When it comes to scaling x86 servers, it's smarter to think inside the box
by Tom Yager on March 26, 2008
Scale up is the factor that has kept proprietary Unix big iron in business. Linux on a commodity two-socket Intel server was supposed to push HP, IBM, and Sun out of business. It looks that way if you see a rack chassis as a rack chassis without regard for what's inside. But scale-up maximizes everything from power savings and server consolidation ratio to server longevity, with the bonus of lower long-term costs and higher availability. All AMD Opteron servers scale up. It's baked into the CPU, the bus, and the total system architecture. AMD's strategy is to make it possible to scale up any Opteron server for five years with only a CPU swap, no new server required. This stands in stark contrast to Intel's "tick tock" plan that attempts to nail IT to the stereotypical two-year purchasing cycle. Intel's two-year cycle of obsoleting chips makes parts scarce and expensive, so that if you do buy an Intel-based server with empty sockets with plans to scale it up, it's unlikely that CPUs precisely matching the models you have now will be available, and the availability of FB-DIMM memory at your existing Intel servers' speed may be rare as well. AMD's five-year plan is more in line with the way IBM treats, and retains, its customers.
Read more here -->Link
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Microsoft Marks Xbox 360 Cheaters, Resets Gamerscores to Zero
Microsoft gets medieval on cheaters obsessed with Achievements
By Marcus Yam - March 26, 2008
“Cheaters never win,” as the saying goes, and Microsoft is making it apply to users of its Xbox Live service. Today, those who have used exploits to artificially boost their Gamerscore, a numerical score presented alongside an Xbox 360 gamer’s profile account signifying their in-game achievements, found that Microsoft has reset their score to zero. “Today we took action on some of the accounts we have identified as the most serious offenders who have violated the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use by tampering with their Gamerscore and Achievements,” explained Xbox Live community manager Larry Hyrb.
Read more here -->Link
By Marcus Yam - March 26, 2008
“Cheaters never win,” as the saying goes, and Microsoft is making it apply to users of its Xbox Live service. Today, those who have used exploits to artificially boost their Gamerscore, a numerical score presented alongside an Xbox 360 gamer’s profile account signifying their in-game achievements, found that Microsoft has reset their score to zero. “Today we took action on some of the accounts we have identified as the most serious offenders who have violated the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use by tampering with their Gamerscore and Achievements,” explained Xbox Live community manager Larry Hyrb.
Read more here -->Link
Source: Nvidia to make graphics chipsets for Via processors
By Sumner Lemon , IDG News Service , 03/26/2008
Graphics chip vendor Nvidia will produce graphic chipsets designed to work with Via Technologies' processors, including its upcoming Isaiah chip, according to a source familiar with the situation. Via has its own graphics subsidiary, S3 Graphics, but the company's products are not generally considered a match for Nvidia's top-line graphics chips. Teaming up with Nvidia gives Via access to cutting-edge graphics just as the processor vendor is gearing up to launch Isaiah, a low-power processor that will compete against Intel's Atom processor in low-cost laptops, the source said, confirming a report that first appeared on The Inquirer.
Read more here -->Link
Graphics chip vendor Nvidia will produce graphic chipsets designed to work with Via Technologies' processors, including its upcoming Isaiah chip, according to a source familiar with the situation. Via has its own graphics subsidiary, S3 Graphics, but the company's products are not generally considered a match for Nvidia's top-line graphics chips. Teaming up with Nvidia gives Via access to cutting-edge graphics just as the processor vendor is gearing up to launch Isaiah, a low-power processor that will compete against Intel's Atom processor in low-cost laptops, the source said, confirming a report that first appeared on The Inquirer.
Read more here -->Link
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)