Dual Core Pentium 4 to be released in Q2 2005

[mrgreen4242]

According to an article featured on Slashdot.org, Intel is going to release a dual core P4 this year. I always figured that IBM would launch the first dual core desktop CPU, but it looks likely that Intel will beat them to the punch. It also seems likely, depending on the clockspeeds the cores run at, and the optimizations made in various OS's that Intel machines will be the fastest on the market again.

If the OS can use them effectively, a dual core P4 w/ HT could appear as a quad cpu machine to the software. HT has shown pretty good speed increases, something like 15-20% in some cases, so this could be a seriously fast machine. I'm really hoping dual core G5's hit the market this year. I'd like to see the base model PM be a SP 2.3ghz or so, then go to DC 2ghz, a Dual Core 2ghz, then maybe DP 2.5ghz, a DP 3ghz, and a Dual Core DP 2 or 2.5ghz machine. 4 cores running at 2-2.5ghz would be pretty impressive I'd imagine.

ANyways, it's an interesting bit of news. Wintel machines may actually beat Apple to the punch on something.

Rob

 

[Norouzi]

Yeah, but only if MS can make windows take advantage of the dual core, and how long will it take them to get that going.

 

[edesignuk]

Current P4's cannot be used in a multi-processor configuration, dual processor workstations use the Xeon, which is basically a P4 with multi-processor configuration ability, and higher levels of cache (if you want to pay for higher cache levels).

So depending on if they chenge this on the new dual-core P4, you will still only be able to have 1 physical processor in there.

Impressive stuff none the less.

Now where the HELL is that dual 3.0Ghz IBM/Apple!!?!

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Apparently IBM is working on their own implementation of Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT, which Intel calls HyperThreading), if they haven't already finished it. If this makes its way into a Dual Core Dual CPU Mac, Mac OS X will see it as an 8-processor machine. A configuration like this one will only serve to emphasize even more how good Mac OS X is at multitasking.

Intel could deliver something similar if they can find a way to enable it at the consumer level for their flagship Pentium 4, plus figure out a way to get Microsoft to add full support for it to their Windows operating system. Without support at the consumer level, nobody can or will buy it. Without support from Microsoft, such a feature will be utterly wasted on most machines that have it.

The Apple+IBM combination does not have this problem - Mac OS X already has the necessary multiple processor support, and Apple's willing to put it in consumer-level machines if they find a way to make the pro-level machines even better.