Intel to launch quad-core chips on Nov. 13 - to market in a new line of Hewlett-Packard workstations

[Kevin Callahan]

<http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/10/13/quadcore/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>

Intel to launch quad-core chips on Nov. 13

In a race with rival Advanced Micro Devices, Intel will bring its  
quad-core chips to market in a new line of Hewlett-Packard  
workstations due to be introduced on Nov. 13.

HP sent out invitations to the event but did not specify exact models  
and prices. The computers will probably use Intel’s planned Xeon 5300  
chip, and are designed to run high-end applications like seismic  
analysis and visualization software from Autodesk, Parametric  
Technology, Landmark Graphics and Ansys.

The launch would mean that Intel brings quad-core processors to  
market before AMD, a crucial win in a year when Intel has made as  
many headlines for its layoffs and missed earnings targets as for its  
technology.

AMD plans to release its own quad-core chips in the middle of 2007,  
and claims its monolithic design is superior to Intel’s plan, which  
essentially glues two dual-cores chips together. But without having  
any hardware to test, analysts are divided on whether this detail  
will significantly affect the chips’ performance.

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini defended the company’s design at  
last month’s Intel Developer Forum, saying that customers would care  
more about the pure speed and performance of their computers than  
about how the chips inside it are packaged.

Compared to the ratcheting of clock speeds in conventional chips  
above 3GHz and 4GHz, multiple-core chips can accelerate processing  
tasks in desktops and servers without drawing more electricity and  
generating extra heat. They can also handle more than one instruction  
set at a time, allowing computers to multitask more efficiently.

The game enthusiast market will be a testing ground for the first  
quad-core chips, as Intel has already arranged to ship its “Core 2  
Extreme” version of the chip to 13 gaming PC vendors, including Dell,  
Gateway and VoodooPC, Otellini said at the show. The company plans to  
ship the “Core 2 Quad” version for mainstream desktops in the first  
quarter of 2007.

In contrast, the launch with HP next month will focus on high-end  
users in the fields of digital content creation, computer-aided  
engineering and design and oil and gas exploration.

One of the earliest users of quad-core chips is the Gates Planetarium  
at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. On Thursday, HP invited  
reporters to witness the technology at a Nov. 13 press conference  
called “Quad Fest.”