X-bit labs

AMD to Demo Quad-Core Chips in Mid-2006 [UPDATED].

Category: CPU

by Anton Shilov

[ 01/26/2006 | 11:12 AM ]

UPDATE: Adding resolution to quad-core compatibility information, rewriting some text. Apparently, AMD's quad-core chips will only work on Socket F platform, not currently shipping. The representative by AMD wanted to say that the Socket F - initially dual-core platform - would support quad-core chips as well.

Advanced Micro Devices’ quad-core processors will be demonstrated as early as in the middle of this year and, perhaps, will be unveiled even earlier than expected according to some analysts. The forthcoming chips with four processing engines will be demonstrated on the next-generaion AMD server platforms that will ship this year.

“To go from single-core to dual-core to quad-core on the same platform, that has never been done in the industry,” said Marty Seyer, a senior vice president of AMD, reports InformationWeek web-site. 

AMD plans to unveil server processors with virtualization technology and faster DDR2 memory support in mid-2006 and also to demonstrate its quad-core microprocessors in the same timeframe, the company is reported to have announced. The demonstrations will be carried out on the newly available server platforms for AMD Opteron processors, according to the web-site.

“When AMD rolls out dual-core processors with built-in virtualization hooks midyear, the company also aims to demo quad-core processors running on its current server platform,” Mr. Seyer is reported to have said.

It is expected that AMD’s dual-core processors with new memory controller and virtualization capabilities as well as quad-core processors will use a different socket and will sport DDR2 memory, two fundamentally different things from the current server platform by AMD.

AMD’s quad-core processors are due out in early 2007, but some industry analysts have said AMD could release them by the end of this year.