Every few years, advances in silicon chip technology furthers our computing capabilities. That next advance appears to be Intel’s new Penryn line of chips, the latest product from the company in an effort to stem the tide towards rival AMD. As a particular IT blog puts it,
No matter what, these new processors are positively ridiculous with some benchmarks already available showing 6GHz operating frequencies… It also means that Intel is one and half process generations ahead of AMD. And it means that server chips are probably going to get cheaper, which can’t be good news for AMD’s bottom line.
But what Intel does for the high-end of the market it also benefits the computing industry’s poorer customers. Imagine all our old computers being donated to the needy in our rush to grab one of these new monsters. Also, think of the new research capabilities offered by the advanced processing power- unlocking the human genome, finding the cure for cancer, searching for alien life. Finally, the chips are “green,” featuring a newly designed transistor that stems leakage, thereby improving energy efficiency. Al Gore would be proud.
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