Re: CPU question

From: NoNoBadDog! (mypants_bjsledgeATpixi.com)
Date: 10/29/04 

Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2004 18:35:39 -1000

Intel has announced that it will no longer develop *ANY* P4 core beyond what
is currently in distribution. Instead, it will reverse itself and instead
push chips with larger L2 cache and dual cores. For years Intel swore that
L2 cache and dual core did not offer a viable way to increase speed, but now
that their engineers cannot get the current architecture to operate at 4GHz
without cryogenic cooling, they are *NOW* saying that CPU core clock speed
is *ahem* not what determines how fast a chip is, but are now saying that L2
cache and dual core are. Keep in mind that in the Intel chip, L1 and L2
cache are redundant, meaning that the same data that is in L1 is also in L2,
reducing the overall available information in cache. In the AMD (and all
other) architecture, the L1 and L2 are exclusive.

   We are all witnessing the death of an era here...whether because of a bad
business model, sheer arrogance, or complacency we are seeing the death of a
*kung*...basically the P4 is dead, and Intel has nothing ready to maintain
it's sheer dominance in the marketplace.

   Personally, after years as a dedicated Intel type, I am firmly in support
of AMD64...it is definitely a better piece of hardware in every way, and
offers
true 64 bit power today...not the emulation of the current crop of "EMT64"
wanna be chips.

   Intel has a long, bitter battle ahead, and I, for one, do not have the
confidence in them that I once did. It is truly sad that it has come to
this, but at least one company (AMD) had the courage and vision to move
ahead in the market.

Bobby

"BAR" <BAR@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:160B260B-E994-4482-B7FA-96E206656BF4@microsoft.com...
> Prescott, hit the streets in the 4th quarter of 2003. The Prescott
> processor
> is the code name for a generation of IA-32 processors. It is expected at
> 3.2GHz and will eventually scale up into the 5GHz region.
>
> Although based on the NetBurst architecture similar to its Pentium 4
> predecessors, Prescott nevertheless features a slew of enhancements to its
> micro-architecture with improved Hyper-Threading Technology, advanced
> power
> management, 13 new instructions and larger caches.
>
> Intel is fabricating the Prescott on huge 300mm wafers with its cutting
> edge
> 90-nanometer (90nm) strained silicon process. The 90nm process enables
> Intel
> to pack in more cache into Prescott. Prescott double previous Pentium 4
> cache
> figures with 16K of L1 and a whopping 1MB of L2 (as a comparison, the
> current
> L2 record holder for is AMD's Barton core with only 512K of L2). In order
> to
> fit such a large amount of cache into the core, Intel added a 7th copper
> layer paving the way for >100M transistor counts. The 90nm process also
> includes certain features which allows for higher clock frequencies and
> lower
> voltages in the neighborhood of 1.2V. The larger cache will aid the
> processor
> in pre-fetching and storing data close to it for faster processing.
>
> Intel Desktop Processor Roadmap
> In true Intel fashion, Prescott has 13 additional instructions added to
> improve application areas such as in multimedia and gaming. Dubbed the
> Prescott New Instructions (PNI), the additions speed up FP to integer
> conversions, complex arithmetic, video encoding, enable SIMD FP operations
> in
> AOS format and thread synchronization. The technology is compatible with
> existing software written for Intel architecture microprocessors and
> existing
> software should continue to run correctly, without modification, on
> microprocessors that incorporate PNI. Of course, Prescott includes MMX,
> SSE
> and SSE2 extensions as well.
>
> After its initial release in Northwood, an improved Hyper-Threading
> Technology is now a mainstay on Prescott's feature list. HT will
> definitely
> benefit from the larger caches as well as the new thread synchronization
> instructions. After its HT lackluster introduction in Northwood, Intel is
> probably banking on Prescott to show HT's true potential. Perhaps by then,
> more applications will be optimized to take advantage of this technology.
>
> Prescott also includes support for Intel's LaGrande initiative which calls
> for protected execution, memory and storage. It is believed that LaGrande
> and
> Microsoft's Palladium technology will work together to increase the level
> of
> computing security. LaGrande would be implemented through processor
> extensions and it is left to be seen if the initial offering of Prescott
> will
> have it enabled.
>
> In line with Intel's 865 (Springdale) and 875P (Canterwood) family of
> chipsets, Prescott debuted on 800 MHz FSB with DualDDR333 and DualDDR400
> support. Prescott platforms are expected to pack a punch in term of
> peformance. Following this, Intel is expected to unveil its Tejas
> processor,
> the successor to Prescott in 2004.
>
> Now all this means nothing to you if the motherboard cannot support it.
>
> As with all PC components newer generation items [CPU, RAM, Display Chips
> etc] are designed to be better faster and cheaper than their predecessors.
> Don't get too caught up in the hype, just buy what is compatible with your
> existing hardware or else upgrade.
>
>
>
> "David B." wrote:
>
>> Make sure the board supports Prescott CPU's
>>
>> --
>> ________________________________
>> Vote Quimby
>> ________________________________
>> "Jack Carlson" <jack@email.com> wrote in message
>> news:OhzQ7CLvEHA.1404@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>> >I am looking at a P4 processor (478 socket) to go with an Intel board.
>> >
>> > What difference does it play for the type of Core and the mobo? The
>> > Core for
>> > the processor I am looking at is Prescott. Are they any compatibility
>> > issues
>> > I should be aware of with the mobo?
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>

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