as Itanic) HP learnt the lesson and maintains equal relations with AMD and Intel. Sun has always given more priority to its sparc processors. But after seeing the demand and performance of 64 bit x86 processors it opted to go with AMD. IBM is collaborating with AMD to develop its processors too. They have formed an INVENT alliance.

The main purpose of the Green Grid Project is to develop energy efficient computing solutions in future and reduce the expenditure of enterprises using their products. The point to note here is that AMD already excels this arena and beats rival Intel by a substantial margin (AMD's Opteron mainstream server processors consume 95 watts, compared to a range of 110 to 165 watts for Intel's accompanying Xeon).

Intel (as expected) has not joined this alliance yet but Intel's spokeperson said "We were not asked to join". He also expressed that they were ready to join any such alliance in case if they are asked, regardless of who's organizing it, we're always ready to participate as long as it's focused on the customer not just issuing press releases."

The interesting part is that AMD is playing Intel's own gameplan to beat them by making strong market alliances.

Number of the beast

After showcasing the Turion 64 X2, socket AM2 with Live! and socket F processors in IDF what AMD is left with to show on june the 6th of 2006, is still a hot topic. The much awaited event is Computex 2006 in Taipei. Its just a coincidence that the date resembles the devil's number.

Intel has already displayed the might of their upcoming Conroe processors in the IDF and left AMD with a challange to beat them before the Computex. But as far as the results of three test releases of socket AM2 show, they are not even going to beat their own predicessors by a huge margin. If such is the case then why should one buy AM2 remains the question. Despite being produced using 90 nm fabrication against Intel's 60 nm AMD's Processors are going to be more energy efficient yet keeping a better performance per watt. This might sound good to those enterprises which are using a large number of processors. No surprise that Google has decided to switch over to Opterons after being a intel only customer for a long time. This comes when Paul Otellini sits on Google's board. Certainly a moment of embarrasment for Intel once again.

Apart from AM2 the other thing that we are waiting for is the Turion 64 X2. Intel has already rolled out Core Duos in the market, and if AMD has to catch Intel in this segment then Not only Turion has to beat Core by an effective margin but also ensure that the Battery lasts longer. The israelites certainly deserve praise for bringing Intel out of the dark by dumping the Netburst along with the P4.

Last but not the least is AMD Live!, to be staged against the Intel viiv both are targetting home entertainment segment. Right now we have only Mac mini plating in this field. The AMD Live! logo has been officially released by AMD after some website leaked it. In my honest opinion I find it yucky. Its not so good, but on the other hand viiv's isn't any better too.

For now, we are only left to keep waiting till 6th june and see who proves out to be the Devil, AMD or Intel.

A long way to success

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) started as a producer of logic chips in 1969, then entered the RAM chip business in 1975. That same year, it introduced a reverse-engineered clone of the Intel 8080 microprocessor. During this period, AMD also designed and produced a series of bit-slice processor elements (Am2900, Am29116, Am293xx) which were used in various minicomputer designs.

During this time, AMD attempted to embrace the perceived shift towards RISC with their own AMD 29K processor, and they attempted to diversify into graphics and audio devices as well as flash memory. While the AMD 29K survived as an embedded processor and AMD continues to make industry leading flash memory, AMD was not as successful with its other endeavors. AMD decided to switch gears and concentrate solely on Intel-compatible microprocessors and flash memory. This put them in direct competition with Intel for x86 compatible processors and their flash memory secondary markets.

1976 : AMD and Intel sign their first comprehensive cross-license agreement, where AMD and Intel both agree to license to each other all patents each company holds.

1982 : IBM selects an Intel microprocessor for its PC but only on the condition that there is a reliable second source supplier for its PC processor needs. As a result, AMD renews a comprehensive cross-license agreement with Intel and becomes IBM’s second-source manufacturer of the 8086 and 8088 microprocessors.

1987 : Intel notifies AMD it is terminating the second source agreement, an aggressive move to prevent AMD from producing a 486-compatible microprocessor. This begins years of legal disputes between AMD and Intel, and limits customer choice to a single source for PC microprocessors for the next several years.

1990 : In late 1990, AMD releases the Am386 ® microprocessor family, based on Intel’s 80386. Sales of the Am386 are strong due to its exceptional performance.

1991 : In October 1991, Intel commenced a federal court action for copyright infringement. An arbitrator subsequently awarded AMD full rights to make and sell the Am386. The Supreme Court of California upheld this decision in 1994.

1993 : The Am486 ® microprocessor is introduced; it powers Compaq computers and thousands of other manufacturers’ PCs.

1995 : AMD introduces the AMD-K5 ® microprocessor, its first independently designed, socket-compatible x86 microprocessor.

1997 : AMD introduces the successful AMD-K6 ® microprocessor, a pin-compatible alternative to Intel’s Pentium™ microprocessor . Its introduction heralds the return of competition and helps drive PC costs down below $1,000 to create PCs that are affordable for the average consumer.

1998 : AMD substantially advances the PC platform with the launch of the AMD-K6-2 microprocessor, featuring 3DNow!™ technology. Invented by AMD, 3DNow! technology was the first x86 innovation to significantly enhance 3D graphics, multimedia, and other floating-point-intensive applications for Microsoft ® Windows ®-compatible PCs.

1999 : AMD makes a clean break from creating Intel-compatible chips with the introduction of the world’s fastest x86 microprocessor, the AMD Athlon™. AMD Athlon processors were designed specifically from the ground up to run Microsoft Windows exceptionally well. AMD previews the world’s first 64-bit x86 multi-core architecture at the Microprocessor Forum.

2000 : AMD is first to break the historic 1GHz (one billion clock cycles per second) barrier with the AMD Athlon processor. AMD introduced PowerNow!™ technology, which allowed PC manufacturers to deliver cooler, quieter running notebook systems with extended system battery life. AMD announces the world’s first PC platform supporting Double Data Rate (DDR) memory technology; while Intel adopts the costly Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), which eventually failed.

2001 : AMD drives the development and widespread adoption of its HyperTransport™ technology, which allows computers to run faster and more efficiently. HyperTransport adopters include Sun Microsystems, Agilent, Apple Computer, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, IBM, nVidia and Texas Instruments. Introduces QuantiSpeed™ architecture in its Athlon XP lineup.

2002 : AMD’s Athlon XP family debuts Cool‘n’Quiet™technology, an on-chip power management solution for compact desktop PCs. Cool’n’Quiet effectively lowers the power consumption and enables a quieter-running system while delivering performance on demand to help maximize the computing experience.

2003 : The launch of the AMD Opteron™ and AMD Athlon™ 64 microprocessors changes the future of the computer industry by extending x86 to 64 bits with the AMD64 architecture – featuring simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing. introduces the industry’s first processor with an integrated memory controller. AMD delivers Direct Connect Architecture, which directly connects processors, memory controllers and input/output (I/O) functions, reducing bottlenecks and increasing performance.

2004 : AMD Athlon 64 processor named Microprocessor Report’s “Desktop PC Chip of the Year.” Demonstrates the first x86 dual-core microprocessor. At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, AMD launches its 50x15 initiative; a commitment to deliver basic computing and Internet connectivity to 50 percent of the world’s population by the year 2015. Later this year in India, AMD launches the Personal Internet Communicator (PIC), a new category of computing device created specifically for developing markets.

2005 : AMD launches Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors for servers and workstations, and also unveils the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor for consumer and business users. AMD continues its commitment to the 50x15 Initiative at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, announcing a partnership with MIT Media Lab chairman Nicholas Negroponte and other industry leaders to develop the world’s first $100 laptop. AMD also debuts working prototype of 2 nd generation PIC device.

Source : amd.com, wikipedia