Westmere a Fast 'Tick'?

[btarunr]

Intel has already set foot on the 32 nm lithography, with first 32 nm based prcoessors expected to arrive in Q1 2010. These processors have already been extensively sampled, and tested by sections of the media. More importantly, 32 nm marks Intel's introduction of the Westmere architecture, which is a 32 nm optical shrink of Nehalem, with a slightly expanded feature-set making use of the possibly higher transistor loads. Starting with dual-core "Clarkale" processor, Intel plans to work out high-end six-core processors codenamed "Gulftown" within the first half of 2010. In addition to this, Intel is readying Westmere's successor, codenamed "Sandy Bridge".

While a vague die-shot of a supposedly mainstream quad-core processor based on Sandy Bridge surfaced last month, more information about it is coming to light from industry sources, according to DigiTimes. Intel will introduce the Sandy Bridge architecture in the fourth quarter of 2010. Considering the first Westmere CPUs are commercially launched ten months after its formal introduction (Westmere was unveiled in February,) the commercial launch of the first Sandy Bridge processors can't be too far away from Q4 2010. This in essence shows that Intel can afford to come up with a new flavour of CPUs every year. Nehalem will have served as a 1.25 year "tock" for the 45 nm process, while Westmere may serve as a "tick" of nearly the same length. For those of you unfamiliar with Intel's "tick-tock" model of product development cycle, The company uses a "tick-tock" model of process development, where each processor architecture gets to be made in two manufacturing processes, while each process gets to build two succeeding architectures.

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[AltecV1]

i thought that the Sandy Bridge was supposed to be a 8 core cpu

 

[btarunr]

i thought that the Sandy Bridge was supposed to be a 8 core cpu

It is. It's a whole new architecture, whose modular design allows it to be a multi-core CPU of different core counts, just like Nehalem.

 

[AltecV1]

like a native 8 core cut down do 6,4 or 2 cores?

 

[btarunr]

like a native 8 core cut down do 6,4 or 2 cores?

It's not 'native' to any set number of cores.

 

[cray86]

I will go out on a limb and guess that 2-core, 4-core, and 8-core variants of the same architecture is a lot of fun for us (!) but not practical for a market. We will have a 4-core celeron in 2 years at the least. Consumers are confused enough already

Me, on the otherhand, I want some 8-core video rendering action!

 

[TheLaughingMan]

For those of you unfamiliar with Intel's "tick-tock" model of product development cycle, The company uses a "tick-tock" model of process development

And now I know, and knowing is Half the battle!

 

[cray86]

And now I know, and knowing is Half the battle!

Is this an afterschool commercial ?

 

[TheMailMan78]

Is this an afterschool commercial ?

Thats old school GI Joe! GI Joe taught me to hold my head forward when my nose bled and Cobra taught me to always start a fire at the base of a building. Never the roof.

 

[TheLaughingMan]

Is this an afterschool commercial ?

Yes, this special is sponsored by TechPowerUp, and is dedicated to prevent child from having weak, underpowered PC's. Unless it is an HTPC or File Server...cause....you know...that's how they roll.

We also try to provide them with ideas about how to use these PC Powerhouses so they don't use them for evil.

 

[mk_ln]

Thats old school GI Joe! GI Joe taught me to hold my head forward when my nose bled and Cobra taught me to always start a fire at the base of a building. Never the roof.

lol

 

[LittleLizard]

i dont get a crap about this :S

 

[mastrdrver]

Thats old school GI Joe! GI Joe taught me to hold my head forward when my nose bled and Cobra taught me to always start a fire at the base of a building. Never the roof.

I just hope when 6 core westmere comes out that the Xeon chips aren't too expensive so I can use them instead of having to drop coin on an extreme chip.

 

[farlex85]

Good stuff, I wonder what comes after that. Needs for processing power are becoming less and less but intel keeps barreling forward so far ahead of the competition and consumers' needs I wonder if they'll literally outdo themselves.

 

[buggalugs]

I'm waiting for dickery dickery dock.

 

[eidairaman1]

Good stuff, I wonder what comes after that. Needs for processing power are becoming less and less but intel keeps barreling forward so far ahead of the competition and consumers' needs I wonder if they'll literally outdo themselves.

Ill be laughing if they do, because pushing the market too hard will trap them in a corner, aka like what happened to most of the computer OEMs.