Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is reportedly working on an 18-core Broadwell microprocessor. That’s the highest core count on any chip ever. The chipmaker has already announced that it is working on Broadwell microprocessors that will be more efficient and powerful than the Haswell chips. A Broadwell chip would make PCs lighter, sleeker and faster. It will also enhance the battery life of laptops. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has also said that the development plans of Broadwell chips have been delayed by almost a quarter.
Intel’s 18-core Broadwell chips to come in 2015
Vr-zone reported that the 18-core Broadwell-EP will be based on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s 14nm production process. Vr-zone said that instead of speeding up the cores, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) will increase the number of cores on each chip die. However, the 18-core chip is unlikely to hit the market until 2015. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is also working on 8 and 10-core processors for high-performance desktops and laptops.
The Santa Clara-based company is likely to launch its first Broadwell chip in the first half of 2014. Today, the highest core count in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s processors is 12. The top level cache of the 18-core silicon is likely to be 45MB. Vr-zone said that the dual socket Broadwell EP system can support even 2TM DDR4 memory.
Intel focusing on the tablet market
The Broadwell Xeon processors will have several improvements that can increase the overall dependability and reliability in big data, virtualized datacenter and HPC operations. For example, the addition of posted interrupts, cache quality, page modification logging and memory bandwidth monitoring will boost virtualization features. It will also help manageability by enabling system and software debug through instruction execution.
On the other hand, CPU World reported that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s Broadwell chips may come with thermal envelopes of just 4.5 watts. That would position Broadwell as a preferred choice in tablets and two-in-ones.
[drizzle]Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares declined 0.40% to $25.05 in pre-market trading Thursday. The stock has gained 21.97% this year so far.
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