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The Near Future of Intel

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the very-specific-crystal-ball dept.

wh0pper wrote to mention a Design Technica story about the near-term future of Intel. They've been getting beaten in the press pretty soundly by AMD of late, and at the Intel Developer's Forum they did their best to convince attendees they were on the comeback trail. From the article: "It wouldn't be IDF if there wasn't a solid performance message. This time, Intel clearly had AMD in their sights. By a series of their products' massive performance improvements, Intel hit the ball back into AMD's court. With Microsoft's Vista operating system coming out at the same time, Intel showed how they have the higher performing solution. Clearly, we won't know until final systems ship. But Intel presented their case strongly, suggesting they can match AMD, if not beat them."

6 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Clearly, we won't know until final systems ship. by digitaldc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Clearly, we won't know until final systems ship.

    Need we discuss this any further?

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  2. Article is drivel. by tpgp · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Do not waste time reading the article - it is stream-of-conciousness drivel. You will not get that 5 minutes of your life back.

    Typical quote:
    One of the technologies they showcased was the use of flash memory to increase system performance. By using flash, they can cut application load times dramatically; this has a huge impact on games (which load much more quickly from memory than from drives.) For us gamers, the game will load more quickly, we will be able to move between zones more quickly, and scenes pop more quickly.

    This could keep you alive longer and overcome the problem of teams breaking apart before all team members can get to the same zone. The biggest improvement would be with laptop computers; for those of us who play games on our laptops, this is a good thing.
    What? What are you talking about? Are you suggesting manufacturers will ship games on flash chips? And what the hell do laptops have to do with anything?

    Nothing I've heard about intel's plans to use flash technology would improve any system performace other then boot time.
    --
    My pics.
  3. You really think it works that way? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm pretty sure processor development isn't just a matter of how determined the people involved are. Some parts of it depend on the building of new fab equipment. Some depend on the discovery of new ways to design things. Some depend on serious advances in physics.

    The reason chip companies sometimes hold back on new product is because they can't always be certain of the exact time at which breakthroughs in these other areas will be made. Their companies depend on having a solid, reliable revenue stream, so they have to use release schedules to smooth out the apparent advances in chip speed. If they didn't do this, we'd all be sitting around, hoping against hope that this month would be the month the new chips come out, and worried about buying in case they come out tomorrow.

    Which is more or less how Apple worked for a long time, because IBM wasn't able to smooth out its development curve. It wasn't pleasant.

    Anyway. Overall chip development does not just scale depending on the moods of the employees at chip companies. Intel went off-track by being overconfident at one point, sure, but that was a five year thing involving a bad choice of roadmap. The idea that AMB is sitting on their laurels after a year is ridiculous.

  4. interesting quote by spiderworm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But Intel presented their case strongly, suggesting they can match AMD, if not beat them.


    My, how times have changed.
  5. Some important things (AKA garbage article) by augustz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There seems to be agreement this article is a bit weak. Some very important things to note.

    "By a series of their products' massive performance improvements, Intel hit the ball back into AMD's court."

    These are products that are not out yet. Benchmarks look good, but you are comparing a product on the shelves (that's been there a while) with one that is not OK.

    And by the time they come out, AMD will likely have moved on to. This is a fast paced space, so 6 month time gaps matter when doing comparisons. Product matchups in the actual market are what matter.

    AMD's M2 platform looks good. The performance / watt issue matters a lot, and it will be interesting to see how that develops. Both companies are clearly chasing the power/watt area, so should be a lot of fun. The notebook space especially which is currently dominated by intel will be fun.

    "Intel showed how they have the higher performing solution." This should read intel MAY have a higher performing solution sometime in the future.

    I'm tired of the big announcements of victory on non-shipping parts. ATI with crossfire (lunched twice). The hype around the P4 "netburst" architecture. The itanium hype of course. PS2 movie like visuals (still a nice platform, but please).

    Fun to watch, great it's a great race.

  6. Re:AMD - Time to wakeup by hxnwix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What the hell are you talking about? Quad core, DDR2 - this year. Same core for seven years? What? The last core was 32 bit with no integrated northbridge. Hammer was a complete revamp/redesign.

    Whatever criteria you are using to judge amd64 as the same core as k7 would also label merom a 686 core. And that is an old ass core.