A group of nine companies has pledged USD 10 billion to increase adoption of the Itanium processor until 2010. The money will be spent in research, marketing and partnerships. All contributors (Intel and HP, co-developers of the chip, as well as Bull, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens, Hitachi, NEC, SGI and Unisys) are members of the Itanium Solutions Alliance. New Montecito Itaniums sporting 18 MB of L2 cache are expected to be launched in the middle of this year.
AMD plans to demo its quad-core server chips, expected to be commercialy available in 2007, in the middle of this year. The company’s goal is to show compatibility with its upcoming socket F platform, which will be used by new dual-core models supporting DDR2 and virtualization technologies, among other features. Marty Seyer, an AMD vice president, told InformationWeek that solution providers will need only to flash the bios to run quad-core chips on socket F motherboards.
Intel today claimed to be the first company to produce a fully functional SRAM chip using 45-nanometer technology. The feat is supposed to prove it is on schedule to offer 45-nm processors in the second half of 2007. The 153 Mb SRAM chip, manufactured in Intel’s D1D facility in Oregon, contain more than 1 billion transistors. The company has already begun construction of two new 45-nm fabs in Arizona and Israel.
The Register reports that Intel has begun shipping two low-cost single-core Pentium 4s. The 517 and 524 models are clocked at 2.93 GHz and 3.06 GHz, feature 533 MHz FSB and contain 1 MB of L2 cache. Hyper-Threading is supported. Furthermore, Intel will start selling a budget dual-core chip, the long-awaited Pentium D 805, in March. The processor runs at 2.66 GHz, uses 533 MHz FSB and is equipped with 1 MB of L2 cache per core.
AMD has signed a deal with Innovative Silicon to license a cache technology that is said to achieve five times the density of embedded SRAM and twice that of embedded DRAM. With Z-RAM (Zero Capacitor RAM) cache sizes could reach 5 MB without increasing the die. Z-RAM requires silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process, the same used by AMD to make its processors. The company will test the tech for compatibility, but did not disclose specific timetables.
VIA today launched two 90-nanometer Eden processors based on the Esther core used in the C7. According to the company, the standard one clocks between 400 MHz and 1.2 GHz, with power consumption varying from 2.5 W to 7 W. Ranges for the ultra low voltage piece (ULV) are 1-1.5 GHz and 3.5-7.5 W. Both chips, packaged in nanoBGA2, use 400 MHz V4 frontside bus and contain 128 KB of L1 cache as well as 128 KB of L2. Also included are MMX, SSE2 and SSE3 support; PadLock security engine; and PowerSaver power management.
Apple finally unveiled, at Macworld, its first computers based on Intel processors. Both the new iMac and the MacBook Pro, which replaces the PowerBook, use the recently launched Core Duo dual-core chips, formerly known as Yonah. The new iMac is available immediately with 1.83 GHz or 2 GHz processor and 17 or 20-inch TFT display. It features 512 MB of DDR2-667 memory, Radeon X1600 card with 128 MB (upgradable to 256 MB) and 160 GB or 250 GB HD. Prices go from USD 1,300 to USD 1,700. The MacBook Pro uses 1.66 GHz or 1.83 GHz Core Duo. Other specs include 15.4-inch display, 512 MB or 1 GB of DDR2-667, Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128 MB or 256 MB and 80 GB or 100 GB HD. Products will start shipping in February for USD 2,000 and USD 2,500.
AMD has finally launched the Athlon 64 FX-60, the first in the series to sport two cores. The 90-nm processor is clocked at 2.6 GHz (lower than the 2.8 GHz FX-57) and features 1 MB of L2 cache per core. With the impending arrival of the new socket M2, the FX-60 should be the last 939-pin model in the FX line. The chip is priced at USD 1,031 in 1,000-unit quantities.
Intel has officially included its new 65-nanometer chips in its price list. The dual-core Presler Pentium Ds 920, 930, 940 and 950, with 4 MB of L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB and clocks ranging from 2.8 GHz to 3.4 GHz, cost from USD 241 to USD 637 in 1,000-unit quantities. The single-core Cedar Mill Pentium 4 series now includes the 631, 641, 651 and 661, clocked at 3 GHz to 3.6 GHz, with prices varying from USD 178 to USD 401. In the mobile segment, Intel launched four Yonah dual-core parts (T2300, T2400, T2500 and T2600), clocked at 1.66 GHz to 2.16 GHz and featuring 2 MB of L2 cache and 667 MHz FSB. Prices go from USD 241 to USD 637. Two low-voltage (L2400 and L2300) and a single-core (T1300) models were also added.
Several news outlets have confirmed that Intel will change its tagline and logo in 2006. The “Intel Inside” phrase, originally introduced in 1991, will be replaced by the expression “Leap Ahead”. Additionally, the 37-year-old logo with the dropped “e” will give place to a new image featuring an oval swirl around the name. The changes, said to represent the company’s shift from a chip manufacturer to a broader player in the consumer market, are expected to be officially unveiled next week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), in Las Vegas.
