Intel leapfrogs AMD with quad core x86 processors
Rick Merritt
EE Times
(11/14/2006 12:01 AM EST)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Intel Corp. officially rolls out its first two quad-core CPUs Monday (Nov. 13), claiming it has retaken the lead from archrival Advanced Micro Devices in the multi-core CPU wars. Intel's Xeon 5300 series for servers and the Core 2 Extreme Quad for desktops use two dual-core Core 2 processors in multi-chip packages.
"We will ship one million quad-core processors before our competitor ships its first one," said Stephen Smith, a director in Intel's desktop group.
AMD has said it will ship its first quad-core CPUs around the middle of 2007. However, those chips will integrate four processor cores and four memory controllers on a single die, likely sporting greater performance than the Intel parts.
The Intel launch comes the same day the latest rankings of the world's top supercomputers is being announced. The current Top 500 list shows the share of systems using Intel processors declined from 66 percent to 52 percent in the past year while those using AMD grew from 11 to 22 percent, largely because AMD was first to market with dual-core server chips.
Smith projected Intel's new server chips alone could reach sales of one million by June. However, the desktop chip is focused on a relatively narrow niche of game and video enthusiasts.
"It will be a couple years before quad-core processors become a mainstream phenomenon on the desktop," Smith said.
The first desktop quad-core chip, the QX6700 dissipates 130W and runs at 2.66 GHz with a 1,066 MHz front side bus. It costs $999. Intel will ship quad-core desktop products early next year that consume 105W.
By contrast the Xeon 5300 series comes in versions that consume 120W and 80W. The high-end version runs at 2.66 GHz, has a 1,333 MHz front side bus and sells for $1,172. The server chips sport a total of 8 Mbytes of L2 cache. In the first quarter of 2007, Intel will launch two more quad-core Xeon processors " a version that consumes 50W for use in server blades and a processor designed for single-socket workstations and servers.
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