Semiconductor giant Intel Corp plans to update its Xeon server processor so that it can address vastly more memory than previous generations and compete head-on with Advanced Micro Devices Inc's (AMD) Opteron chips.
Until now, Intel's 64-bit strategy revolved solely around its high-end Itanium processors, which were codeveloped with Hewlett-Packard Co for the most demanding computing jobs. Anything else could be handled by today's 32-bit processors, the company had said.
On Tuesday, Intel changed its tune, saying an increasing number of programs -- primarily for the business world -- can take advantage of the additional memory made possible with 64 bits. Operating systems that support 64-bit computing are now available or in testing.
Intel, which introduced Itanium just as demand was collapsing in the 2001 downturn, said it is not backing away from that chip despite sales that have failed to meet original expectations.
"We're trying to span the range from the very high-end enterprise down to the smaller server workstation," Craig Barrett, Intel's chief executive, said at the company's spring developer conference.
The new Xeons, which will become available in the second quarter, will be targeted at servers and workstations, as opposed to large corporate mainframe computers for Itanium chips. Unlike Itanium, the Xeons can run existing programs designed for 32-bit chips without a performance hit.
Intel's announcement ratchets up the competition with AMD and affirms the smaller company's 64-bit computing strategy.
"They've finally started listening to customers -- and listening to the same customers we've been talking to for some time," said Ben Williams, director of AMD's server and workstation business segments.
Last year, AMD, which until then was primarily known for producing Intel clones, launched its 64-bit Opteron server chip. Unlike Itanium, it did not require an emulation mode to run older programs.
"The timing of Intel's move allowed AMD to get established in the market," said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst at Insight 64. "Intel's move now enhances their credibility. In the end, it will be more competitive and that's a huge win for the end user."
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
RSS