Intel today introduced its new generation of 45 nm processors for desktops and servers. Some 16 server and high-end PC processors were announced around its new design, codenamed Penryn. In addition to increasing computer performance and saving energy use, these processors also eliminate lead and, in 2008, halogen materials. Intel said the new transistor formula alleviates the wasteful electricity leaks that threaten the pace of future computer innovation.
The new desktop and server processors are the first to use Intel’s Hafnium-based high-k metal gate (Hi-k) formula. These Intel Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors are also the first to be manufactured on the company’s 45-nanometer (nm) manufacturing process, further boosting performance and lowering power consumption.
Combining these two advancements, Intel expects products that are 25 percent smaller than previous versions and, thus, more cost-effective, as well as the ability next year to pursue new ultra mobile and consumer electronics “system on chip” opportunities.
The new 45nm processors boast nearly twice the transistor density of previous chips built on the company’s 65nm technology – up to 820 million transistors for quad-core processors. Dean Freeman, an analyst at Gartner, said he expects Penryn will be 20% to 50% faster than Intel’s previous chip releases in general purpose applications and 10% to 40% faster in technical applications, multimedia and games.
The 12 new quad-core chips boast clock speeds ranging from 2GHz up to 3.20GHz, with front side bus speeds (FSB) up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 12MB. The three new dual-core chips feature clock speeds of up to 3.40GHz, an FSB of up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 6MB.
The 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors are compatible with server platforms using the Intel® 5000 chipset family. Pricing of the 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors depends on the model, speeds, features and amount ordered, and ranges from $177 to $1,279 in quantities of 1,000.
The 45nm Hi-k Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 quad core processor is priced at $999 in quantities of 1,000.
Intel will have two 45nm manufacturing fabs in production by the end of the year, with a total of four in production by the second half of 2008. The company is currently making the chips in Oregon and Arizona. Next year, it will add plants in Israel and New Mexico.
Sean Maloney, Intel’s chief sales and marketing officer, told the NY Times that the chips’ increased computing power would enable high-resolution, full-screen video that will begin to compete with the living room HDTV. “It’s biggest impact is high-definition video,” he said. “It will be highly addictive.” To get better video compression, Intel has added a set of 46 instructions it calls SSE4 to the new microprocessors.
EE Times says AMD still commands an architectural lead, because it puts four CPU cores and a memory controller on a single die with a fast interconnect. Intel stacks two dual-core dice in their initial Penryn rollout. However, the 45-nm Penryn chips exceed the 2-GHz data rates AMD so far hits with its 65-nm server CPUs rolled out earlier this year.
Intel, meanwhile is at work with its next-generation chips, called Nehalem, which could erase AMD’s architectural edge. The Nehalem chips, to be introduced late next year, will be similar to AMD’s latest Opterons, with four cores and a memory controller on a single die. Nehalem CPUs are slated for the second half of 2008.
The mobile version of Penryn won’t happen until next year. Santa Rosa refers to the fourth-generation Centrino laptop platform. Montevina refers to the fifth-generation, available in Q2 2008.
Intel will first drop the new Penryn into a refreshed version of the current Santa Rosa architecture. Then a new laptop architecture, Montevina, will enhance performance with matching support chips. Wireless Modules for the Montevina platform, expected in six months or so, include the Intel Wireless WiFi Link mini-PCIe adapter (code-named Shiloh), an add-on card WiMAX card (code-named Dana Point), or the Intel combo WiFi/WiMAX Link mini-PCIe adapter (code-named Echo Peak).
Intel’s new Menlow UMPC (ultra-mobile PC) platform is expected to deliver better performance than the current McCaslin-based UMPCs. The next-generation Moorestown UMPC will be optimized for 45nm chips.
Intel’s next-generation platform for MIDs and UMPCs is codenamed “Menlow”, due in the first half of 2008 (platforms demoed, above). It will be based on a new 45nm processor, codenamed “Silverthorne,” and next-generation chipset, codenamed “Poulsbo.” After that comes Moorestown, a mobile SOC (system on a chip), integrating CPU, graphics, video and a memory controller on a single 45-nm processor. Intel promises this platform will use 10 times less power than its other mobile platforms.
Intel will introduce the Silverthorne processor in the first half of 2008, and will incorporate it into MIDs, or Mobile Internet Devices. Silverthorne is a low-volt chip and will offer the same performance-per-watt capabilities as the chips in the laptop-oriented Montevina.
Related Penryn articles on DailyWireless include; Mark Bohr: Senior Intel Fellow and Intel Developer’s Forum ‘07.
