• Wednesday, May 23, 12:41 PM An L.A. Times article about a 2010 game-development contract between Activision (ATVI) and developer Bungie suggest the next Xbox (MSFT) will be called the Xbox 720, and arrive in fall 2013. Past rumors (I, II, III) have suggested the device will sport an ARM-based (ARMH) CPU and AMD graphics processor, and will be accompanied by a low-end model focused on Kinect play. 3 Comments [Tech]
• Wednesday, May 23, 10:28 AM For whom the Dell tolls: As the IT giant's FQ1 miss and commentary lead to a tech selloff, PC-related names get hit harder than most, no doubt thanks to the 10% drop seen in Dell's (DELL -15.8%) notebook sales. Rival H-P (HPQ -4.4%), due to report this afternoon, is among the biggest losers. Also selling off: INTC -3.1%. MSFT -3.2%. AMD -3.1%. LOGI -3.3%. (more on DELL) 3 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
• Tuesday, May 22, 12:19 PM In tandem with Windows 8's fall launch, AMD is planning to release a new low-voltage CPU line, codenamed Hondo. Though based on an older 40nm manufacturing process, Hondo chips will consume only 4W-5W of power, making them rivals to Intel's (INTC) upcoming Clover Trail CPUs. AMD's Trinity CPU line, released last week, has been praised for its battery life gains, though commentary about its performance has been muted. Comment! [Tech]
• Monday, May 21, 10:24 AM Nvidia (NVDA) rolls out a line of low-end graphics processors - the GeForce GT 610, GT 620, and GT 630. Unlike recently-launched high-end products, the chips aren't based on Nvidia's cutting-edge 28nm Kepler architecture, but on its older 40nm Fermi architecture. The chips could face stiff competition from the graphics processors built into Intel's Ivy Bridge and AMD's Trinity CPUs. Comment! [Tech]
• Tuesday, May 15, 7:09 PM Steven Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors sold off more than 1M shares of Apple (AAPL) in Q1, and increased stakes in several other techs, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Cisco (CSCO), Oracle (ORCL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). The firm also cut is holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and sold off sizable chunks of ExxonMobil (XOM) and Pfizer (PFE). 16 Comments [Tech, Energy, Commodities]
• Tuesday, May 15, 12:03 PM AMD has officially unveiled its next-gen A-Series CPUs, codenamed Trinity. Trinity is the successor to AMD's Llano, and will compete with Intel's (INTC) Ivy Bridge. Though its 32nm manufacturing process is less advanced than Ivy Bridge's 22nm, 3D-transistor tech, reviews turn up superior graphics performance to go with inferior-but-adequate CPU performance. Battery life gains relative to Llano are also reported - that could help "ultrathin" Trinity systems compete with Ivy Bridge-based ultrabooks. 1 Comment [Tech]
• Tuesday, May 15, 11:28 AM MIPS (MIPS +6.7%) rallies after receiving an upgrade to Buy from Benchmark's Gary Mobley, who thinks the present royalty value of MIPS' patent portfolio is $3.40/share, or nearly half its current stock price. Mobley adds a court could find "some portion of MIPS' competition" is violating its IP. It was reported last month that MIPS has hired Goldman to find a buyer, and a later report claimed AMD is among the interested parties. 1 Comment [Tech, On the Move, Quick Ideas]
• Monday, May 14, 6:35 PM In-line with earlier rumors, The Verge and ABC News report Apple's upcoming MacBook Pros (AAPL) will sport Nvidia (NVDA) graphics processors to go with retina displays; current models use AMD graphics chips. According to an earlier 9to5 Mac report, there are signs the 15" Pro will use Nvidia's GeForce GT 650M, a high-end chip. Comment! [Tech]
• Monday, May 14, 2:18 PM Intel (INTC) announces new additions to its Xeon server CPU line. The chips include the high-end E5-4600 family, which are based on Intel's recently-launched Romley platform, and the low-end E3-1200 v2 family, which is based on its Ivy Bridge architecture and aimed at the rapidly growing high-density server market. AMD is aggressively going after the high-density market via its acquisition of SeaMicro. 1 Comment [Tech]
• Wednesday, May 9, 10:15 AM TSMC (TSM), trying to cope with limited manufacturing capacity for its cutting-edge 28nm process, has reportedly given priority for 28nm capacity to Nvidia (NVDA), which is using TSMC's process to make its just-launched Kepler graphics processors. It's added TSMC has already done the same for Qualcomm (QCOM), which blamed its soft June quarter chip guidance on TSMC's 28nm issues. Will other 28nm customers such as AMD, BRCM, and XLNX lose out? 2 Comments [Tech]
• Monday, May 7, 1:44 PM IBM bolsters its commitment to Linux, which has been rapidly growing its server share, by introducing a line of servers based on its Power CPUs that will exclusively run the open-source OS. Big Blue is hoping the performance of the systems will convince enterprises to accept their higher cost relative to Linux servers running on Intel (INTC) and AMD CPUs. IBM partner Red Hat (RHT) has to be pleased with the development. 1 Comment [Tech]
• Monday, May 7, 11:37 AM Nvidia (NVDA +2.8%) trades higher after Nomura's Romit Shah upgrades the company to Buy ahead of its Friday FQ1 report. Shah notes Nvidia has a 20% free cash flow yield relative to its enterprise value, and believes the Street is assigning no value to its Tegra mobile processor business. He also sees Nvidia taking graphics processor share from AMD, thanks to new design wins with Apple and other OEMs. Comment! [Tech, On the Move, Quick Ideas]
• Thursday, May 3, 10:15 AM Though Q1 PC sales were better than expected and positive supply-chain data has emerged in recent weeks, Digitimes reports retailers have become conservative about their Q2 outlooks, out of concern consumers will hold off on purchases until Windows 8 (MSFT) arrives. Nonetheless, they expect demand to eventually pick up thanks to Windows 8 and the release of cheaper Intel (INTC) Ivy Bridge CPUs. Comment! [Tech]
• Monday, April 23, 1:34 PM The first reviews for Intel's (INTC) just-released Ivy Bridge CPUs praise their graphics performance (previous) and power draw, while noting gains relative to Sandy Bridge for non-graphics intensive apps are relatively modest. AnandTech sees Ivy Bridge putting the market for sub-$80 graphics cards featuring AMD and NVDA GPUs at risk, while Tom's Hardware sees its thermal improvements as evidence of Intel's focus on smaller form factors such as ultrabooks and iMacs. Comment! [Tech]
• Monday, April 23, 9:36 AM Intel (INTC) has released the first CPUs in its anticipated Ivy Bridge line, which leverages a 22nm manufacturing process and Intel's 3D transistor technology. As expected, the first chips are relatively high-end Core i5 and Core i7 parts. Digitimes claims there are already shortages due to capacity or yield issues. It's added TSMC's (TSM) 28nm supply issues, which have bitten Qualcomm, are also affecting Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD's graphics processor sales. Comment! [Tech]
• Monday, April 23, 9:05 AM Premarket gainers: RDEA +51%. CEDC +20%. KERX +16%. AMLN +12%. PLX +5%.
  Losers: ACHN -14%. ING -7%. CHKP -6%. MT -5%. MT -5%. DB -5%. WMT -5%. AKS -4%. RIO -4%. FSLR -4%. BAC -4%. EPI -4%. TOT -3%. ERIC -3%. NG -3%. FCX -3%. TEF -3%. F -3%. CS -3%. MS -3%. X -3%. RVBD -3%. AMD -3%. 1 Comment [On the Move]