Posted 11/06/09 at 06:06:14 PM by Ryan Whitwam

It’s no secret that Nvidia and Intel are having a dispute over chipset licenses. Now it seems like Nvidia is getting a little fed up with the whole situation. On a new Nvidia website called “Intel’s Insides”, you’ll find a series of editorial style cartoons with some sharp criticisms of chip maker Intel.

The cartoons take aim mostly at Intel’s legal woes, which have gotten that much more severe with new US federal action this week. The US case is related to the same scandal that ended with Intel receiving massive fines in the EU. Intel is accused of bribing OEMs to keep them from using rival AMD’s chips. It all makes for some good cartoon fodder.

Editorial cartoonist Steve Lait creates the cartoons for Nvidia. The site explains that the series “is intended to be a parody of events occurring within the semiconductor sector, with particular focus on its largest and most commented-upon competitor." In all honesty, the cartoons aren’t that funny. But really, how amusing can the nuances of the semiconductor world be?

Image from "Intel's insides"

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Posted 09/14/09 at 03:08:18 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The San Francisco leg of the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2009 will kick off on September 22. The chipmaker is expected to make some key announcements regarding its 32nm “Westmere” chips and the keenly anticipated Larrabee platform. According to PCMag, Intel is expected to announce that the manufacturing of the 32nm die shrink of its Core microprocessor line is underway.

Its next-generation microprocessors, which are based on its Westmere microarchitecture, are codenamed Clarkdale (desktop version) and Arrandale (notebook version). The “Dales” chips are a multi-chip solution featuring 45nm integrated graphics cores. Intel is also expected to shed light on a new system-on-chip technology, besides announcing transistor improvements. The event might also feature some updates on the company’s Larrabee platform.

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Posted 08/28/09 at 05:45:48 PM by Tom Halfhill

Many people still think of Apple as a relatively small computer company, even though it’s a large consumer-electronics company. Those folks were surprised by recent reports that Apple is hiring more chip designers. They question the wisdom of plunging deeper into the risky and costly venture of designing custom chips.

But Apple’s moves are a logical response to current events. We are witnessing a fundamental shift in computing, as important as the debut of personal computers in the 1970s.

Desktop PCs—and to a lesser extent, notebook PCs—are the old wave. The new wave integrates mobile computing and communications with ubiquitous Internet access. Although notebook PCs can ride this wave, they are the largest species of new personal computers. Netbooks are better examples. Best of the new breed are the Apple iPhone, RIM Blackberry, and Palm Pre. More are coming.

Continue reading after the jump. 

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Posted 07/20/09 at 07:39:10 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The schism between DDR3 and DDR2 spot prices is widening. According to market research firm inSpectrum, although memory module and graphics card vendors made a lot of inquiries for DDR3 during the last week (July 13-17), transaction volumes remained low due to limited stocks. The market’s bullishness helped the price of DDR3 to continue its upward trends while price of DDR2 continued to fall with cussed consistency, with the price of 1GB effectively tested (eTT) chips even dropping below $1.

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Posted 06/25/09 at 03:30:49 PM by Pulkit Chandna

DRAM contract prices have refused to budge during the second half of June, according to DRAMeXchange. The first half had witnessed an increase in contract prices and chip suppliers, encouraged by the token recovery, were planning to increase prices.

Although analysts expected DDR3 contract prices to rise on the back of increased demand resulting from the launch of ultra-thin notebooks, DDR3 prices have remained stagnant. DDR2 contract prices have remained static just as anticipated.

 The contact prices for 2GB DDR3 and 2GB DDR2 chips have averaged $23 and $21.50, respectively, in the second half of June. On the other hand, the contract prices for 1GB DDR3 and 1GB DDR2 chips are $1.25 and $1.16, respectively.

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Posted 11/12/08 at 02:11:43 PM by Paul Lilly

PC builders continue to jump for joy at the rock bottom prices of memory, leading to an easy decision to go with a 4GB kit in lieu of a 2GB kit of RAM. Never has memory been so cheap, and some say the market for memory makers is the worst it has been in 15 years.

And therein lies the problem. While end users are celebrating low prices, DRAM makers have been cutting back production, reducing workers' hours, and laying off employees all in an attempt drive prices back up and cope with decreased revenue. But it isn't enough, and now it appears that memory makers have reached a crossroads.

"We believe that the DRAM industry has entered the key adjusting stage of 'reduce or retire,'" DRAMeXchange stated. "The big scale reduction is now in progress and even some DRAM vendors will be out of the DRAM market in 2009. This adjusting wave will continue until the demand and supply come to balance."

According to DRAMeXchange, the cash cost of the market's 70nm technology is between $1.3 and $1.5 and is expected to drop to $1.0 to $1.2 as DRAM makers migrate to the 6x nm process. Total 12-inch wafer output continues to fall, with the reduction for November expected to be 125,000 less wafers, which is equivalent to 10 percent of the total 12-inch wafer output. The situation looks to get even worse in December, with another 17,000-wafer reduction expected, with more reductions possible in January.

"We expect the oversupply situation will be eased starting from the end of Q1 2009," DRAMeXchange said. "Therefore, the DRAM price may have a chance to rebound at the end of Q2 09 and Q3 09 with the rising demand of PC OEMS."

The question is, which memory makers will be left standing by then?

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