Re: AMD - in two years - has STILL NOT produced any 64 bit CPU.
Intel bought into HP's Merced strategy in 1993 because they were concerned that it was too late to start their own 64 bit CPU - Intel felt it was "too late" to start from scratch in 1993!. They bought into an HP strategy that was started in 1989. SUN Solaris went 64 bit a couple of years ago, and it was following the earlier transitions of Unix on Alpha and AIX on RS6000.
Here's why Intel thought they were too late in 1993:
Q. What is Sun doing about these areas?
A. Sun has implemented its 64-bit operating system in phases. The Solaris[tm] 2.5 Operating Environment provided support for increased precision with 64-bit math and also included support for 64-bit asynchronous I/O. The Solaris[tm] 2.6 Operating Environment added support for large datasets with large (1 Terabyte) filesystems while allowing co-existence of 32-bit and 64-bit files. The Solaris[tm] 7 Operating Environment now provides support for large virtual address spaces with a full 64-bit, operating system. Sun began shipping 64-bit hardware in 1995. By phasing in operating system support for 64-bits Sun has provided 64-bit features as the market has demanded them while guaranteeing compatibility for existing 32-bit applications.
sun.com
I am not happy that Palamino is a quarter late, but I'm glad it isn't a decade late. And (as an AMD stockholder) I'm thrilled and amazed that AMD, having started 7 years "too late", will be fielding a more attractive 64 bit processor in the same time frame as Intel.
AMD's product will be smaller, less expensive to manufacture, and will run the existing software base. Intel's product will be larger, making it more difficult and expensive to manufacture, and has terrible performance unless software is completely rewritten for it.
Intel's 64 bit chip is expected to enter the market next year at 1.4GHZ when AMD's 64 bit chip comes in at 2GHZ.
If, as an Intel stockholder, you're contented with this situation, that's terrific. Presumably your opinion reflects the complacency of Intel management.
Dan |
