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Technology Stocks : Advanced Micro Devices - Moderated (AMD)
AMD 215.32-0.2%Dec 30 3:59 PM EST

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To: andreas_wonisch who wrote (57002)10/3/2001 10:41:15 AM
From: Joe NYCRead Replies (2) of 275872
 
Andreas,

According to the article, Sledgehammer would still have integrated memory controller.

Couple of positive things (to offset the negatives) of not having the memory controller on board, just fairly high bandwidth of HT is that there could be chipsets which incorporate single channel memory interface for low end to multiple-channel interface for higher end. A low cost dual system would not need to be limited by having to add memory by increments = processor data path width x number of processors, but at any increment the chipset supports. Also, processor not being tied to a memory type / speed may be a positive.

The negative side, significant memory latency reduction will not happen. It remains to be seen what the magic of various latency reducing prefetching schemes will do. Also, by having 2 different schemes, AMD is fragmenting its own market. There will be a need for 2 northbridge / seminorthbridge chipsets to support both clawhammer and sledgehammer. This fragmentation may in fact kill Sledgehammer in the marketplace.

One thing that I found a little wierd is the 3 HT channels going into Sledgehammer + pins for local memory access. That means a lot more pins than the current CPUs. I wonder if an HT switch or wouuld not be more cost effective. This would make the CPU cheaper, and make it easy to implement a shigle CPU Sledgehammer system without a switch, n-way implementation of higher end systems with a switch.

Joe

PS: It looks like the hint that Kap dropped here yesterday (about higher IPC of Hammer) is consistent with Hans's speculation on his site.
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