Intel Touts Quad-Core Advantages

eWeek – Intel Touts Quad-Core Advantages

Intel executives laid out their strategy for migrating from dual-core chips containing two processor cores to quad-core chips containing four at the Intel Developer Forum here Sept. 26.

The chip maker promises that the chips, which will start to arrive in November, will deliver performance increases of up to 50 percent for servers and 70 percent for desktops while using about the same amount of power as the chips they will replace in high-end desktops and servers. Despite the gains, some, namely Intel’s main rival Advanced Micro Devices, have criticized the company’s approach to building its first quad chips. Intel will manufacture them by combining a pair of dual-core chips in a special package.

The approach “is focused on delivering a result in a timely way—timely is giving you a computer that you can use,” said Steve Smith, director of desktop operations at Intel, in an interview here with eWEEK. “For me as a user, what I care about is, wow, I just got a 70-percent increase in performance.” [Read on]