Qualification samples of Intel's upcoming Penryn desktop and server chips have gone out to manufacturing partners in anticipation of a November 12 launch. Penryn will launch on desktops with a high-end quad-core offering, the Core 2 Extreme QX9650. The CPU will feature 12MB of L2 cache and run at at least 3GHz.
Intel' Bonetrail platform will launch on October 10. These boards are based around a new X38 Express chip set, which includes support for DDR3 1333 memory and PCI Express 2.0. With PCI Express 2.0 on board, enthusiast and workstation systems can run two PCI express graphics cards at full x16 speeds. These X38 boards will also include new motherboard tweaking software, and unlocked bus ratios for easier overclocking. They should work with both Core 2 Duo and Quad chips as well as the up coming Penryn CPUs.
Servers got some love as well in Intel's Penryn line-up. A pair of these new compact X38ML boards will fit inside a standard 1U server rack.
Stoakley, Intel's new dual-processor platform for Penryn servers and workstations, includes a 1600-MHz frontside bus and the same PCI Express 2.0 support as Intel's X38-based enthusiast offering.
Stoakley will also form the basis for an uber-enthusiast, dual-socket gaming motherboard with support for two quad-core CPUs and up to four PCI Express x16 graphics boards. Intel demonstrated a water-cooled system running this crazy-fast (and crazy-expensive) platform dubbed "Skulltrail" at IDF today. They expect to ship Skulltrail systems late this year or early next year.
IDF was the first time we've seen a wafer of 45nm nehalem chips. Intel demonstrated the chip running Windows just three weeks from when its engineers got the first Nehalem silicon. The native-quad-core architecture also uses a new system bus technology called QuickPath, which incorporates a memory controller on the same die as the CPU. Mainstream versions will include integrated graphics hardware. The company expects to ship the first Nehalem processors in the second half of 2008.
Intel's Classmate PC (left) and the $200 Eee PC are designed to meet the same low-cost goals as the One Laptop Per Child project.
Gordon Moore, the man behind Moore's Law, his 40-plus years in the semiconducter industry.spoke about
