Intel hurries next-generation chips
Speaking at Intel Corp's Spring Analyst Meeting this week, chief executive Paul Otellini said the company will launch its new microarchitecture, which will include chips for notebooks, desktops and servers, beginning in June.
Otellini said Intel would usher in its new Core microarchitecture line starting with its Woodcrest chip for servers in June, its Conroe chip for desktops in July and its Merom chip for notebooks in August, according to a report by IDG News
By the third quarter of this year, Intel will be making more chips with 65-nm geometry than 90 nm, the Intel boss explained. And by 2007, he said the company will build a 45-nm version of the Core chip family called Penryn.
The report goes on to say the chipmaker will upgrade its microarchitecture in a chip called Nehalem by 2008, and then move to 32-nm design by 2009 -- shrinking that chip line into a design called Nehalem-C.
In 2010, the company will reportedly upgrade its microarchitecture once again for a future line of chips called Gesher.
One company expected to make extensive use of all three of Intel's new Core-based chips in its own designs is Apple.
it's widely believed that the Mac maker has selected Conroe -- a chip Intel says is 40 percent faster than the Pentium D960 -- to power its first line of Intel-based PowerMacs later this year.
Otellini said Intel would usher in its new Core microarchitecture line starting with its Woodcrest chip for servers in June, its Conroe chip for desktops in July and its Merom chip for notebooks in August, according to a report by IDG News
By the third quarter of this year, Intel will be making more chips with 65-nm geometry than 90 nm, the Intel boss explained. And by 2007, he said the company will build a 45-nm version of the Core chip family called Penryn.
The report goes on to say the chipmaker will upgrade its microarchitecture in a chip called Nehalem by 2008, and then move to 32-nm design by 2009 -- shrinking that chip line into a design called Nehalem-C.
In 2010, the company will reportedly upgrade its microarchitecture once again for a future line of chips called Gesher.
One company expected to make extensive use of all three of Intel's new Core-based chips in its own designs is Apple.
it's widely believed that the Mac maker has selected Conroe -- a chip Intel says is 40 percent faster than the Pentium D960 -- to power its first line of Intel-based PowerMacs later this year.
Comments
Uhhh...MacMacs.
the sooner the better.
I was hoping it would go in the powermac
Originally posted by DGNR8
I guess then the woodcrest chip is for xserver
I was hoping it would go in the powermac
I wouldn't rule Woodcrest out. Xeons are Workstation/Server class chips. Apple has to offer them
if they wish to be competitive.
In fact HP just announced their "Greencreek" workstations using the Intel 5000 series chipsets which support FBDIMM, VT and IAMT2. They also support a new feature called I/O AT(Acceleration Technology) which accelerates I/O TCP/IP functions like a TOE Host Bus Adapter.
We're about to put the POWER into Powermac.
-DG
Originally posted by macFanDave
Where are they getting these names? Penryn? Gesher? Nehalem? They are almost as bad as YellowSheepRiver!
I believe Intel has an R&D plant in Israel. That may be where some of the names come from.
Originally posted by geo06
Do a search on all the names. Most of them are names of churches or other Christian-esque ministries.
That doesn't necessarily mean much, it is probably a coincidence. Churches tend to use those names because they had significance in Israel, the originating point of the faith. Most of the chips designed in Israel had code names that were Hebrew names, places or words. Do a search with many of those names and add "Israel" as a keyword after it and you might see what I mean.
I would expect that if the code names were supposed to be of intermediate origin somewhere in the English world, then "Yonah" would likely have been "Jonah".
Originally posted by hmurchison
I wouldn't rule Woodcrest out. Xeons are Workstation/Server class chips. Apple has to offer them if they wish to be competitive.
I agree, though I personally would rule out Conroe from the PowerMac, except maybe for the very cheapest model. I don't understand why someone would speculate that Conroe would be a PowerMac chip. Based on the general intended and markted use, the PowerMac is supposed to be a workstation-type system for heavy 2D, 3D, video and other work, think equivalent systems being those with Xeon DP or Opteron 2xx chips. It looks to me that Conroe is going to be a consumer desktop chip, which would be the equivalent of what is now called Pentium, that isn't dual-socket capable. It would be bad to use consumer grade chips in a workstation.
I just hope they bring out a powerful overall design, and then let's wait for photoshop and then let's by a new mac and get some serious work done.
Conroe is a capable CPU for people who don't need a quad system and it benefits Apple because they save the expense of a dual socket motherboard.
It's important to realize that other than the FSB advantage and potential L2 cache advantage Woodcrest is based off the same Core Architecture. Performance should be close with Conroe in non SMP benchmarks.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Apple will use Conroe for a Powermac just as PC manufacturers will use a Pentium 4 for their lowend Workstation(such as the the difference between the HP XW4300 and XW6200)
Conroe is a capable CPU for people who don't need a quad system and it benefits Apple because they save the expense of a dual socket motherboard.
It's important to realize that other than the FSB advantage and potential L2 cache advantage Woodcrest is based off the same Core Architecture. Performance should be close with Conroe in non SMP benchmarks.
All very good points, but I would have a hard time justifying $2000 for a Conroe-based Apple workstation when HP's equivalent starts at under $1000.
Originally posted by JeffDM
All very good points, but I would have a hard time justifying $2000 for a Conroe-based Apple workstation when HP's equivalent starts at under $1000.
Here's hoping we have the return of the $1499 entry level Powermac. I think it's a bit ridiculous that Powermacs are starting out at $2k.
edit: That's Microsoft.
I really kind of like the codenames Intel and AMD use. Mysterious but pronouncible and elegant.
Regardless, will the high-end Mac Pro feature a dual quad-core system? Or are quad-cores off the table right now?
It just doesn't make sense...we were expecting some of these chips in August/September and others in early 2007 and suddenly, like magic, they're going to be available in June?!
One thing's for sure though if this pans out...Apple is now getting a shitload and variety of chippies...this is a much different situation than what we were seeing less than a year ago.
so if July/August we get Merom laptops, do the people that are buying 17s cry IIvi? I'm just wondering what Intel skimped on to buy them the extra time.
They've just announced vPro their "centrino" branding for desktop/workstation. So I expect the blitz coming up this summer to be intense as Intel seeks to win back the hearts and minds of enthusiasts who are now AMD fans.
Good for Apple because they'll have the parts ready and will easily be able to announce product for WWDC. I'm definitely interested in seeing Leopard running on new Powermac hardware. It should set the tone for the rest of 2006 into 2007.