Intel's 6-Core CPU Possibly Delayed
Looks as though Intel's "Gulftown" processor has seen a slight delay, now pushed back from its original Q4 2009 / Q1 2010 ship date.
Hardware site HKEPC is reporting that information provided by a "Taiwan motherboard entrepreneur"--Intel's Gulftown processor will arrive on the market sometime around Q2 2010. The processor was originally expected to appear in Q4 2009 / Q1 2010 but now seems to be pushed back (if the information is correct). The upcoming 32nm processor is actually the successor to the Bloomfield core that currently serves the Core i7 920, 940, and 965 CPUs, and when released, Gulftown will aim towards the high-end desktop and DP server markets.
As part of the follow-up to the Westmere-based Core i7 family, the Gulftown processor will come packed with six cores, Hyper-Threading technology activated allowing it the ability to process 12 threads at one time. Gulftown will also be compatible with the LGA 1366 socket, the Intel X58 chipset, and feature a TDP of 130W. When it eventually arrives, Gulftown will support 2x QPI (Intel's QuickPath Interconnect), 3x DDR3 800-1066 and 12 MB of shared L3 cache.
Additionally, Gulftown will also feature a new set of instructions that supposedly gives over 3x the encryption and decryption rate of AES processes than previous CPUs. This means that Gulftown can perform hardware-accelerated encryption, providing not only faster execution, but protection against software targeted attacks. The processor will also reduce latency in virtualization transition as well thanks to more hardware-based virtualization extensions.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
-
kyeana Considering most programs today don't take advantage of 4 cores, im not to worried about the possible delay of the 6 core 12 thread cpu.Reply -
deltatux I think the number of cores on a chip is accelerating a tad too fast. I agree with kyeana, most programs have yet to fully utilize even 4 cores. I have a Phenom II 810, and only some software can take advantage of my four cores which are virtualization and video encoding.Reply
I think for now until later next year, 4 cores should be more than enough for anyone who's not going to use their systems to only do professional work. Of course if you're doing Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas on your systems, the more cores, the merrier. -
Greatwalrus UnlicensedHitmanWe can finally run Crysis on all maxed settings with AA maxed out!You could do that on an i7 if you had the right video card...Reply
But anyways, now I am in a predicament whether to wait for one of their 32nm chips or go for an i7... my gut is saying i7. OR if whatever AMD has to offer is more fitting, then go for it :) -
It's nice to see AMD catching up, they look to be on track with their 6-core processor. I can make use of 6-cores, I wish they'd hurry up and release it.Reply
-
LoneEagle May be too much for a desktop but more convenient for a server. I run multiple processes and really need a lot of core. The server that I use has dual quad (no HT) and would like one of these.Reply
Other that use virtualization or whatever on a server will be happy. Overkill for a desktop.