Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: advocatedevil who wrote (54202)	10/16/2001 7:39:08 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

10-GHz processors to hit market in 2005, but challenges loom for chip designers By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (10/16/01 17:28 p.m. EST) SAN JOSE -- The 10-GHz microprocessor for desktop PCs could hit the market by 2005 or sooner, but there are still some major challenges to design these high-speed chips, according to executives at the Microprocessor Forum here today. Right now, Intel Corp. has the world's fastest processor for desktop PCs, which runs at speeds up to 2-GHz. By early next year, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip giant is expected to roll out its code-named "Northwood" processor line, a 0.13-micron chip family designed to run at 2.2-GHz. But the 10-GHz processor from Intel--or perhaps another competitor--is just around the corner. "Moore's Law is pretty much on track," said Bill Pohlman, chairman and chief technology officer for Primarion Inc. The Tempe, Ariz.-based company, which gets some of its funding from Intel's venture capital arm, develops optical I/O technology that could enable 10-GHz processors. "You can expect to see a 10-GHz processor by 2005," said Pohlman, a long-time semiconductor veteran. "But you might see [a 10-GHz processor] earlier," he said during a presentation during the Microprocessor Forum here today. When a 10-GHz processor hits the market, the 300-million transistor device would most likely be manufactured in a 0.05-micron CMOS process technology, according to Pohlman. The 0.5-to-0.8-volt part would also consist of more than 16-megabytes of cache, support some fault tolerance features, and have 30-gigabyes-per-second of bandwidth performance. In order to develop the 10-GHz processor, there are some major challenges, namely power and thermal limitations in processor design, Pohlman said. "Packaging is also behind," he added. And that's not all. "Mythical 10-GHz processors will exceed the limits of [today's] systems," added Martin Rausch, manager of platform technology at Intel Corp.'s Research Labs. In addition to the power and thermal issues, there will be a need for processor and system designers to work in conjunction, Rausch said in a separate presentation at the Microprocessor Forum. "10-GHz processors pose significant system-level challenges to the industry," he said. "Cost will also be a major factor in the acceptance [of 10-GHz processors]," he added.