Facebook’s Vice President of Technical Operations says that new chips from AMD and Intel don’t deliver promised performance increases.
During an interview with GigaOm founder Om Malik at GigaOm’s Structure ‘09 conference, Facebook VP of Technical Operations Jonathan Heiliger was asked about unexpected problems the company had experienced while trying to keep up with Facebook’s growing population.
"The biggest thing (that) surprised us is ... less-than-anticipated performance gains from new micro-architectures -- so, new CPUs from guys like Intel and AMD. The performance gains they're touting in the press, we're not seeing in our applications," Heiliger told Malik. "And we're, literally in real time right now, trying to figure out why that is."
Heliger went on to declare that OEMs just “don’t get it.”
“You guys don't get it. To build servers for companies like Facebook, and Amazon, and other people who are operating fairly homogeneous applications, the servers have to be cheap, and they have to be super power-efficient," said Heiliger. “And that doesn’t just mean putting in a really highly efficient power supply. It means going all the way down, basically starting at the wall outlet, all the way to the processor and figuring out how to optimize that power path,” he continued. “Google has done a great job designing and building its own servers for this kind of use.”
Check out the full video of the interview here.
Source : Tom's Hardware US
Facebook VP Slams Intel, AMD Server Chips
Iran Uses AMD for Rocket Research
A research institute in Iran claims that it built a high-performance computing system using AMD CPUs.
According to a document provided by the Aerospace Research Institute of Iran (ARI), it used dual-core AMD Opteron CPUs to build a high-performance computing (HPC) system for rocket research. Apparently, the SuSE Linux-based HPC system originally booted with 32 cores, but now provides a whopping 96 cores at 192 GFLOPS. The story originally appeared in the print version of Computerworld, and since its publication, the Iranian research facility has removed the documentation and related website.
Outside the obvious issues with rocket research utilizing American technology, the big deal here is that AMD processors are not allowed within Iranian borders due to technology trade embargo. "AMD has never authorized any sales or shipments of AMD products to Iran or any other embargoed country, either directly or indirectly," the company said in a statement.
However, according to Mehdi Noorbaksh, an associate professor of international affairs at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania, Iran buys most of its technology on the black market. "That market provides Iran with what the authorities need for these projects," Noorbaksh said.
The ARI's disclosure is not the first American-embedded device to appear in Iran. Computerworld reports that technology from the U.S. is widely available in the country, and many Iranian firms actually advertise computer components, networking products and even servers from many U.S. vendors on their websites.
Windows 7 Successfully Installed on a Pentium II
What are the minimum system requirements for running Windows 7?
When Microsoft made the Windows 7 RC available, it also issued an official list of system requirements for anyone hoping to install the OS:
* 1GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
* 1GB of main memory
* 16GB of available disk space
* Support for DX9 graphics with 128MB of memory (for the Aero interface)
Not exactly monstrous and the same as what you needed to run Vista years ago. That said, one Windows enthusiast decided to push the limits and in a kind of “how low can you go” scenario, managed to get Microsoft’s latest OS running on a Pentium II at 266 MHz CPU, 96 MB of RAM and a 4 MB graphics card.
The user hackerman1 posted about his efforts on the Windows Club Forums for the world to see and his fellow posters we, like the other users on the forum, were suitably impressed. Hackerman1 said he did three different tests (128 MB, 96 MB and 64 MB of RAM). Of these, he had success with both 128 MB and 96 MB, while his 64 MB attempt returned error messages reading “insufficient memory.”
Hackerman1 went on to say that he also has a Pentium I with a 166 MHz CPU and a 1 MB graphics card and says if he can dig up the PSU, he’s going to test that next. Check out the screenshots below.
No Wallpaper Swapping in Win 7 SE
Users, OEMs and Microsoft partners will not be able to change the wallpaper within Windows 7 Starter Edition.
While many consumers anxiously await the arrival of Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system, recently controversy has surrounded the Starter Edition version. Originally, SE would only allow three programs to run in the background at one time, however Microsoft eventually relented and lifted the restriction. Albeit not quite as drastic, now another restriction has surfaced: the inability to change the desktop wallpaper.
According to Within Windows, consumers cannot swap out the original windows wallpaper, change the colors or sound schemes. Apparently the same now holds true for OEMs and partners, a feature said companies normally modify in-house before shipping to retail outlets. Although Windows 7 Starter Edition isn’t available on the market, Microsoft recently confirmed the SE’s upcoming limitation in a short but firm statement.
“In Windows Starter Edition, OEMs must not modify or replace the Windows-provided background for Windows Welcome, the logon screen, or the desktop,” the company confirmed.
As of this writing, Microsoft has not yet revealed the official desktop background for SE. Consumers wanting to switch out the wallpaper for images of Fluffy or the in-laws will need to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. However, it’s highly likely that a wallpaper workaround will be available online long before the OS makes its debut this October.
Source : Tom's Hardware US
Intel Reveals Core i3, i5, i7 CPU Naming System
Lynnfield, Clarksfield, Arrandale, Clarkdale – all codenames for upcoming Intel chips based on the latest architecture and all very confusing.
Today we know that the “Core” family for the performance segment goes mainly from Core 2 Duo to Core 2 Quad all the way to the top with Core i7. But with Core 2 on the way out to be replaced by new CPUs later this year, Intel needs to sort out its naming and branding conventions to that consumers will be able to figure out what they’re buying.
Intel corporate communications manager Bill Calder wrote in a blog post, “Today the Intel Core brand has a mind boggling array of derivatives (such as Core2 Duo and Core 2 Quad, etc). Over time those will go away and in its place will be a simplified family of Core processors spanning multiple levels: Intel Core i3 processor, Intel Core i5 processor, and Intel Core i7 processors.”
“Core i3 and Core i5 are new modifiers and join the previously announced Intel Core i7 to round out the family structure. It is important to note that these are not brands but modifiers to the Intel Core brand that signal different features and benefits,” Calder added.
The new Core line will be naturally be position from bottom to top Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7. The odd-numbers convention makes sense with the possibility that some consumers may confused Core 2 Duo and Quad with 2 and 4.
The desktop processors codenamed Lynnfield, which are due this fall, will marketed as both Core i5 or Core i7, depending upon the feature set and capability. Interestingly, all Clarksfield mobile chips will have the Core i7 name.
The lower-cost line will remain mostly unchanged with the Celeron being the entry point, the Pentium for basic computing and the Atom doing what it’s been doing to the netbook and MID segment.
“For PC purchasing, think in terms of good-better-best with Celeron being good, Pentium better, and the Intel Core family representing the best we have to offer,” said Calder. “This will be an evolutionary process taking place over time, and we acknowledge that multiple brands will be in the market next year including older ones, as we make the transition. But overall this is a good thing, designed to make it easier and more rational over the long run.”
Source : Tom's Hardware US
