Fozzik
12-02-2005, 04:33 PM
Not a particularly busy week, once again...but there are a few things I grabbed onto. First off, let's talk about Intel and the possibility of them getting back into the performance race through the back door.
It seemed odd to me for the last year or more that Intel was didn’t make some kind of response to the position they are in technologically. Sure, they brought out a dual-core processor just in the nick of time (the day before AMD), but it wasn't anything to write home about from an architecture standpoint and really didn't help them get any closer to regaining the performance advantage.
Intel did shake things up a while back, moving lots of people around in the company, and "refocusing" their efforts. The problem is that something as complex as a processor (especially one completely different than the ones they currently make) is not something you can design, produce, market, and ship in a short period of time. The high point for Intel over the past few years has of course been the mobile segment, where their Pentium M has been a big hit.
What I couldn't figure out (and a lot of others were probably confused by this too) is why Intel didn't recognize the great thing they had in the Pentium M architecture much sooner and start moving it to the desktop. Creating a whole new architecture takes quite a while, but adjusting a processor and platform can be done very quickly, especially when it's already a solid performer.
Of course, there were a few companies who saw the possibilities...although finding a socket adapter to plug your Pentium M into a desktop motherboard was a hassle.
There are signs that Intel may have finally gotten with the program though. The dual-core, updated version of the Pentium M (codenamed Yonah) is on tap for the beginning of next year, and it looks like Intel may be planning for this chip to do more than just run laptops. With their VIIV initiative, they are looking to create a complete platform like "Centrino", but one for multi-media or set-top PC's. These small, quiet, cool-running computers make a lot of sense as a host for these new cool, low clock speed dual-cores, and Yonah is no slouch on performance. The question is, will we see motherboards and chipsets for higher end machines, like gaming rigs, for this new chip?
Yonah appears to be much more of a complete dual-core architecture, with a shared level 2 cache between the cores. The fact that it's based on the Pentium M means low power and much better performance per clock...in fact it performs similarly to an Athlon 64 on a clock-for-clock basis. Intel does have a new architecture on tap for late next year, but perhaps the Pentium M can make them more competitive in the desktop market much sooner.
On the graphics front, it appears that Nvidia and its partners are having trouble building and shipping enough super-expensive Geforce 7800GTX 512MB cards to meet demand. Just more proof that in this world, the more shiny and expensive something is, the more desirable it becomes. Turns out the GDDR3 memory, clocking in at 1700MHz or higher, may be the sticking point. This most recent memory technology seems to be in short supply, and Nvidia's partners can't get enough of it to stick on their boards.
ATI, or at least some of their partners, are definitely producing some overclocked versions of the X1800XT. Asus has one in the pipe that may show up in retail very soon. I'd expect it to be similar in price and performance to the 7800GTX 512MB, why? Because people will buy it. If they made it cheaper, it probably wouldn't sell as well. I don't see it performing better than the top-end monster from Nvidia...but it will probably be competitive.
Nvidia appears to be planning to kick the dead horse that is AGP. An old-bus version of the 6800GS is on the way. This should be a nice way to spend $200 on a good price/performance card, so you can keep that motherboard for a while longer.
AMD has set a release date for the FX-60, the first dual-core FX processor...clocking in at 2.6GHz. Expect to see this monster starting Jan 10th, probably selling somewhere just above the $1k mark.
It seemed odd to me for the last year or more that Intel was didn’t make some kind of response to the position they are in technologically. Sure, they brought out a dual-core processor just in the nick of time (the day before AMD), but it wasn't anything to write home about from an architecture standpoint and really didn't help them get any closer to regaining the performance advantage.
Intel did shake things up a while back, moving lots of people around in the company, and "refocusing" their efforts. The problem is that something as complex as a processor (especially one completely different than the ones they currently make) is not something you can design, produce, market, and ship in a short period of time. The high point for Intel over the past few years has of course been the mobile segment, where their Pentium M has been a big hit.
What I couldn't figure out (and a lot of others were probably confused by this too) is why Intel didn't recognize the great thing they had in the Pentium M architecture much sooner and start moving it to the desktop. Creating a whole new architecture takes quite a while, but adjusting a processor and platform can be done very quickly, especially when it's already a solid performer.
Of course, there were a few companies who saw the possibilities...although finding a socket adapter to plug your Pentium M into a desktop motherboard was a hassle.
There are signs that Intel may have finally gotten with the program though. The dual-core, updated version of the Pentium M (codenamed Yonah) is on tap for the beginning of next year, and it looks like Intel may be planning for this chip to do more than just run laptops. With their VIIV initiative, they are looking to create a complete platform like "Centrino", but one for multi-media or set-top PC's. These small, quiet, cool-running computers make a lot of sense as a host for these new cool, low clock speed dual-cores, and Yonah is no slouch on performance. The question is, will we see motherboards and chipsets for higher end machines, like gaming rigs, for this new chip?
Yonah appears to be much more of a complete dual-core architecture, with a shared level 2 cache between the cores. The fact that it's based on the Pentium M means low power and much better performance per clock...in fact it performs similarly to an Athlon 64 on a clock-for-clock basis. Intel does have a new architecture on tap for late next year, but perhaps the Pentium M can make them more competitive in the desktop market much sooner.
On the graphics front, it appears that Nvidia and its partners are having trouble building and shipping enough super-expensive Geforce 7800GTX 512MB cards to meet demand. Just more proof that in this world, the more shiny and expensive something is, the more desirable it becomes. Turns out the GDDR3 memory, clocking in at 1700MHz or higher, may be the sticking point. This most recent memory technology seems to be in short supply, and Nvidia's partners can't get enough of it to stick on their boards.
ATI, or at least some of their partners, are definitely producing some overclocked versions of the X1800XT. Asus has one in the pipe that may show up in retail very soon. I'd expect it to be similar in price and performance to the 7800GTX 512MB, why? Because people will buy it. If they made it cheaper, it probably wouldn't sell as well. I don't see it performing better than the top-end monster from Nvidia...but it will probably be competitive.
Nvidia appears to be planning to kick the dead horse that is AGP. An old-bus version of the 6800GS is on the way. This should be a nice way to spend $200 on a good price/performance card, so you can keep that motherboard for a while longer.
AMD has set a release date for the FX-60, the first dual-core FX processor...clocking in at 2.6GHz. Expect to see this monster starting Jan 10th, probably selling somewhere just above the $1k mark.