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."
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
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