Semiconductor rivals Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. are pushing forward with new processors that expand the companies’ footprints.
Intel this week is expected to demonstrate its future x86 64-bit chip line at its Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. Code-named CT, the technology will be the Santa Clara, Calif., company’s first public response to the growing popularity of AMD’s 64-bit Opteron chip, according to industry observers.
A spokesman for Intel said executives will discuss the CT technology—formerly known as Yamhill—during the three-day conference.
Intel’s CT chips, which could appear on the market as early as next year, would address a key criticism of the company’s high-end 64-bit Itanium chip: that because its architecture differs from that of the IA-32 processors, such as Xeons and Pentiums, it cannot run 32-bit applications as well as it can 64-bit software, despite emulation software. By comparison, the Opteron can run both.
AMD, of Sunnyvale, Calif., this week will roll out two low-power Opterons, with one model consuming 30 watts and the other 55 watts. Current models consume an average of 89 watts, officials said. The chips, which will ship within a month, will target high-density systems, such as blade servers.