FiringSquad: Home of the Hardcore Gamer - Games, Hardware, Reviews and NewsSubmit your own or view users' CPU overclocking results!

  
 Home   News   THE MATRIX   Deals   Hardware   Games   Features   Media   Products   Forums   FS China 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Home : Hardware : CPUs : Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010
» Join the Greatest Gaming Community NOW! (It's free)

Already a member? Login
 


EVGA: my number 1 (0) by imagination
Scandle at EVGA! (2) by exe3
Afghanistan and Iraq (0) by anastamoses@gmail.com
Getting The Most Out of Your AMD CPU (2) by Deux
Round 2 Rules! (20) by fs-lyle
Banana (4) by p4l1ndr0m3
»» best haiku ever (0) by darkportal_4
Funniest thing to do with the OCZ name (4) by SuperCharge
The Orange Box Review in 500 Words! [Preliminary #2] (7) by Swatt
Guild Wars Gets a Bad Review (11) by Joluha

More Blogs >>


 Hottest Topics
New Modern Warfare 2 PC petition created (33)
ATI Radeon 5970 Performance Preview (12)
BioShock 2 special edition includes vinyl LP (12)
Activision hopes to monetize some aspects of CoD multi (11)
Modern Warfare 2 PC outsells Call of Duty 4 (11)
First Fermi-based Tesla board announced (9)
New Bad Company 2 trailer released (9)
Supreme Commander 2 coming this Spring (8)
Left 4 Dead 2 PC Review (6)
JPR: PC gaming hardware market forecast to hit $27B next year (6)
Report says Activision has hired a 3rd dev team to make Call of Duty games (6)
Is CoD: MW2's 'Ghost' getting his own game? (6)
Microsoft patents 'Super Guide': in-game walkthroughs (5)
Industry analyst believes game prices will fall in 2010 (5)
Atari announces open beta dates for Star Trek Online (4)
Today's News >>
Today's Siteseeing >>


 News Archive
This Month

October 1 - 31, 2009

September 1 - 30, 2009

August 1 - 31, 2009

July 1 - 31, 2009

June 1 - 30, 2009

May 1 - 31, 2009

April 1 - 30, 2009

March 1 - 31, 2009

February 1 - 28, 2009

January 1 - 31, 2009

December 1 - 31, 2008

November 1 - 30, 2008



Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010
February 10, 2009   Brandon Sandman Bell > [View My Other Articles]
Product Info | User Reviews | Article Images(20) | Image Gallery | Comments | Forum Thread
Westmere


Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 907 x 679 ] > View Full-Size in another window.


Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 906 x 680 ] > View Full-Size in another window.



Like Nehalem, Westmere will support Intel technologies incorporated into Nehalem like Hyper-Threading, Intel Turbo Boost, and an integrated memory controller. When it launches in late 2009 two Westmere-based cores will be offered: Clarkdale for desktops, and Arrandale for notebooks.

Both Clarkdale and Arrandale will sport two processing cores with Hyper-Threading, bringing support for up to four threads to run simultaneously, and they’ll also be the first Intel CPUs to feature integrated graphics on the CPU package (although it won’t be on the same piece of silicon as the CPU die). Intel also says both CPUs will support dual-channel DDR3, with 4MB cache. In another first, the new processors will also support Intel’s new AES instructions: these are 7 new instructions focused on delivering accelerated encryption/decryption. This should reap benefits for users concerned about data security who would like to encrypt their hard drive.

Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 907 x 677 ] > View Full-Size in another window.


Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [ Unlike Penryn, Westmere packaging will consist of 2 chips, one is the CPU and the 2nd chip is GPU+Memory controller @ 910 x 677 ] > View Full-Size in another window.
Unlike Penryn, Westmere packaging will consist of 2 chips, one is the CPU and the 2nd chip is GPU+Memory controller


In terms of graphics, Intel says the new integrated graphics core should deliver dramatically improved performance, although when pressed further it sounds like it isn’t a new architecture, rather the design is derived from their existing 65-nm IGP. Instead the performance benefits largely come from the improved bandwidth and reduced latency Intel obviously reaps by integrating the CPU and GPU closer together on the same package, as well as higher clock speeds. Unlike the 32-nm Westmere CPU, the graphics chip used will be based on Intel's existing 45-nm process.

By integrating graphics on the same package as the CPU, that also obviously makes life tougher for someone like NVIDIA, who has touted their superior graphics performance before with integrated graphics products like GeForce 9400M, which has won numerous design wins including Apple Macbook.

With graphics moving off of the chipset and directly onto the CPU itself, it’s more efficient for someone like Apple, Dell, or HP to just use the integrated graphics provided by the CPU rather than going to the expense of using an NVIDIA chipset. Fortunately Clarkdale and Arrandale support switchable graphics, so a discrete GPU could be combined with the CPU to deliver superior 3D performance when needed for apps like gaming, and then switch back to the integrated graphics to conserve power.

Another benefit of integrating graphics onto the same package as the CPU for Intel is flexibility: they can easily add newer, more powerful graphics parts as they become available without having to resort to introducing a new system chipset or affecting the CPU core itself.

Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 905 x 680 ] > View Full-Size in another window.


Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 908 x 678 ] > View Full-Size in another window.



Interestingly enough, Intel has no plans at this time for a quad-core Westmere part. This also came as a bit of a surprise to us, but Intel said they plan to focus on the high volume market first and foremost. They also mentioned the current state of the economy, where consumers seem to be more price-conscious than ever. Obviously Clarkdale and Arrandale will be going primarily into low-cost desktop and notebook PCs, where dual-core is more prevalent.

Rather than introduce a new quad-core part based on Westmere, Intel’s sole quad-core parts will remain Lynnfield and Clarksfield until their next-generation Sandy Bridge architecture arrives at the end of 2010. You can see that in this slide here:

Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 905 x 683 ] > View Full-Size in another window.



Fortunately Clarkdale and Arrandale will rely on the same 5-series motherboards launching first for Lynnfield and Clarksfield.

For the high-end desktop PC market, in early 2010 Intel plans to replace today’s Core i7 CPUs with a third Westmere-based core codenamed Gulftown. Gulftown will ship with six processing cores, with Hyper-Threading support added on top brining the total number of threads supported to 12.

According to Intel, Gulftown will utilize today’s X58 chipset, so potentially users upgrading right now should have an upgrade path a year from today.

To whet the public’s appetite, Intel also showed off desktop and mobile Westmere-based platforms today:

Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 2816 x 2112 ] > View Full-Size in another window.


Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 2816 x 2112 ] > View Full-Size in another window.


Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 2465 x 1969 ] > View Full-Size in another window.


Intel CPU Roadmap 2009-2010 [  @ 2778 x 1900 ] > View Full-Size in another window.



Conclusion

Intel’s lead in process technology gives them a huge advantage over AMD. In addition, unlike AMD, Intel’s roadmap execution has been perfect as of late. When Intel says they’re going to do something, they actually deliver on that promise. That makes life easier for system integrators who can plan accordingly, and the consumer benefits from the timely arrival of new products.

As enthusiasts, we’re a little disappointed to see Gulftown isn’t launching at the end of this year, but given Core i7’s lead over AMD, obviously Intel doesn’t feel a higher-end CPU part is needed right now. Instead they’re going directly after the value mantle AMD is heavily competing in with lower spec Athlon X2 parts.

This move is likely going to make life tougher for AMD come the end of 2009.

NVIDIA will also come under pressure as a result of this move. By canceling Havendale and going straight to Clarkdale and Arrandale, Intel will have a more powerful graphics part (although we wouldn’t be surprised if they’re still behind today’s GeForce 9400M) that’s packaged with the CPU. This makes it tougher for NVIDIA to sell their integrated chipsets, as you’re essentially asking your partners to buy something that Intel’s basically giving them for free. Just as integrated audio and networking have made life tougher for the likes of Creative and 3Com, integrated graphics that’s built-in to the CPU will make things tougher for NVIDIA.

Discrete graphics will always have a place in the PC, but as the surge in netbook sales has shown, the value segment is where the real growth is right now.

We’re also baffled by Intel’s decision to rely on Lynnfield and Clarksfield to service the mainstream quad-core space until Sandy Bridge arrives. Here our guess is that Intel will have plenty of SKUs to adequately service the market, especially if Intel ends up introducing slower Core i7 parts below the 920 at some point. It also doesn’t hurt that AMD’s quad-core Phenom II parts are more competitive with today’s Core 2 Penryn CPUs than Nehalem, so again, there’s no rush to introduce new parts in this space when your existing lineup should be more than adequate enough to outperform the competition.

In terms of clock speeds, Intel revealed that clocks won't be drastically different than today's CPUs. So don't expect anything too drastic here.

In any case, Intel’s got AMD right where they want them, and their recent moves with Westmere will also make life tougher for their other competitor, NVIDIA. Add in Larrabee and things get even more interesting for Intel. We don’t see Intel’s dominance ending anytime soon.


Back! Page 1     Back to FiringSquad frontpage
Blog + Share: Digg Del.icio.us Reddit SU furl • More: AddThis Social Bookmark Button
Send This Article to a Friend!  
Table of Contents
  Print Entire Article  

MATRIX CONTENT » RANDOM MEDIA BLOG More Blogs >>
No ratings yet
» Please rate this
I am an AMD AgentRead this Media-Blog entry!» Apple of your eye... (0)
by SuperCharge (4) Talk with this user on their Shout Box (My other blogs) Posted 7 months ago
  Latest Content
Left 4 Dead 2 PC Review
Left 4 Dead 2 PC Review
Valve says Left 4 Dead 2 contains so much new content, it's worthy of a sequel rather than DLC. Is this true or false? Judge for yourself in today's review!
Nov 20, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
ATI Radeon 5970 Performance Preview
ATI Radeon 5970 Performance Preview
After a 10-month hiatus, ATI's once again got the world's fastest graphics card. The Radeon 5970 fuses two RV870 chips onto one board for max performance, and is built for OC'ing. See how this board fares in the latest games including Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and DX11 titles like STALKER: Call of Pripyat in this article!
Nov 17, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 PC Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 PC Review
With no dedicated servers, no lean, and 18-player cap for multi, does Modern Warfare 2 for PC live up to its predecessors? Most of the reviews online have praised Infinity Ward's latest shooter but those reviews were focused for console players -- how does the PC port fare? Find out in today's review!
Nov 13, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
Sapphire Radeon 5870 Vapor-X 1GB Review
Bull's Eye Award Sapphire Radeon 5870 Vapor-X 1GB Review
With its custom vapor chamber cooling+heatpipes and factory OC'ing, Sapphire's 5870 Vapor-X is targeted towards gamers looking for a 5870 card with a little more oomph than the stock 5870 card can provide. Best part of all is that the card sells for just $10 more than the stock Radeon 5870. See how much cooler and quieter the Vapor-X card runs inside!
Nov 10, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
Dragon Age Origins Review
Editor's Choice Award Dragon Age Origins Review
While Jakub wasn't too impressed with Dragon Age Origins, Vandy has a completely different take on the game. This is one review you definitely won't want to miss if you're a BioWare fan!
Nov 9, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
Phenom II Gets A New Revision: 125W AMD Phenom II X4 965 Performance Preview
Phenom II Gets A New Revision: 125W AMD Phenom II X4 965 Performance Preview
Promising lower power consumption, lower temps, and most importantly for enthusiasts, more OC'ing, AMD is back with a new CPU revision for the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, which now boasts a 125W TDP. Is AMD able to deliver on their promises though? Find out in today's article!
Nov 3, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
Shattered Horizon Review
Shattered Horizon Review
FutureMark, well known for their popular 3DMark benchmarks, is venturing into new territory with Shattered Horizon. This multiplayer shooter is perhaps best known for its system requirements -- the game supports DX10 only -- but there's more underneath the surface of this game than fancy visuals. Is it worth its $20 price tag though? Read Vandy's take inside!
Nov 2, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
Borderlands PC Review
Borderlands PC Review
Is it an RPG or is it an FPS? Borderlands blends the best elements of both in one entertaining package. Vandy has spent the past week playing the PC version of the game and came away rather impressed. Read his full thoughts on the game in today's review!
Oct 29, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
AMD Athlon II X3 435/Athlon II X2 240e Performance Preview
AMD Athlon II X3 435/Athlon II X2 240e Performance Preview
Today AMD is introducing 8 new Athlon II CPUs intended to service different segments of the budget CPU market. For HTPC users, new 45W dual, triple, and quad core offerings should deliver good performance along with low power, while performance junkies on a budget will want to look at AMD's new Athlon II X3 CPUs. See how the new chips stack up in terms of performance and OC'ing in this article!
Oct 19, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]
EVGA P55 FTW Review
EVGA P55 FTW Review
Looking for a good P55 motherboard to OC your CPU beyond 4GHz? If so, you may want to check out EVGA's P55 FTW. With its extra ATX12V connector, this motherboard can send up to 600W of juice to the CPU, and it's got more voltage settings in BIOS than 95% of the general public needs. But that's just barely scratching the surface of what this board can do. Check out today's review for the full details!
Oct 16, 2009   [ View Similar Articles | View Comments ]




 Hottest Topics
New Modern Warfare 2 PC petition created (33)
ATI Radeon 5970 Performance Preview (12)
BioShock 2 special edition includes vinyl LP (12)
Activision hopes to monetize some aspects of CoD multi (11)
Modern Warfare 2 PC outsells Call of Duty 4 (11)
Today's News >>
Today's Siteseeing >>


 Table of Contents


Check Out These Related Articles >>
Phenom II Gets A New Revision: 125W AMD Phenom II X4 965 Performance Preview
Phenom II Gets A New Revision: 125W AMD Phenom II X4 965 Performance Preview
AMD Athlon II X3 435/Athlon II X2 240e Performance Preview
AMD Athlon II X3 435/Athlon II X2 240e Performance Preview
AMD Athlon II X4 630 and 620 'Propus' Performance Preview
AMD Athlon II X4 630 and 620 'Propus' Performance Preview
Intel's Core i7/Core i5 'Lynnfield' Processors
Intel's Core i7/Core i5 'Lynnfield' Processors
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Performance Preview
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Performance Preview
Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition/Core i7-950 Performance Preview
Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition/Core i7-950 Performance Preview
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition/Athlon II X2 250 Performance Preview
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition/Athlon II X2 250 Performance Preview
FiringSquad is powered by... Back to Top Site MapContact UsAdvertise With Us Privacy StatementAbout Us  
News RSSSiteseeing RSSArticle RSS   © 1998-2009 FS Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved