New quad-core server chips may offer more benefit to Intel?s PR machine than its customers
Recently launched servers from the likes of Dell and IBM, based on quad-core Clovertown processors from Intel, highlight the fast progress of multicore technology over the past year. Whether this pace actually benefits the industry or IT buyers is less clear, however.
From a very narrow perspective, the boost offered by processors with four cores rather than two is clear ? even I can do that level of maths. And from a slightly wider perspective, there are real advantages in getting more performance from a processor for little additional power consumed: analysts estimate that typically more than twice the cost of each server will be burned up by its power consumption and heat management every year.
But a big question remains. Is a quad-core processor actually needed, right this minute? Is it possible that the server vendors and their customers are being pushed in this direction just so Intel can claim it has taken back the lead from AMD in advanced processor technology?
