Advanced Micro Devices has potential to release quad-core microprocessors by 2007, stated a recently released report from Goldman Sachs, an investment managing firm. If the information materializes, chipmaker AMD will push the boundaries of x86 computing further in about three years from now and two years after the company launches its first dual-core product.
“AMD has relatively high confidence in its dual-core product development, given its AMD64 architecture was designed from the ground up to optimize multi-core configurations with its integrated memory controller and HyperTransport features. Note that the die size (and thus likely cost) for dual-core is likely to be well less that double that of a single-core, given the amount of shared circuitry between the two cores,” said Andrew Root, an analyst for Goldman Sachs.
So far AMD has disclosed plans to produce server, workstation and desktop central processing units with two processing engines in the second half of next year. AMD is expected to release its dual-core AMD Opteron products in mid-2005 and AMD Athlon 64 product with two cores in late 2005. AMD plans to produce its dual-core products using 90nm/200mm production lines, which has already started to make commercial CPUs, in 2005 and to move to more advanced 65nm/300mm production lines of Fab 36 in 2006.
“AMD’s roadmap in microprocessors includes launching a dual-core processor next year, and potentially a quad-core processor in 2007 on the 65nm/300mm process,” Mr. Root of Goldman Sachs continued.
News source: Xbit Labs
