Hardware researcher spins up ‘CPU deoptimization’ project to find the slowest single x86 instruction, creates hall of shame — worst offender takes 198 billion cycles spanning 62 seconds to execute
 Hardware researcher spins up ‘CPU deoptimization’ project to find the slowest single x86 instruction, creates hall of shame — worst offender takes 198 billion cycles spanning 62 seconds to execute

One hardware researcher, Christopher Domas (@xoreaxeaxeax on GitHub), is taking a different approach with the CPU Deoptimization leaderboard, which looks not to make Assembly instructions run as fast as possible, but as slow as possible to find the single instruction with the highest latency.

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Amazon cracks down on ‘CPU waste’ among engineers as agentic AI crunch intensifies — CPU demand makes low-utilization EC2 instances a hot commodity [Updated]
 Amazon cracks down on ‘CPU waste’ among engineers as agentic AI crunch intensifies — CPU demand makes low-utilization EC2 instances a hot commodity [Updated]

Amazon Web Services is telling engineers to slow down on EC2 usage as it struggles to meet CPU capacity demand for external customers.

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AMD’s upcoming Zen 6 processors could fix microstutters and improve 1% lows in games — Next-gen CPUs tipped to feature per-core optimizations for thermal and power budgets

A new report suggests AMD is cooking up a range of per-core optimizations for Zen 6 that might not seem huge on their own, but they could add up to make a world of difference in gaming performance.

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30 years of CPUs at Tom’s Hardware — looking back on three decades of processors, from the Pentium II to Ryzen 9 9950X3D2
 30 years of CPUs at Tom’s Hardware — looking back on three decades of processors, from the Pentium II to Ryzen 9 9950X3D2

Tom’s Hardware has been covering CPUs for 30 years, and to celebrate, we’re looking back on the last three decades of CPU reviews and how the dynamics between Intel and AMD have shifted in that time.

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Intel licenses Atom-class x86 cores to startup — firm reportedly sharing RTL, enabling customer to build its own custom processors based on x86 general-purpose cores
 Intel licenses Atom-class x86 cores to startup — firm reportedly sharing RTL, enabling customer to build its own custom processors based on x86 general-purpose cores

Intel reportedly licenses Atom-class x86 cores to a startup led by Lip-Bu Tan’s co-investor and incorporated in May.

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Intel’s upcoming Nova Lake desktop SKU to require 65W of separate power delivery for its iGPU, leaker claims — beefy integrated graphics could require two VCCGT phases for 12 Xe3P cores

Intel seems to be working on a 16-core Nova Lake desktop APU with 12 Xe3P cores that will require 65W of power delivery on their own to achieve maximum performance. Two separate VCCGT phases will be needed to power said integrated graphics, since one phase can’t sustain up to 65W.

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Intel unveiled its iconic Core 2 Duo family 20 years ago — legendary chip dethroned AMD Athlon, restoring the chipmaker’s performance lead
 Intel unveiled its iconic Core 2 Duo family 20 years ago — legendary chip dethroned AMD Athlon, restoring the chipmaker’s performance lead

Today marks 20 years since the first raft of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, codename Conroe, was launched.

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AMD splits Zen 7 into three EPYC families for 2028 and starts selling server CPUs by the agent — Florence, Ferrara, and Fidenza to be applied across AI-focused product stack
 AMD splits Zen 7 into three EPYC families for 2028 and starts selling server CPUs by the agent — Florence, Ferrara, and Fidenza to be applied across AI-focused product stack

The company named Florence, Ferrara, and Fidenza in its launch release, extended its annual CPU, GPU, networking, and rack cadence out to 2030.

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3D-printed F-14 Tomcat uses an FPGA recreation of the ‘world’s first microprocessor’ — CADC’s MP944 chip controls the fighter’s swing-wing system, among other things

An FPGA and embedded systems expert has recreated the US Navy’s F-14 Tomcat’s Central Air Data Computer (CADC) in an FPGA. It is demonstrated in a scale 3D printed model aircraft

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Intel commits to 14A mass production in 2028 as its sales rise 25% year-over-year
 Intel commits to 14A mass production in 2028 as its sales rise 25% year-over-year

Intel posts 25% higher year-over-year sales and above-the-guidance earnings, and confirms that its 14A technology is on-track to start high volume ramp in 2028.

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