Intel dual-core to ship in Q1 2005

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041208-4445.html

According to that article, Intel will ship a dual-core Smithfield processor in Q1 of 2005. This is supposedly info direct from Intel released at their analyst meeting. This is the first I've heard of this. Opinions?

A dual-core Smithfield processor will ship in the first quarter of 2005, earlier than many analysts had suspected. The dual-core CPU will be part of Intel's Lyndon platform, which will also include the SpeedStep power management technology used in their Pentium M laptop CPUs. Look for the dual core CPUs to initially be clocked in the 2.8-3.0GHz range upon release.

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Looks very interesting. Glad to see that dual-cores are finally being produced

DanIdentity said:

Opinions?[/QUOTE] Its a last ditch ...al-cores and j00 dont! na na na na na[/quote]

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Let's try not to turn this into another AMD/Intel war. I was mostly looking for opinions on the authenticity of the claim that dual-core Intel CPUs will ship in Q1 '05, as I haven't seen it reported anywhere else.

i think it's true. Intel has the ability to produce and manufacturer chips like no other.

Yes I must say I do like Intel and am glade to see this news. It would be awsome if this happens.

DanIdentity said:

Let's try not to turn this into another AMD/Intel war.

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Yeah, good call.
Oh, BTW, nice intel quote Sen, haha
But seriously, I think it will be interesting to see how the first desktop dual-cored CPU's fare, even it is from intel






hehe, just kidding about the intel bash

what are the advantages to a dual core chip?

From what I've seen with the Intel roadmaps their initial dual core chip will perform terribly. They simply won't keep up with the competition from AMD. They're simply two single core chips slapped together on the same die.

The chip Intel plans to bring out about 1-2 years after that will be the one to look out for. It, like the K8 core will be designed from the ground up to be a dual core processor. (The K8 was designed with future dual core in mind). This solution is supposed to be the AMD dual core killer.

Likely to be true and shows that Intel are desperate to get one over on AMD. As stated they are dual core but in reality two cores slapped together and running at a combined speed of slower than current single core Prescotts (2.8, 3GHz and 3.2Ghz or coded as x20, x30 and x40). Definitely not for gamers (games are primarily single threaded) however whether it has any benefit over Intels with hyper threaded is another matter up for conjecture.

To be completely honest, I am not too enthusiastic about dual core chips from either the Intel or AMD camp. Allow me to touch of some as-of-yet unkown issues:

Cooling: We are all well aware of the Prescott's heating issues. Hell, we even have evidence that single-core Prescotts are seeing some pretty significant thermal throttling in the ranges of 70+%. With this in mind, it is no secret that the Smithfield core is essentially two Prescott cores stuck together. When this comes to mind, I have to ask myself just exactly how Intel plans to effectively cool such a beast. However, I must admit that temperatures of a dual core chip should also be a concern for AMD, too. Despite the fact that 90nm chips do run noticeably colder than Intel's current offering, the fact of the matter is that two of these 64-bit processors should turn out to be quite a different story. My guess is that enthusiast-centric dual core computing will create a paradigm shift in our current cooling methodology.

Marketing: How will these dual core processors be marketed? For example, will two 1.5 Ghz Intel chips be sold as a 3.0 Ghz? Or how about two Athlon 64 3000+ cores stuck together? I could go into more wild guesses here, but the fact of the matter is that there remains much speculation within the industry concerning this matter. Furthermore, I wonder how we will be able to compare the performance of dual core chips to current offerings from both camps. Because of this, I suspect that dual core iterations from both AMD and Intel will be based on one PR scheme or another.

Overclocking: An important issue for me here. How should we expect dual core processors to change our current overclocking conventions. For example, will we be allowed separate control over one core at a time? Or will bios changes affect both cores at once? And, tying in with the cooling topic, how will dual core chips enhance or hinder our current overclocking efforts?

Price: Knowing that dual core chips are effectively two processors linked together, I wonder just how expensive such a product will debut to. My assumption is that these processors will both launch at FX/EE-like prices, only to subside in the following months leading into 2006. But then again, this is just speculation on my behalf. I suppose the whole point is that dual core chips will also change the pricing patterns we have grown so accustomed to seeing.

Once again, I do not claim to know everything about such chips. These are just some thoughts that run through my own head when thinking about the matter.

deception``

Maybe both cores will have HT, making it 4 virtual CPU's. Hmm, a must-have for SETI or Folding...

Lancelot said:

Maybe both cores will have HT, making it 4 virtual CPU's. Hmm, a must-have for SETI or Folding...

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Dual core Intel chips will NOT support HyperThreading:

Anandtech said:

Currently set for release in Q3 2005, Intel has three dual core chips on their desktop roadmap: the x20, x30 and x40. The only difference between these three chips is clock speed, with the x20 running at 2.8GHz, the x30 running at 3GHz and the x40 running at 3.2GHz. All of the chips are LGA-775 compatible and run off of an 800MHz FSB. Hyper-Threading is not enabled with Intel's dual core chips.

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deception``

Seems that someone is misreporting not sure which one though (Here Otellini is quoted as saying late 2005 for dual core)!

"Despite all the focus on platform technologies, Intel does in fact still make microprocessors. The single-core Pentium 4 processors with 2MB of cache memory will be followed by the dual-core Smithfield processor in late 2005, Otellini said. "
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/index.cfm?go=news.view&news=4362
And just to further muddy the water here is a site saying mid 2005!
http://www.edn.com/article/CA486361.html
Easiest way to check is actually review the fall analysts meeting itself as it is available on the Intel site - would do it myself but only on dial up till I get home from work.
http://www.intel.com/intel/finance/presentations/?iid=search&

I remember reading an article a little while back that talked more in depth about the new dual core chips to come. Basicly Intel's first chips weren't going to perform as well because of bussing problems and memory...dual core AMD's are supposed to have a slightly better system for this at first. In a couple years Intel plans on releasing a refined dual core chip with appropriate bus allocations and such (FYI bus problems/speeds are quite possibly the biggest limiting factor in multi core processing).

Anything that is realesed that is revolutionary (well dual cores for the desktop is...not just dual cores) and I welcome it. IMO what's going to happen is after dual core CPU's become more main stream you'll start to see games and apps designed for multi threading...when that comes gamers can fully embrace the power of SMP!

Regarding the cooling issue, that's mainly a huge problem for prescotts running at 3.0Ghz, try having a 2.0Ghz prescott, it probably won't be nearly as hot. Admittedly two 2.0Ghz will be fairly hot nevertheless because there's two furnaces instead of one in the same given area. But if Intel is ready to release Q1, then this must be a second generation 90nm, so they might have tweaked it enough so that each individual core will run at feasible speeds. At least that's what I think. They'll be hot, but not 200W of heat hot.

Well on a serious note, I will say this. I have high doubts that they will. With all honesty <all fanboyism aside> I think AMD will have their dual-core Toledo out first.

Unlike Intel, AMD has already sampled their dual-cores and they are indeed functional. <several atricles including pix> I have yet to see a single shread of info or pictures, to even prove that they have one fabricated. There was one a month or so back indicating that they would need peltier cooling. And another suggesting they had one functional. However both times they never showed an exposed die. <AMD did>

Soo all and all:



Ill belive it once I see it. I have yet to see evidence that they exist other than "on paper" / "on schedule"

my .02

Sentential said:

Well on a serious note, I will say this. I have high doubts that they will. With all honesty <all fanboyism aside> I think AMD will have their dual-core Toledo out first.

Unlike Intel, AMD has already sampled their dual-cores and they are indeed functional. <several atricles including pix> I have yet to see a single shread of info or pictures, to even prove that they have one fabricated. There was one a month or so back indicating that they would need peltier cooling. And another suggesting they had one functional. However both times they never showed an exposed die. <AMD did>

Soo all and all:

Ill belive it once I see it. I have yet to see evidence that they exist other than "on paper" / "on schedule"

my .02

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Intel demoed a working Smithfield and Yonah (65nm dual core Pentium M) at the analyst meeting.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2004/12/08/1208automarketscan01.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mobile/display/20041208175909.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/09/intel_demos_yonah/

Intel is a massive company with a massive engineering force. I won't be surprised if Intel is first on the scene with dual-core.

DanIdentity said:

Intel demoed a working Smithfield and Yonah (65nm dual core Pentium M) at the analyst meeting.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2004/12/08/1208automarketscan01.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mobile/display/20041208175909.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/09/intel_demos_yonah/

Intel is a massive company with a massive engineering force. I won't be surprised if Intel is first on the scene with dual-core.

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yeah, I was just gonna link to that xbit labs article, ya beat me to it!

who says we petition for some dual core dothans with dual channel memory, and 200 fsb???

I stand corrected. However I will say that AMD has had function Dual-Core Opterons for atleast a month now.

However....time will tell. It will be interesting to see how this works out. Should be damned fast.