Intel Announces Atom Server Processors For 2012
Intel and ARM are already clashing as traditional processor architectures are moving into new market segments.
There is some buzz about ARM-based servers and it appears that this market is attractive enough for Intel to compete here as well. The company said that it will be releasing Atom-based processors that will target the microserver segment by 2012.
Details are scarce: The only slice of information Intel released so far is that the CPUs will consume less than 10 watts. The company downplays the opportunity and said that the microserver market will account for less than 10% of the overall server market. Is Intel simply defending its turf with a new product? Possibly. Even 10% of the server market are hundreds of millions of dollars. And let's not forget that Intel's business model is based on the idea to sell more chips every year. Atom processors fit this model very well, especially since the profit margins are very high.
An advantage of the Intel architecture may be the ability to combine Atom processors with other low-power Xeon processors. Intel said that microservers will target light processing requirements in ultra-dense server environments.
Like mini-servers that fits in your pockets and run on little battery for lan partys!
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/16-core-Atom-SoC-Dileep-Bhandarker-Xeon,12102.html
But in saying that, it WOULD look pretty cool to show off 48 threads, as long as nobody finds out it's an ATOM system.
Yet still wont consume less power. I don't think people see where Atom wins. Brazos and Zecate on the low end laptop and netbook market kill in graphics and performance but still don't touch Atom in power usage and for netbooks, thats more important.
Intel plans 22nm this year which means Atom will see a refresh as well early next year. 22nm looks to be very efficient in power since Intel was demoing its SRAM at less than a volt running at 3.8GHz.
In servers as well, power means a lot. If the company can put more Atom CPUs to work that consume less power than the same amount of Brazos or Zecate CPUs, they will because the cost savings will more than make up for it.
The main reason Intel would do this is to head off any non-x86 (ARM) from gaining traction. Once it does, software gets ported to it, and it can move upstream relatively easily. It's best just to head it off before it appears, because once it develops momentum it's much harder to stop.
Next, the purpose of these low performance processors is not to somehow equate to the processing power of higher end processors, using more threads. People just don't get it. There are many workloads that are i/o based, not processor based. Do I want to waste 45 watts on something that's not using 10% of my processor capacity, if it's always waiting on the hard disk anyway? File servers don't need powerful processors in many situations, and it's not about getting 48 Atoms to equal a high-end Xeon. One Atom equals a high-end Xeon if the workload doesn't require much CPU time, and the Atom costs less, costs less to run, and costs less to cool.
There's a place for both, obviously. I still use a K6-2 on a server. Why? Because it wouldn't make any difference if I replaced it with something else. There are plenty of workloads like this, where the performance depends on the hard disk, not the processor.
LOL thats exactly what i was gona say.........
I'm all for it too, but ARM is crap too. It's almost as old, and is based on the 6502, a horrible instruction set too.
It's not clear to me why they don't use a modern instruction set, instead of these tired old warhorses that are less efficient.
It's all about laziness/expenses with recoding/porting software. Even if OS developers release a much better OS it may take decades for businessmen to switch over to the new architecture.
I agree, each has their place. Same thing can be seen with home users, there's no point in soccer moms or grandparents sporting a system with 6 processing cores and eyefinity graphics over something less expensive and less power hungry that will easily handle the tasks they require such as email, instant messaging etc. Everyone's needs vary and I'm surprised how many people can't seem to grasp this concept. "Cool factor" aside, why drive a crewcab pickup with a v-10 engine in it just to get to and from college classes where a less expensive and more fuel efficient sub compact would suffice? Businesses care far less about bragging rights than they do pinching pennies.. they have nothing to prove except a fatter bottom line profit and savings.
I'm surprised at all the people posting nothing but criticism of either Intel or AMD everytime a news release is made. They know just how many of these new cpu's will be required because apparently they have the inside scoop on the exact tasks these machines will be performing. Of course they always know better, know what instruction sets should be used and why.. because after all, they're so brilliant that they've scoffed when either Intel or AMD came to them with job offers and are currently running a more advanced and lucrative company that will leave both these tech giants in the dust. lol. I think the correct expression here is /* end wet dream */
So what processors are there that offers modern instruction sets? Itanium? MIPS? Dec Alpha? Sparc?