Intel To Launch Three Nehalem-based Processors By The End Of Q4
Intel plans to launch three Nehalem-based quad-core processors (Bloomfield) at the end of the fourth quarter this year targeting the company’s new LGA1366 socket, according to sources at motherboard makers. Although official model names have not yet been set, the CPUs are currently identified by the codenames XE, P1 and MS3 with core frequencies of 3.2GHz, 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz, respectively.
More here at Digitimes.
wat
And yeah these server versions are not gonna be cheap, but they have three channel memory!
Personally, I wish they would finish the job and integrated the entire northbridge and southbridge into the cpu package. Dole out features, speed, and efficiency in a single package and adjust prices accordingly. If they could make a common standard then they wouldn't need separate Intel/AMD/VIA motherboards... people could just buy the ones that provide the features they want, 2 PCIe x16 slots... a firewire port... 6 USB ports... integrated audio and LAN... better VRMs and cooling and more phases for overclocking...
I could go on and on. Wish I could get paid for my thoughts
@sublifer
I'm not sure that I like the idea of one company (or 2 if AMD did the same) having complete control over the features that my motherboard will have. The way it is now there are many MB manufacturers and competition like that is good. It spurs innovation and price reductions.
Full chart of nehalem products available at wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehalem_(microarchitecture)
Do you even realize how many pins would the processor need to have?!
Not to mention that you're putting all of the hot components into one package. The cooling needed would be crazy, or clock speed would take a big hit.
LGA 4K. Yay! Massive heat and expense! My P35 chip gets hot enough, I can't imagine what a 'nforce 890i' chip and a 3.2+Ghz quad core would generate heat-wise. You could cook a steak on one
I heard somewhere (well, here) that Nehalem would be non-overclockable, except for the extremely high end ones. Thats disappointing if it's true. Good thing I've never really relied on overclocking performance to effect my buy. That right there might give AMD a slight advantage.
yeah as i said ti doesnt matter how many pins there are.... like 10GHz difference (effective cause its quad core...sort of ... well not relaly but yeah) between a p4 and a C2 extreme and NO PIN CHANGES!!
More than likely it would be the same mb manufacturers making the boards, not Intel or AMD. With a universal pin-out for processing and controller features it would probably open the door for MANY more companies to develop processors. Right now AMD controls its CPU package and Intel controls theirs, in order for a new company to come out they would either have to license from them (fat chance of that) or compete with a brand new platform against the entrenched standards not to mention all the R&D that would go into developing a new platform.
As for pin count on this idea, it might not increase by much since a lot of the work would be done internal to the chip. Otherwise, communication on the motherboard could be made more serialized (means less pins needed)
As for the potential heat, again, not likely an issue, cores would be separated by controllers and paths of various sorts which could increase the total cooling area. These controllers would also benefit more from the better cooling solutions placed over CPUs.
One idea to reduce the package foot print on the board AND increase cooling area is to make the chip cylindrical. Cooling could wrap around it and clamp down like hose clamps.
Did I mention I wish I could get paid for my ideas?