Multithreaded
Latest
AMD launches 12-core Opteron server chips, Intel counters with the 8-core Xeon 7500
You thought six cores were nifty? This week, AMD and Intel have begun the multithreaded battle in earnest -- if only on the IT front -- with chips that have up to double that core density. First up, AMD has officially brought us that Opteron 6000 series leaked last week, a set of 8- and 12-core processors aimed at dual- and quad-CPU servers that it claims have both higher performance and lower cost than Intel's recent hex-core offerings. Not to be outdone, Intel has just introduced a 8-core processor series of its own, the Xeon 7500, that it envisions deployed in mammoth 256-processor configurations. In bulk orders of 1,000, a single 12-core Opteron costs nearly $1,200, while the cheapest single 8-core Xeon will set you back a cool $2,461 in the same quantity. We don't doubt they're powerful, and we'd kill for a pair of either in our gaming rig. At those prices though, we'll stick to building our supercomputer out of PS3s -- oh, wait.
Forget Santa Rosa, how about a quad-core Penryn?
Honestly, we don't exactly know how to take the news that Intel's already looking beyond next month's Santa Rosa release to a reported quad-core Penryn mobile processor. On one hand, our eyes relish the opportunity to play the latest titles at the highest resolutions whilst bragging aimlessly to our online pals, but then again, we don't look forward to the presumed third-degree burns that could likely develop from tossing these in such tight quarters. Nevertheless, Intel managed to drop a few more details in regard to its mobile CPU plans, and noted that Santa Rosa's successor would likely be based on the 45-nanometer Penryn design and offer high-end gaming notebooks a ridiculous amount of power. Additionally, an Intel exec showcased the future chip's ability to be user-overclocked, suggesting that it would be "your responsibility to take care of cooling." Of course, if Intel could buddy up with IBM's miracle-working cooling solutions, the forthcoming chip could manage to breathe a bit easier, but we've got until "the first half of 2008" to see about all that.
