Components & Peripheral Devices

Nvidia Shows Arm CPUs Run ‘Neck And Neck’ With x86 For AI

by Dylan Martin

‘First of all, it shows that Arm as an acceleration platform can deliver performance that is just about on par with similarly configured x86 server,’ an Nvidia representative says about new AI performance comparisons that were made based on peer-reviewed data. However, one partner says it will take a major performance advantage for his customers to switch from x86 to Arm: ‘Among our customers, there needs to be some large, clear selling point of why they need to change to a new architecture.’
Intel’s New Xeon E-2300 CPUs Bring Rocket Lake To Entry-Level Servers

by Dylan Martin

The chipmaker says the Xeon E-2300 CPUs are a good fit for on-premises servers used by small businesses and entry-level bare metal instances provided by cloud service providers. The new chips offer up to a 17 percent improvement in performance over the Xeon E-2200 processors that launched in 2019 and double the memory enclave capacity for Intel Software Guard Extensions, which isolates confidential data in private memory regions, according to Intel.
‘Watch Out’ Intel: Google To Launch Custom Chromebook CPUs

by Mark Haranas

Google is reportedly developing its own CPUs for its Chromebook laptops and tablets, joining the likes of Microsoft and Apple who are building chips in-house.
Lexmark’s Greg Chavers On Driving Cloud Services As A ‘Major Differentiator’

by Kyle Alspach

The printer vendor offers partners a suite of cloud print management and fleet management services that represent a significant growth opportunity, said Chavers, vice president for North America channel sales at Lexmark.
Maker Of Chips For Apple iPhone Set To Hike Prices: Report

by Kyle Alspach

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is raising chip prices by between 10 percent and 20 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Western Digital, Kioxia Eye Merger In Potential $20B Deal: WSJ

by Joseph F. Kovar

Both Western Digital and Micron originally showed interest in Kioxia earlier this year, but talks there went quiet and Micron seems to have dropped out of the conversation. Should WD and Kioxia merge, it would strengthen WD’s position as the top disk and flash drive manufacturer and less concerns about competition with China’s electronics industry.
New IBM Telum Processors Show AI Investment ‘Down At The Silicon Level’

by Wade Tyler Millward

“We’re baking this into the silicon and we’re integrating it across the software stack,” Barry Baker, IBM’s vice president of product management for IBM Z & LinuxONE, tells CRN in an interview. “That is no insignificant investment and not one that goes away anytime soon.”
5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

by Rick Whiting

For the week ending Aug. 20 CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their ‘A’ game to the channel.
UK Watchdog Calls For Extra Scrutiny Into Nvidia-Arm Deal

by Dylan Martin

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority is calling for an in-depth investigation into the deal over concerns that Nvidia could harm rivals by ‘restricting access to Arm’s intellectual property’ — despite repeated assurances by the chipmaker that it will maintain Arm’s historic open-licensing model.
Why Pat Gelsinger Decided To Wind Down Intel’s RealSense Unit: Exclusive

by Dylan Martin

In an exclusive interview with CRN, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger says he wants to invest in areas that will support the chipmaker’s core businesses across data center, client computing, graphics, networking, foundry services and autonomous driving, which is why he decided to wind down the RealSense business. ‘If the assets fit one of those six business units, then I want to invest in it. If it doesn’t, then I don’t,’ he says.
Intel Heralds New Era With Alder Lake Hybrid CPU Architecture

by Dylan Martin

For Alder Lake, Intel is relying on what it says are two new groundbreaking x86 CPU microarchitectures — an Efficiency core and a Performance core — and it will use an intelligent scheduler to tell the upcoming Windows 11 operating system when to shift workloads between the two core types to maximize performance and efficiency for desktops and laptops. ‘This is where the dynamic nature of our innovation shines,’ an Intel senior engineer says.
Nvidia Reports Record Gaming, Data Center Sales As Intel Preps New GPUs

by Dylan Martin

For the second quarter of its 2022 fiscal year, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company reported on Wednesday that gaming revenue grew 85 percent year-over-year to $3.06 billion and data center revenue grew 35 percent year-over-year to $2.37 billion.
GlobalFoundries IPO Closer With Confidential Filing: Report

by Kyle Alspach

The semiconductor manufacturer is seeking to go public in another sign the company is not interested in being acquired by Intel.
Intel Offers Bonuses To Vaccinated Employees But No Mandate: Memo

by Dylan Martin

The semiconductor giant is offering bonuses worth up to $350 to employees who get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year, but the company is currently not making it a requirement, according to a memo seen by CRN. ‘Provided it is possible for you, this is an act that will keep you, your family, your colleagues, and your community safer,’ Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger wrote in the memo.
Intel Says It’s ‘Winding Down’ RealSense Camera Business

by Dylan Martin

The semiconductor giant tells CRN that it is ‘winding down’ the company’s portfolio of high-tech cameras and sensors that were built for computer vision applications like robotics and digital signage to focus on its core businesses. The company will honor current customer commitments, and Intel plans to apply the technical expertise and talent it developed in computer vision to support other functions in the chipmaker’s core businesses.