Nehalem!

Fair warning: This post will contain a LOT (I kid you not) of dense-ish techie-babble.

Nehalem! Who here is waiting for this new processor architecture?

For those who don't know (pity you poor non-computer geek people), Nehalem is the eagerly awaited next gen processor from Intel that is due out Q3-4 this year.

The Core architecture was unveiled in 2006. So true to Intel's 2 year cycle of new architecture / architecture revision, they seem to be on the dot of their aggressive stance. I guess I'll blabber on somewhat on why Intel has chosen to take on this path. Processors are very hard to design. They are usually done by hand and cannot really be rushed. Which is why the previous generation of Pentiums lasted so long. However, during AMD's K8 period, Intel found itself in the shallow end of the pool and it took them quite a while (until they debuted the Core Architecture). This two year product cycle is to ensure that they will be aggressive and if they lose the battle, it will not be as long as previously.

So why are my geek juices flowing due to Nehalem? Well let's see... 1-8 cores? Yummy? Well what about some Hyper-Threading on each core? Nice? How about the QuickPatch interconnect? Bye bye Front Side Bus. With it, an Integrated Memory Controller (On Die = low latencies).

What else? New Socket. Nice TDPs (considering the number of cores). Triple Channel ram (VERY fascinating).

Obvious issues is how OCing will work out. A number of factors that concern me are no more FSBs (but I wonder if it will be like HyperTransport - which isn't really that far off from FSB). Also how complicated will it be with triple channel ram and the amount of cores. More ram or processor cores, the more variables there are (like a ram stick or a CPU core that won't go as high as the others). Also with more crap now, I fully expect a new standard or updated specs for PSUs.

I also can't wait to see how the new mobo chipsets will be like too... :D

ARGH! Is it Q4 yet? :o

Some extra reading.