AMD's dual-core performance boost
Published: October 5, 2004, 4:14 PM PDT
(http://news.com.com/AMDs+dual-core+performance+boost/2100-1006_3-5397762.html?tag=cd.top)
It sounds like AMD will have their dual core chip avaiable 2nd half of 2005 and should compete with the Sparc IV chip recently announced.
From the article:"..."AMD expects to be the first to introduce dual-core" for x86, including models arriving in mid-2005 for workstations and for servers with one to eight chips, McGrath said. In addition, AMD will release a dual-core chip for desktop computers in the second half of 2005....
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"...Today's single-core Opteron, built on a manufacturing process with 130-nanometer features, measures 194 square millimeters, Crume said. The dual-core model, built with a 90-nanometer process, will be within 5 percent of that size, he said...."
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"...McGrath said. The dual-core models run 600MHz to 1GHz slower than the single-core models to prevent overheating problems, he said...."
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SUNW's Sparc IV avaiable now is also software optimized and does not have a heat issue. By the time the AMD dual core chips are available, the next SUNW generation products will be available and are upgraded by simply replacing the processor.
The upgrade path seem good for both current and future customers (those that want to wait for the AMD products). The way I see it is it up to the Marketing and the Software Service group to hook new customers into the Solaris OS and the various enterprise applications (including the enterprise warehouse storage systems). SUNW may be setting up for a very profitable 2006.
EKS |
