Intel demonstrated its fastest multicore processor yet at the Spring Intel Development Forum (IDF) in Beijing on Tuesday, an 80-core processor that hit a speedy 2-teraflops (trillions of floating point operations per second) in a demonstration.
Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner showed off the latest example of the company's Terascale technology, a research effort aimed at keeping Intel processors at the cutting edge of speed.
The point of the chips is to push into new technology frontiers. Not only are they speedy, but they are designed to use as little power as possible and better manage heat. Such speedy chips could be used for processing intensive work, such as military or scientific research, weather modeling, in the financial markets or in mining and exploration. The company has no plans to bring the chips to market.
A first-run of the processor reached 1 teraflop and used 46 watts. A second test reached 1.5 teraflops on 93.98 watts. Then, a final run achieved 2 teraflops, utilizing 191.79 watts.
The new chip improves over the performance of its predecessor, which Intel showed off in February. The 80 core chip, which was just the size of a fingernail, hit a computing speed of 1.81 teraflops.
Intel used the demonstration on Tuesday to reinforce one of IDF's main themes: that it is and intends to remain the chip speed and technology leader as die size continues to shrink. The company plans to ensure a "sustained technology cadence," Rattner said, or a regular roll-out of new chips using smaller dies so that end-user product developers can count on timely upgrades and new technology.
The company's 45-nanometer manufacturing technology is another major piece of Intel's push forward. It's the first new transistor architecture from Intel in 40 years, due to changes Intel made in order to further shrink the size of the vital chip component.
"Sustained leadership in terms of the semiconductor process and the underlying technology" is key to the company's success, Rattner said.
Chips made using the 45nm production technology will see a 20 percent increase in performance; gate leakage reduced by 10 times; and about a doubling in transistor density, Rattner said.
Production of Intel's upcoming Penryn microprocessor, a Core 2 Duo built on 45nm technology will begin commercial production in the second half of 2007, he said, in line with earlier company forecasts for the new chip. The company's smallest manufacturing process used in mass production currently is 65nm technology.
Going forward, Intel will move to even tinier 32nm technology in 2009, with 30nm technology following afterwards, Rattner said, although he did not specify when. Between 2006 and 2010, improvement in performance per watt will be 300 percent.
IDF runs through Wednesday at the Beijing International Convention Center.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Hardware Resource Alerts
Recommend This
