Chip maker Intel was fined USD $25.4 million (£13m) by the Korea Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday for taking advantage from its dominant position in the microprocessor market against rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The Commission fined Intel because it was offering discounts to Samsung Electronics Co. and Trigem Computer Inc. that were against the Korean antitrust rules. Intel had offered about $37 million in rebates to Samsung and Trigem for over two and a half years on the condition that they wouldn't buy from Advanced Micro, according to commission's statement. Intel said it was very unhappy with the ruling and will further review the South Korean commission's decision. "We are disappointed with the decision. We feel the commission has overlooked or ignored key evidence that demonstrates Intel's business practices have been fair and lawful," Intel's Asia Pacific regional spokesman Nick Jacobs said in a statement. "Once we've had a chance to review the findings in detail it is possible that Intel will request a further review and, if necessary, an appeal which will permit a court to review the case independently." Since 2005, Intel has also been hit by anti-trust cases in the US, Japan and Europe.

During Computex 2008, Intel said that they'll change their strategy when it comes to overclocking and allowing users to squeeze extra performance from their systems. Overclocking capabilities will be the main feature of Intel's 4 series chipsets, said Eric Mentzer, Intel's vice president and general manager of the Graphics Development Group, in an interview at the Computex exhibition in Taipei. "We spend a lot of time working with our motherboard partners to figure out all the hidden bits inside, helping them figure out how to bring the best out of these platforms," Mentzer said. In the past and sometimes even today Intel used to lock down its chips to prevent them from overclocking, and that's exactly the time when terms like "FSB wall" started to mean something. Now the company is focusing to eliminate all the overclocking obstacles for us, but that will come with the cost of the warranty which won't cover death chips that were overclocked. Now comes the perfect time to ask, how is Intel going to know if my motherboard or CPU were overclocked?

When it comes to hot news from MSI, my favourite source has always been bit-tech.net. These guys have some very good connections with MSI. Now a week before Computex 2008, they have convinced MSI to let them get a close-up look at Intel's next generation Nehalem architecture, which is based on the Bloomsfield CPU platform and Tylersberg chipset also known under the X58 nomenclature. The following pictures show a 1366-pin quad-core Bloomsfield CPU (no model and specs for now) with HT support and integrated DDR3 memory controller. All Bloomsfield processors will require a new cooling. Regular LGA775 coolers won't fit. The Tylersberg X58 motherboard made by MSI has six DDR3 memory slots. Six becuase you'll need a minimum of three DDR3 DIMMs to run in triple-channel mode. The chipset also features 36 lanes of PCI-Express 2.0, so you'll get a full x16 by x16 for at least two video card slots. The south bridge used with Tylersber is still ICH10, so don't expect extraordinary features when it comes to the number of SATA or USB 2.0 ports. Check out the rest of the pictures by the author Richard Swinburne over at bit-tech.net.

Today Intel Corporation and Micron Technology introduced the industry's first sub-40 nanometer (nm) NAND memory device, unveiling a 34nm 32 gigabit (Gb) multi-level cell chip. This process technology was jointly developed by Intel and Micron and manufactured by the companies' NAND flash joint venture, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT). It is the smallest NAND process geometry on the market. The 32 Gb NAND chip is the only monolithic device at this density that fits into a standard 48-lead thin small-outline package (TSOP), providing a cost-effective path to higher densities in existing applications. Shipments of customer samples begin in June and mass production is expected during the second half of this year calendar.

In addition to Intel's highly anticipated single-core Atom (Diamondville) processors, according to unnamed sources the company is also in the works for a dual-core version of the chips in Q3 2008. The first dual-core Atom processor to see light is believed to be named the Atom N330. It will feature two HT (Hyper-Threading) capable cores, 1.6GHz clock speed, 533MHz FSB, 1MB of L2 cache and a TDP rating of 8W. The chip will be aimed at Netbooks, low-cost laptops and desktops.

Chip maker Intel will delay the introduction of its highly anticipated "Montevina" platform referred to as Centrino 2 due to technical and certification problems, the chipmaker said Tuesday. The initial rollout scheduled to take place after Computex and until July 14 is not going to happen. Instead, the release date has been pushed back by one month to August 2008. The problems behind this delay include the certification of the Wi-Fi wireless standard and technical issues with the Centrino 2 integrated graphics chipset, which is causing random failures. Because of that Intel will launch only the Centrino 2 CPUs and some of its chipsets on July 14th. The Centrino 2 processors will include the "T" and "X" (Extreme) models. Other parts of the new Montevina platform as well as the faulty chipsets will need to be rechecked, causing this delay to prolong to a month. "Initially what will be available on July 14 are the (Centrino 2) processors and some of the chipsets," Intel spokesperson Connie Brown said.

After moving all 45nm Xeon DP quad core processors from the C-O to the E-0 stepping, Intel announced today that three more 45nm processors will also be upgraded to E-0. The two desktop Core 2 Duo E8400 and E8500 plus the server Xeon E3110 CPUs will all be updated to the E-0 stepping next month. Changes that will come with the E-0 stepping include:

- CPUID will change from 0x10676 to 0x1067A
- Power Status Indicator (PSI) is supported
- PECI implementation change
- New instructions added - XSAVE/XRSTOR
- New ISA extension for save/restoring context of x87, SSE, and future processor state
- New feature added - ACNT2
- Improved mechanism for determining processor utilization. To be used for more efficient P-state determination.
- Package change to Halide free package

The E-0 processors will not require any BIOS updates. They'll be easily recognisable by the new sSpec numbers: SLB9J for E8400, SLB9K for E8500 and SLB9C for E3110.

According to a report written by the Taiwanese Digitimes website, Intel is planning to promote new SSD drives with its upcoming Centrino 2 platform (Montevina). Dubbed Intel High Perofmance SSD, Intel will place these SSDs mainly in enterprise, mid-range and high-end notebook offerings. First Intel will release two models - 2.5-inch Client X25-M and 1.8-inch Client X18-M. Both drives will boast 80GB capacity and SATA interface. The report goes on to say that Intel plans to increase storage capacities up to 160GB by the end of the fourth quarter, and up to 250GB and above in 2009.

DigiTimes, citing anonymous sources at notebook makers, claims that Intel has already set the prices for six 45nm dual-core notebook processors, planned to launch in late June along with Intel's Centrino 2 notebook platform.

The CPUs will have model numbers of X9100, T9600, P9500, T9400, P8600 and P9400 and be priced at US$851, US$530, US$348, US$316, US$241 and US$209, respectively, in thousand-unit tray quantities. In the third quarter, Intel will launch the quad-core Core 2 Extreme QX9300 priced at US$1,038 for the enthusiast market, and will follow up with a more moderately priced Q9100 in the fourth quarter, added the sources.

Today's report from DigiTimes, comes to inform us that Intel is planning to cut the prices of its desktop processors in the third quarter of this year.

The performance-level Core 2 Quad Q9650 with a core frequency of 3GHz will launch priced at US$530 in thousand-unit tray quantities, while the Core 2 Quad Q9550 will drop around 40% from its original price of US$530 to US$316. The Core 2 Quad 9450, currently priced at US$316, will be phased out of the market to be replaced by the Core 2 Quad 9400 at 2.66GHz and a price of US$266. The Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Q6700 will both be phased out at the same time too, leaving the Q6600 as the only 65nm quad-core CPU left in Intel's lineup, and which will drop from US$224 to US$203. For dual-core CPUs, Intel will launch the Core 2 Duo E8600 at 3.33GHz and US$266, and will phase out the Core 2 Duo E8300. The company will also drop pricing for the Core 2 Duo E8500 and E8400 from US$266 and US$183 to US$183 and US$163, respectively. Intel will also add the Core 2 Duo E7300 at 2.66GHz and US$133 to its entry-level line and to drop the price of its Core 2 Duo E7200 from US$133 to US$113.

Addressing the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2008, Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett announced that Intel Capital and Grameen Trust will form a business venture dedicated to social and economic development. Also during his opening-day keynote, Barrett announced collaboration with NetHope and demonstrated a new Aid Station device designed to support non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their health care, disaster relief and economic growth efforts.

According to a product change notification sent to Intel customers yesterday, Intel will be moving all of its 45nm Xeon DP processors from the C-O to the E-0 stepping. A total of 18 processors will get a new CPUID (0xA005b013): the Quad-Core Intel Xeon X5482, X5460, X5450, X5472, E5450, E5472, E5440, E5462, E5430, E5420, E5410, E5405, L5420, L5410 and dual-core Xeon X5272, X5260, E5205, and Intel Core 2 Duo L5240 processors. The new stepping chips will have the same specs, only the Xeon DP X5482 CPU will have its TDP changed from 150W (C-0) to 130W (E-0). However, a BIOS update will be required in order to run the new stepping CPUs. First E-0 samples are expected to become available on July 3rd. The updated processors are scheduled to begin shipping on October 6th.

Leaked slides from Intel are floating around the Internet saying that Intel X58 paired with ICH10/R southbridge will be the first chipset combo to support Intel Bloomfield desktop processors, part of Intel's 45nm Nehalem architecture. The following list shows only a few of the new features that will be presented with Intel's forthcoming high-end platform:

• Intel Bloomfield is a 45nm quad core processor that supports 8 processing threads and use LGA 1366 Socket
• Bloomfield CPUs will come with 8MB of shared L2 cache
• Bloomfield supports IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) and triple-channel DDR3 RAM
• Bloomfield supports QPI and adds seven more SSE4 instructions.
• Motherboards with Intel X58 chipset that will support Bloomfield processors will utilize PCI-e 2.0 slots working in dual x16 or Quad x8 configurations.

Some of you waiting for Intel P45 might consider this article rather interesting. After spending some time talking in depth to a couple of MSI's P45 engineers and Tony Leach from OCZ Technology, the guys over at bit-tech.net reported that Intel P45 motherboards will be more complex for overclocking than current mainstream motherboards. With Intel P45 you'll need to spend extra time learning how to fine tweak settings like GTL Reference Voltages, CPU VTT and its relation to GTLs, Clock Skews, CPU PLL Voltages typically available only in current high-end X48 chipsets.

Overclocking Intel's P45 is said to be more complex than it has been on previous boards - you're going to need to do a lot of specialist fine tuning. After spending time today talking in depth to a couple of MSI's P45 engineers and considerably more to Tony Leach from OCZ Technology, who spends a lot of time QAing BIOSes for companies like Asus, DFI and MSI, it looks like overclocking is going to become an increasingly more complicated art with the release of Intel's P45 chipset, as it mirrors many of the tweaks the current high-end X48 chipset offers.

Continue reading the full story here and let us know what you think.

Digitimes reports that Intel gained SSD orders from Google for some of their US servers according to unspecified sources. The widespread integration of NAND flash memory will likely quicken the price drop of consumer SSDs.

Google plans to switch some of its servers over to solid-state drive-based (SSD-based) storage supplied by Intel in order to lower electricity consumption, according to sources at memory makers. The more power efficient SSDs will be installed at severs at Google's US headquarters. Intel will supply flash chips and Marvell the corresponding controller ICs, the sources detailed. Shipments are slated for late second quarter, they added. With the increasing use of SSDs in server applications, a shortage for 16Gb and 32Gb NAND flash chips could become a possibility, the sources commented.

NASA, Intel and SGI today announced the signing of an agreement establishing intentions to collaborate on significantly increasing the space agency's supercomputer performance and capacity. Under the terms of a Space Act Agreement, NASA will work closely with Intel and SGI to increase computational capabilities for modeling and simulation at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

Clearwire Corporation and Sprint Nextel Corporation today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine their next generation wireless broadband businesses to form a new wireless communications company. The new company, which will be named Clearwire, will be focused on expediting the deployment of the first nationwide mobile WiMAX network to provide a true mobile broadband experience for consumers, small businesses, medium and large enterprises, public safety organizations and educational institutions.

Intel was reported today to bring forth the official announcement of its 4-series chipsets at Computex 2008 (June 3-7, 2008). First Intel 4-series P45 and P43 motherboards will start shipping shortly after wards. The report continues with four more 4-series chipsets that will ship two to three weeks after P45 and P43 series, due to hardware problems that need to be fixed. During that time Intel will work on the G45 and G43 IGP versions to correct issues with VC1 hardware decoding and to increase the graphics core frequency to 800MHz. Enterprise-based Q45 and Q43 chipsets are also set to undergo some changes because of system stability issues found in the current B2 versions when virtualization technology for directed I/O (Intel VT-d) is active.

Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics and TSMC have reached agreement on the need for industry-wide collaboration to target a transition to larger, 450mm-sized wafers starting in 2012. The transition to larger wafers will enable continued growth of the semiconductor industry and helps maintain a reasonable cost structure for future integrated circuit manufacturing and applications.

Intel has confirmed that it is facing production problems with its still unreleased Intel Atom chips, prompted by demands that exceed initial expectations. "We are working closely with our customers to meet their needs," said Intel spokesman Bill Calder. "We're just seeing better-than-anticipated demand." he added. The 45nm single core Intel Atom processor is based on an entirely new design, built for low power and designed specifically for ultra low-cost portable devices such as laptops. The official launch of the Atom chips is scheduled for release in June 2008. Mini-laptops powered by them will be available shortly after. More than 10 PC makers have already placed orders with Intel for Atom chips. However, initial reports suggest that Intel will be able to meet only 40% of these orders and expect the short supply of Atom chips to continue until the third quarter of 2008. Most affected by the shortage are companies like: Acer, Dell, MSI and GIGABYTE.

Cray Inc. and Intel Corporation announced today they signed a multi-year agreement to advance high-performance computing (HPC) on Intel microprocessors while delivering broad new Intel and Cray technologies in future Cray server systems. The collaboration of these two industry leaders will result in HPC systems that will help solve some of the world's most complex scientific, engineering and humanitarian challenges.

After yesterday's price reductions, Intel is now releasing a new 45nm dual-core processor. Previously reported in some Intel price charts, Intel Core 2 Duo E8300 is a 1333MHz FSB CPU with 6MB of L2 cache, a 65W TDP and stock frequency of 2.83GHz. The CPU has already made its way into stores with a price of $163 in 1000-unit tray quantities.

Intel slashed today the prices of its 65nm Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad Q6600/Q6700 Kentsfield processors. The tray price of the Q6600, which has been the universal quad-core in Intel's line-up for more than a year, was dropped 16% from $266 to $224. More important than the Q6600 drop, Q6700 which had a tray price of $530 now costs $266 - almost 50% cheaper.
Other price reductions include the 65nm, 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo E6850 (-31% to $183), which now matches the price of the 45nm E8400 (3.0GHz) as well as the Pentium E2200 (-12% to $74), the E2180 (-14% to $64), the Celeron 560 (-20% to $107), the Celeron 550 (-20% to $86), the Celeron 440 (-17% to $44) and the Celeron 430 (-23% to $34).

Another day, another world record broken. K|ngp|n, well known for his LN2 cooling projects and many previous world records, has become the first man to pass the 6GHz barrier with dual Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processors (3.2GHz) and Intel Skulltrail enthusiast gaming platform. Who would of guessed that 8 cores can run at this insane speed? Here are two new wPrime world records as well, 32MB @ 3.450s and 1024M @ 1m 52s respectively. More results here.

In a brief conversation Helen Ling, an ASUS representative from the company's UK office, told TechRadar that Intel Atom based Eee PC systems are also going to debut soon. When asked about the arrival of Intel Atom inside the Eee PC she said that the new machine will arrive by the "end of June in [the] UK, I would have thought." Later in the session Ling also added: "I think it should be after Computex". Atom will debut during the 28th Taipei International Information Technology Show (Computex 2008) which will run from June 3 to June 7, 2008. Current ASUS Eee PC 900 low-cost laptops are still powered by a Celeron M processor.