One of AMD’s main selling points it likes to promote is towards the gamer, especially those on a tighter budget. This subsequently suggests to the motherboard manufacturers to build models oriented for gaming. MSI’s Gaming Range has beco…
Today Acer announced four new models of a new 13.3″ Chromebook design featuring Tegra K1. This is a significant launch for NVIDIA, proving there’s industry interest in Tegra K1 after the disappointing interest in Tegra 4 and notching NVIDIA their first Chromebook design win.
NVIDIA has two versions of the Tegra K1, one implementing a 4+1 configuration of ARM Cortex A15s, and another implementing two custom designed NVIDIA Denver CPUs. Acer’s new Chomebooks feature the former, so we have yet to see Denver CPUs in the wild. Samsung previously shipped a Chromebook featuring Cortex A15s via its Exynos processor and HP used the same SoC in their Chromebook 11. Samsung has since refreshed their ARM Chromebooks a few times, with new models using the “Chromebook 2” branding.
The most significant portion of the Tegra K1 SoC is its 192 CUDA cores. Chromebook relies heavily on web based applications, but with the rise of WebGL there have been some experiments with browser based 3D games. There haven’t been any AAA title WebGL games yet, but when they arrive, this Chromebook should be well equipped to handle them; NVIDIA specifically mentions the upcoming Miss Take and Oort Online, as well as WebGL ports of Unreal Engine 4 and Unity 5.
NVIDIA claims up to 3X the WebGL performance of competing Chromebooks, with processor performance superior to the Exynos 5800 and Bay Trail Celeron N2830. Unfortunately, no performance comparisons between K1 and the Haswell Celeron 2955U were provided. Since both Haswell and Tegra K1 are available for the Chromebook platform, we’ll also have the opportunity to perform CPU and GPU benchmarking to directly compare the processors. We have requested a review sample when Acer makes them available.
Beyond the marquee feature of the Tegra K1 processor, the Acer Chromebook also includes 2×2 MIMO wireless AC, an anti-glare coating, and two models feature a 1080p display. Specifications provided by Acer are listed below; Acer provided the model numbers for the three available for presale, and there is a fourth configuration available through resellers where we do not yet have the model number. Acer states they will begin shipping the first week of September.
| Acer Chromebook 13 Models | |||||||||||
| Model | CB5-311-T7NN | CB5-311-T9B0 | ? | CB5-311-T1UU | |||||||
| SoC | NVIDIA Tegra K1 (2.1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra K1 (2.1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra K1 (2.1GHz) | NVIDIA Tegra K1 (2.1GHz) | |||||||
| Memory | 2GB | 2GB | 4GB | 4GB | |||||||
| Storage | 16GB SSD | 16GB SSD | 16GB SSD | 32GB SSD | |||||||
| Display |
1366×768 Anti Glare |
1920×1080 Anti Glare |
1366×768 Anti Glare |
1920×1080 Anti Glare |
|||||||
| Manufacturer Estimated Battery Life | 13 hours | 11 Hours | 13 hours | 11 Hours | |||||||
| Battery Size | 4-cell 3220mAh 48Wh | 4-cell 3220mAh 48Wh | 4-cell 3220mAh 48Wh | 4-cell 3220mAh 48Wh | |||||||
| Networking |
802.11ac 2×2 MIMO |
802.11ac 2×2 MIMO |
802.11ac 2×2 MIMO |
802.11ac 2×2 MIMO |
|||||||
| Ports |
2x USB 3.0 HDMI 3.5mm Audio |
2x USB 3.0 HDMI 3.5mm Audio |
2x USB 3.0 HDMI 3.5mm Audio |
2x USB 3.0 HDMI 3.5mm Audio |
|||||||
| Extras |
720p Webcam Stero Speakers Microphone |
720p Webcam Stero Speakers Microphone |
720p Webcam Stero Speakers Microphone |
720p Webcam Stero Speakers Microphone |
|||||||
| Thickness | 0.71 in | 0.71 in | 0.71 in | 0.71 in | |||||||
| Weight | 3.31 lbs | 3.31 lbs | 3.31 lbs | 3.31 lbs | |||||||
| Price | $279.99 | $299.99 | $329.99 | $379.99 | |||||||
Source: Acer
The higher resolution displays drop battery life a couple hours, which isn’t too surprising, but overall battery life of 11-13 hours is still great for a Chromebook. The industrial design of the new Acer Chromebooks is also much better than on the previous models, with clean lines and a white body. The Acer Chromebook is also fanless, thanks to reduced power requirements for NVIDIA’s Tegra K1 SoC.
Overall pricing looks good, with the base model matching the price of HP’s current Chromebook 11 and the 1080p upgrade taking on the HP Chromebook 14. But the real competition is still going to be with Acer’s existing Chromebook C720, which can be found with 32GB storage and 2GB RAM and a Celeron 2955U for just $229. There’s also the question of size; the C720 was an 11.6″ Chromebook, and while some might prefer a smaller device the 13.3″ will likely be preferred by others. Samsung’s Chromebook 2 13.3, which has a 1080p display and 16GB of storage and 4GB of ram, likely needs a price drop to compete as it is listed for $399. Either way, with ChromeOS continuing to improve over time, Windows laptops continue to face increasing competition from alternative laptops.
On Thursday August 7th, NVIDIA released their results for the second quarter of their fiscal year 2015. Year-over-year, they had an excellent quarter based on strong growth in the PC GPU market, Datacenter and Cloud (GRID), and mobile with the Tegra line.
GAAP Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.103 billion which is flat from Q1 2015, but up 13% from $977 million at the same time last year. Gross margin for Q2 was up both sequentially and year-over-year at 56.1%. Net income for the quarter came in at $128 million, down 6% from Q1 and up 33% from Q2 2014. These numbers resulted in diluted earnings per share of $0.22, down 8% from Q1 and up 38% from Q2 last year but beating analysts expectations.
| NVIDIA Q2 2015 Financial Results (GAAP) | |||||
| In millions except EPS | Q2’2015 | Q1’2015 | Q2’2014 | Q/Q | Y/Y |
| Revenue | $1103 | $1103 | $977 | 0% | +13% |
| Gross Margin | 56.1% | 54.8% | 55.8% | +1.3% | +0.3% |
| Operating Expenses | $456 | $453 | $440 | +1% | +4% |
| Net Income | $128 | $137 | $96 | -6% | +33% |
| EPS | $0.22 | $0.24 | $0.16 | -8% | +38% |
| NVIDIA Q2 2015 Financial Results (Non-GAAP) | |||||
| In millions except EPS | Q2’2015 | Q1’2015 | Q2’2014 | Q/Q | Y/Y |
| Revenue | $1103 | $1103 | $977 | 0% | +13% |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 55.1% | 56.3% | +1.3% | +0.1% |
| Operating Expenses | $411 | $411 | $401 | 0% | +2% |
| Net Income | $173 | $166 | $133 | +4% | +30% |
| EPS | $0.30 | $0.29 | $0.23 | +3% | +30% |
The GPU business is the primary source of revenue for NVIDIA, and includes GeForce for desktops and notebook PCs, Quadro for workstations, Tesla for high performance computing, and GRID for cloud-enabled graphic solutions. This quarter, the GPU revenue rose 2% over Q2 2014 with $878 million in revenue. This is down 2% from the previous quarter due to the seasonal decline of consumer PCs. Revenue from the PC GPU line rose 10% over last year and was helped by the introduction of the GeForce GTX 750 and 750 Ti Maxwell based boards. They are also seeing growth in the Tesla datacenter business. Quadro revenue also increased, citing strong growth in mobile workstations.
The mobile side of NVIDIA hasn’t seen as many product wins compared to Qualcomm, but the Tegra business is still growing strongly for NVIDIA. Tegra revenue was up 14% from Q1 2015, and 200% from Q2 2014 with a total revenue of $159 million for the quarter. Tegra continues to have strong demand in the automotive infotainment sector, with a 74% growth in that market year-over-year. This could be a lucrative market, with automotive systems generally locking in for at least several years compared to the mobile sector which might see a product replaced in less than a single year. The Tegra K1 has just come to market though, and it has shown itself to be a capable performer and may win some more designs soon.
The last avenue of income for NVIDIA is $66 million per quarter in a licensing deal with Intel.
| NVIDIA Quarterly Revenue Comparison (GAAP) | |||||
| In millions | Q2’2015 | Q1’2015 | Q2’2014 | Q/Q | Y/Y |
| GPU | $878 | $898 | $858 | -2% | +2% |
| Tegra Processor | $159 | $139 | $53 | +14% | +200% |
| Other | $66 | $66 | $66 | flat | flat |
The company projected this quarter to be flat on revenue as compared to Q1, and they were exactly right. Projections for Q3 2015 are for revenue of $1.2 billion plus or minus 2%.
During the quarter, $47 million was paid in dividends and NVIDIA purchased 6.8 million shares back from investors. This brings them to $594 million of the $1 billion promised to shareholders for FY 2015. The next dividend of $0.085 per share will be paid on September 12th to all stockholders of record as of August 21st.
It was an excellent quarter for NVIDIA, and their stock prices jumped after the numbers were released. All segments of the company are growing at the moment, and with the recent release of the Tegra K1 they can only be hoping to have another strong quarter of mobile grown in Q3 after a great 200% jump in Tegra revenue since last year. The stronger than expected PC sales have helped their biggest business as well, with the GPU division up 2%. CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has worked to bring the company a more diversified portfolio, and with the recent gains in mobile and datacenter computing, the company has certainly had some recent success.
On Thursday August 7th, NVIDIA released their results for the second quarter of their fiscal year 2015. Year-over-year, they had an excellent quarter based on strong growth in the PC GPU market, Datacenter and Cloud (GRID), and mobile with the Tegra line.
GAAP Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.103 billion which is flat from Q1 2015, but up 13% from $977 million at the same time last year. Gross margin for Q2 was up both sequentially and year-over-year at 56.1%. Net income for the quarter came in at $128 million, down 6% from Q1 and up 33% from Q2 2014. These numbers resulted in diluted earnings per share of $0.22, down 8% from Q1 and up 38% from Q2 last year but beating analysts expectations.
| NVIDIA Q2 2015 Financial Results (GAAP) | |||||
| In millions except EPS | Q2’2015 | Q1’2015 | Q2’2014 | Q/Q | Y/Y |
| Revenue | $1103 | $1103 | $977 | 0% | +13% |
| Gross Margin | 56.1% | 54.8% | 55.8% | +1.3% | +0.3% |
| Operating Expenses | $456 | $453 | $440 | +1% | +4% |
| Net Income | $128 | $137 | $96 | -6% | +33% |
| EPS | $0.22 | $0.24 | $0.16 | -8% | +38% |
| NVIDIA Q2 2015 Financial Results (Non-GAAP) | |||||
| In millions except EPS | Q2’2015 | Q1’2015 | Q2’2014 | Q/Q | Y/Y |
| Revenue | $1103 | $1103 | $977 | 0% | +13% |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 55.1% | 56.3% | +1.3% | +0.1% |
| Operating Expenses | $411 | $411 | $401 | 0% | +2% |
| Net Income | $173 | $166 | $133 | +4% | +30% |
| EPS | $0.30 | $0.29 | $0.23 | +3% | +30% |
The GPU business is the primary source of revenue for NVIDIA, and includes GeForce for desktops and notebook PCs, Quadro for workstations, Tesla for high performance computing, and GRID for cloud-enabled graphic solutions. This quarter, the GPU revenue rose 2% over Q2 2014 with $878 million in revenue. This is down 2% from the previous quarter due to the seasonal decline of consumer PCs. Revenue from the PC GPU line rose 10% over last year and was helped by the introduction of the GeForce GTX 750 and 750 Ti Maxwell based boards. They are also seeing growth in the Tesla datacenter business. Quadro revenue also increased, citing strong growth in mobile workstations.
The mobile side of NVIDIA hasn’t seen as many product wins compared to Qualcomm, but the Tegra business is still growing strongly for NVIDIA. Tegra revenue was up 14% from Q1 2015, and 200% from Q2 2014 with a total revenue of $159 million for the quarter. Tegra continues to have strong demand in the automotive infotainment sector, with a 74% growth in that market year-over-year. This could be a lucrative market, with automotive systems generally locking in for at least several years compared to the mobile sector which might see a product replaced in less than a single year. The Tegra K1 has just come to market though, and it has shown itself to be a capable performer and may win some more designs soon.
The last avenue of income for NVIDIA is $66 million per quarter in a licensing deal with Intel.
| NVIDIA Quarterly Revenue Comparison (GAAP) | |||||
| In millions | Q2’2015 | Q1’2015 | Q2’2014 | Q/Q | Y/Y |
| GPU | $878 | $898 | $858 | -2% | +2% |
| Tegra Processor | $159 | $139 | $53 | +14% | +200% |
| Other | $66 | $66 | $66 | flat | flat |
The company projected this quarter to be flat on revenue as compared to Q1, and they were exactly right. Projections for Q3 2015 are for revenue of $1.2 billion plus or minus 2%.
During the quarter, $47 million was paid in dividends and NVIDIA purchased 6.8 million shares back from investors. This brings them to $594 million of the $1 billion promised to shareholders for FY 2015. The next dividend of $0.085 per share will be paid on September 12th to all stockholders of record as of August 21st.
It was an excellent quarter for NVIDIA, and their stock prices jumped after the numbers were released. All segments of the company are growing at the moment, and with the recent release of the Tegra K1 they can only be hoping to have another strong quarter of mobile grown in Q3 after a great 200% jump in Tegra revenue since last year. The stronger than expected PC sales have helped their biggest business as well, with the GPU division up 2%. CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has worked to bring the company a more diversified portfolio, and with the recent gains in mobile and datacenter computing, the company has certainly had some recent success.
The launch of the QNAP TS-x51 series was covered in great detail. QNAP took the lead over other NAS manufacturers in opting for the 22 nm Atom SoCs. While we were expecting the first Silvermont-based NAS units to use either Avoton or Rangeley, QNAP surprised us by opting for Bay Trail-D with the Celeron J1800. The advantage was that the Celeron J1800 included the Quick Sync engine, which enabled some nifty multimedia features targeting home consumers.
Fast forward a few weeks, and we have QNAP’s play targeting business users using the same platform. The difference in the hardware relates to the choice of the Bay Trail-D part. Instead of the Celeron J1800 (which was a 2C/2T part), we have the Celeron J1900 (a 4C/4T part). While the 2-bay version comes with 2x GbE ports, the others come with 4x GbE ports. All the innovative features from the TS-x51 series (hardware transcoding and Virtualization Station, mainly) are present in the x53-Pro series too. Due to the availability of more resources, it is possible to run two VMs concurrently in the x53 Pro (compared to one in the x51). Since we have already touched upon the two main features in our x51 launch piece, we will not discuss them in detail here.
QNAP has bundled all the business-oriented features of the x53 Pro under the QvPC umbrella. QNAP projects using the x53 Pro NAS as a business PC in addition to fulfilling the tasks of a SMB networked storage device. The display is driven through the HDMI port and the interface is through the HD Station package (Hybrid Desk). Three ‘views’ are made available:
The HD Station package also supports touchscreen monitors. Since Virtualization Station is supposed to soon support Android VMs, this is going to be a nifty feature.
Another SMB-targeted feature in QTS 4.1 is IT Management Station, based on Mandriva Pulse. It enables management of IT resources and applications for the whole business in a simplified manner. Tasks include inventory management, remote control, cloning, deployments and backup / restore.
The x53 Pro series (like the x51 series) also supports the UX-500P / UX-800P expansion towers. Using these, consumers can add 5 or 8 bays to their existing NAS by connecting via an USB 3.0 port. The various models in the x53 Pro series, along with their specifications, are provided below.
Interestingly, QNAP has two SS- models which support only 2.5″ drives. It looks like the market for NAS units which support only 2.5″ drives is slowly taking off. Earlier this year, we saw the introduction of Synology’s DS414slim sporting a Marvell ARMADA 370 SoC. However, these are based on Bay Trail Celerons, and definitely much more powerful. With SSDs becoming cheaper by the day, all-flash arrays will soon be within the reach of even SMBs. Units such as the SS-453 Pro and SS-853 Pro are well-suited to tap into that market.