Extremetech are reporting that the "Kentsfield" quad-core will be released 1 November with a shipping date of around 15 November.
As I've mentioned previously, the Kentsfield is more like a dual dual-core rather than a true quad-core implementation. The real quad-core goodness probably won't launch until first or second quarter next year.
AMD are expected to launch their 4x4 quadish-core solution around the same time, according to the same article.
The blogosphere has been abuzz with a prototype chip revealed by Intel at the Intel Developer's Forum that has 80 cores. 80. Apparently within 5 years as well.
Sony is having enough trouble getting people to write games that will take full advantage of the 7 extra cores that will be available on the variant of the Cell chip they're using in the Playstation 3. Even more to the point, the vast majority of the software I use doesn't even support dual core setups. 80 cores? *Pfwah* to that I say.
If compiler technology and coding techniques has advanced sufficiently to take advantage of even half that capacity, I will be very surprised (and happy - I mean, 80 cores! That would rock).
Edit 19/9: There's now an interesting dicussion on this NYT article at Slashdot - my normal practice is to browse comments at a threshold of 4, but whatever does it for you...
According to the New York Times, a research collaboration between Intel and the University of California, Santa Barbara, has borne fruit, allowing them to transfer data between chips over laser instead of wires. This advance in technology will allow a greater density of chips in system designs, with a faster rate of transfer between the chips.
Aspects of this technology are already in general use, particularly when transmitting data over long distances using fibre optic cable. There's probably any number of mind-boggling applications (particularly in parallel processing) but I can yet find any further information from Intel or UCSB.
It has reminded me that I need to check into Intel's Technology and Research page more often. They have got some really funky stuff going on over there.
I don't expect to see this enter the consumer desktop market any time this decade, but that suits me fine. I have enough problems with core envy. I don't need to add laser envy to the mix as well.
Tom's Hardware have a preview (in their usual "why do it in 5 pages when we can do it in 15, with ads!" style) of the incoming Intel "quad-core" Core2 CPU solution.
By the looks of it, the "Core2 Quadro" isn't so much a pure quad-core set up as a 2x2 where they have crammed two Core2 Duos into the one little package. While I have no doubt that 4 cores on one die isn't too far away, it leaves me to ponder as to why Intel are rushing out this temporary solution. Are there better reasons than just to beat AMD to the punch? Probably not.
I bet this baby runs hot, too. New chip would probably need new cooling too (not to mention that only a specific subset of currently available motherboard chipsets will support this bleeding edge tech).
Sometimes not being an early adopter has its upside.
Interesting link:
Intel Multicore Fact Sheet - August 2006
