Intel Releases first 65nm Dual Core

[zippyjuan]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20051227215919.html

Intel Unwraps First 65nm Presler Chip: Pentium Extreme Edition 955.
Intel Unveils World’s First 65nm x86 Microprocessor

Category: CPU

by Anton Shilov

[ 12/27/2005 | 09:59 PM ]


Intel Corp. on Tuesday officially put the wraps off the world’s first 65nm x86 microprocessor that was previously known under Presler code-name. The new chip utilizes the company’s NetBurst architecture and offers only a slight performance improvement compared to the dual-core chips made using 90nm fabrication process, still, the new product allowed Intel to claim victory over to-date fastest offering from Advanced Micro Devices.

Intel Pentium Extreme Edition model 955 operates at 3.46GHz and utilizes 1066MHz processor system bus as well as 4MB of cache in total, or 2MB per core. The new chip supports Hyper-Threading technology for both cores thus allowing execution of up to four software threads simultaneously. The new chip also features Intel virtualization technology as well as other platform innovations, such as EM64T, EDB and iAMT2. The new chip is only compatible with mainboards based on Intel 975X chipset.

The fundamental difference between Presler and its predecessor, Smithfield, design is separate processing engines located on a single piece of substrate, whereas in case of Smithfield the cores were integrated into a monolithic piece of silicon.

The new manufacturing process and new method of dual-core implementation should allow Intel Corp. to make dual-core processors more cost-efficiently, which will eventually provide the company an ability to offer more appealing pricing on those chips. Nevertheless, despite of the fact that the 65nm process technology is supposed to allow significantly higher clock-speeds compared to 90nm, Intel does not currently plan to bring dual-core Presler processors with frequency higher than 3.46GHz onto the market. Still, even with improvements in clock-speed, cache size and PSB frequency the new Extreme Edition processor manages to compete with AMD’s Athlon 64 X2 rather successfully.

“Pentium Extreme Edition 955 is not an eternal loser in the dual-core duel anymore. There are a lot of applications where Pentium Extreme Edition 955 managed to defeat AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+, the top dual-core solution from Intel’s competitor. In fact, AMD processor remains the leader only in gaming applications, in professional OpenGL tasks and a few codecs,” said X-bit labs analyst Ilya Gavrichenkov in article called “First Look at Presler: Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 955 CPU Review”.

The new chip is expected to be available shortly at the price of $999 in 1000-unit quantities.

[shocky123]

LOL, if it's anything like the ~$1100 dual-core extreme edition I have at the lab, I'll stay at home to cook my eggs... I've literally never seen it under 70C
I'd like to imagine this was addressed by intel, however, I'm thoroughly unimpressed by the fact they're still squashing P4's on the die's....

Oh yeah, still have another Intel only motherboard.. sweeet! :(

~Kyle

[zero2dash]

If it doesn't have an onboard memory controller (like the Athlon 64 X2 chips), then they (Intel) can forget about "catching up". :shrug:

[clutchy]

i hope it works out well for them, God knows they need a break.

AMD has been the one innovating in the industry Intel seems stuck with upping Ghz and shrinking dies. They need something like the integrated mem controller, although i have to give them credit for HT.

[zero2dash]

Now that I think about it, Intel reminds me a lot of Nintendo back in the old days before Sony took over the crown.

Nintendo (like Intel) was stagnant in coming up with new ideas and decided to keep doing the same things over and over...meanwhile Sony (like AMD) offered something new, and added a lot to the market (AMD with the better dual core design + onboard memory controller) meanwhile Nintendo (Intel) kept chugging along thinking "they'll never beat us".

Ooops...too late. History repeats itself.
Granted though, I do love my P4 3.0C w/HT. :thumb:
But my next PC will most likely be a dual core AMD chip because of lower price and better performance (especially in games).

Intel's got some catching up to do. Lowering prices is only the beginning...

[Grimm]

I shall translate the article.

Intel finaly developed a real consumer level dual-core CPU. You can't get one yet, they haven't started manufacturing them, but they have a few they can send to their pet Intel fanboi labs.
The AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ still beats their asses handily. But in a few heavily stilted tests, having nothing to do with real-world performance, the new Intel CPU managed to edge out the AMD CPU.
So, for much more cash ($1000+), you will soon be able to by an Intel CPU that sucks less than the previous one, but still can't beat out the AMD (priced at $787 at newegg).


It's sad when Intel's next generation CPU can't beat AMD's last generation CPU. AMD is so gonna own Intel when they start pumping out 65nm dual-cores.

[shocky123]

The AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ still beats their asses handily. But in a few heavily stilted tests, having nothing to do with real-world performance, the new Intel CPU managed to edge out the AMD CPU.


Re-Translated by myself :eyebrow::

'heavily stilted tests' = CPU frequency test/measurement

rock on intel lol..... first the Itanium, next.. the Pentium

~Kyle