January 26th, 2007
AMD's other quad core
More information on AMD’s quad-core desktop plans has come to light. A report (linked here) published today by DailyTech says AMD plans to deliver a quad-core desktop processor along with two derivative dual-core chips later this year.
It’s pretty clear, given its fourth quarter, that AMD needs to quickly roll out its quad-core processors to respond to those from Intel, particularly in the server space. AMD has already begun to fight back on that front in that it has begun discussing the performance advantage it believes its forthcoming quad-core Opteron server chip, Barcelona, will have versus Intel’s quad-core Xeon 5300 line. AMD says the chip, scheduled to arrive at mid-year, will outperform the Xeon 5300 by 40 percent.
But AMD has said much less about its quad-core desktop plans thus far. DailyTech, for its part, outlines the expected strategy. AMD, it says, plans to attack the desktop with a high-end quad-core chip and a pair of dual-core chips. By trickling down the technology from its quad core development into its dual-core chip lineup, AMD could be aiming to drive dual-core chips down into the lower reaches of the PC market and therefore to increase its own sales. Intel would surely respond in kind. But such a move by the chipmakers would make dual-core processors attainable for the bulk of mainstream PC users, who these days, spend between $400 and $700 for their new desktops.
