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2005 saw the emergence of two trends: 64-bit computing and multicore computing. Of these two trends, I would have to say that the move to multicore is the more important, though of course both are important. I say this because dual-core processors signal a move away from scaling processor speeds up to scaling processors out. By comparison, the industry has already seen transitions from 8-bit to 16-bit, and 16-bit to 32-bit.
It is true that AMD had already released 64-bit extensions before 2005, but there was no Microsoft operating system to take advantage of the 64-bit capabilities other than beta versions of the operating system. Intel's genuine 64-bit Itanium processors also were developed before 2005, but these and other 64-bit processors before them are of use primarily in scientific applications and in high-end servers in enterprise environments.
In 2005, AMD implemented dual-core technology more effectively than Intel, with the result that AMD began to outperform Intel on most benchmarks and take market share. "AMD's architects tweaked the memory controller, building a crossbar scheme that allows the single, on-die memory controller to efficiently arbitrate memory accesses between the two CPUs".
On the other hand, Intel's approach to dual-core may have certain benefits from a large-scale manufacturing perspective. Intel's abrupt shift away from its Netburst microarchitecture to dual-core CPUs required ingenuity on the part of Intel's engineers. Intel's response was to put two existing Pentium 4 cores on a single die. "There were no architectural enhancements, no tweaks to how memory was accessed, just two Pentium 4's sharing the same die".
Intel carried this design to even further extremes. Intel's newest dual-core processor, rather than place two cores on a single die, places two dies in a single processor package. "Presler drops all pretensions of being a single-die, two-core implementation, as the new processor is literally two dies bolted into a single package".
In 2006, Intel shall move to a new processor microarchitecture. In the second half, we should see a single microarchitecture, with different concrete manifestations of this architecture: one for laptops, one of desktops, and one for servers. In "the second half, at least the architectures will be similar, even if the instances of that architecture may vary".
In 2006, AMD shall transition to 65nm and DDR2 memory. One of the reasons AMD's current processors consume less energy than Intel's is that AMD uses older memory technology. This advantage should fade in 2006. "Moving to DDR2 will likely also increase power requirements, so it will be interesting to see if AMD's deserved reputation for delivering performance at a lower power point than Intel will continue".
In 2007, AMD hopes to implement a new microarchitecture. In 2007, Intel should begin its transition to 45nm. Eventually process manufacturing technologies may "continue to shrink up to about 11nm".