Intel Debuts Quad-Core Processors Ahead of AMD
By Colleen Taylor -- 11/14/2006
Intel Corp. today announced shipping of its first quad core processor families, the highly anticipated Quad-Core Xeon 5300 for business and Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core for gamers.
The release puts Intel ahead of rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in terms of quad core, a sweet victory for the world’s largest chipmaker which has ceded market share and momentum to the smaller AMD over the last few years. Both companies have had quad core processors under development.
AMD was quick to answer Intel’s release today with its own formal statement about quad core development.
"AMD will first introduce in mid-2007 native quad-core processors for the 4P and 2P server categories simultaneously, putting the added cores to use initially where the greatest performance scalability benefits will be experienced," Randy Allen, corporate VP of AMD's server and workstation business, said in a statement.
"AMD discussed quad-core requirements with our customers and their end users, and determined that a stopgap, multi-chip module (MCM) approach (such as Intel's) would fall short in several dimensions, most notably in performance scalability under real application loads, and power efficiency," Allen said.
Announcing its new devices, Intel said its quad-core Intel Xeon Processor 5300 series provides more headroom for server virtualization than any other two-processor, standard, high-volume server platform. The new processors deliver up to 50 percent faster performance within the same thermal envelope and at the same cost as the previous generation Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor 5100 series launched less than five months ago, the company said.
Four Intel Xeon processors are launching today at clock speeds ranging from 1.60GHz to 2.66GHz, with front side bus (FSB) speeds ranging from 1066MHz to 1333MHz, and thermal design power (TDP) of either 80 watts or a performance optimized 120 watt option. In Q1 2007, Intel said, it will launch two more quad-core Xeon processors: a low voltage version for ultra-dense deployments with a TDP of only 50 Watts and a processor designed for single socket workstations and servers.
Taking aim at multimedia and gaming applications Intel said the Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX6700 is up to 80 percent faster than the company's current Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor X6800. The Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX6700 is available at 2.66GHz with a 1066MHz FSB. The processor runs on Intel's existing 975X Express chipset family. The company said plans to offer a mainstream quad-core processor starting in Q1 2007 under the brand name Intel Core 2 Quad processor.
"Today's announcement ushers in another new era in computing,” Paul Otellini, Intel's president and CEO, said in a statement. “The capabilities of quad-core microprocessors will bring new possibilities for science, entertainment, and business,"
Hewlett-Packard (HP) this week rolled out multi-core workstations featuring Intel's quad-core chips, which began shipping in HP workstations today. The Intel-based HP xw8400 workstations are set to be on shelves and available for purchase today.
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