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Posts tagged as “CPU”

Apple announces new M3 Family of Processors

October 31, 2023

In an event called ‘Scary Fast,’ Apple officially unveil the next general M-series processors; M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max.

The M-series processors based on a 3nm manufacturing process, which will allow Apple to pack more transistors onto a smaller die. This will lead to significant performance and efficiency.

The M3 is expected to be a direct successor to the M2 chip, which is currently used in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac. The M3 feature an 8-core CPU, offers up to 35% faster than M1 for CPU performance, and a 10-core GPU, which is 65% faster than M1 for graphics. The M3 CPU supports 24GB of unified memory.

As powerful as the M3 CPU, the M3 Pro and M3 Max are expected to be even more powerful than the M3. The M3 Pro will feature a 12-core CPU and a 18-core GPU while the M3 Max will have 40-core CPU and a 16-core GPU. Both the M3 Pro and M3 Max will support up to 36GB and up to 128GB of unified memory, respectively.

In addition to the performance and efficiency improvement, the M3 family is also expected to bring a number of new features to the Mac. The M3 family will support AV1 decoding, which would allow users to watch high-resolution AV1 videos without using much battery life.

As more performance gains, the new M3 Processors also have an enhanced Neural Engine to accelerate powerful machine learning (ML) models. The Neural Engine is up to 60 percent faster than in the M1 family of chips, making AI/ML workflows even faster while keeping data on device to preserve privacy.

“Apple silicon has completely redefined the Mac experience. Every aspect of its architecture is designed for performance and power efficiency,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “With 3-nanometer technology, a next-generation GPU architecture, a higher-performance CPU, faster Neural Engine, and support for even more unified memory, M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max are the most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer.”

The M3 family will be powering new MacBook Pros and iMacs, which was also announced at the event, and is expected to be in the next generation MacBook Air and Mac minis, as well as future generations of Macs.

Intel Announces 14th Gen Core Desktop Processors

October 17, 2023

Intel has officially announced the launch of its 14th Generation Core desktop processors. The new lineup, based on the refreshed Raptor Lake architecture, includes the Core i9-14900K/KF, the Core i7-14700K/KF, and the Core i5-14600K/KF2.

The 14th Gen Core desktop processors come in a variety of configurations, delivering up to 24 cores and 32 threads and up to 6 GHz of frequency right out of the box. The top-of-the-line Core i9-14900K processor has a boost frequency of up to6 GHz speeds, making it the fastest desktop processor from Intel to date.

In addition to the performance improvements, the 14th Gen Core desktop processors also include a number of new features, such as support for DDR5 5600 and DDR4 3200 memory speeds. The processors also feature Intel’s new Thread Director technology, which intelligently allocates workloads to the right cores at the right time.

The new 14th gen chips will feature integrated support for Wi-Fi 6/6E and Bluetooth 5.3, as well as discrete support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.42. There is also support for Thunderbolt 4 as well as upcoming Thunderbolt 5 wired connectivity – supporting up to 80 Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth.

Intel Core 14th Gen desktop processors will be available at retail outlets and via OEM partner systems starting Oct. 17, 2023. They will be compatible with existing 600/700-series motherboards.

Pricing for the new Intel Core 14th Gen desktop processors will be the same as the previous generations, Core i9-14900K at $589, Core i7-1700K at $409, and the Core i5-14600K for $319.