Did Intel cancel their 64-bit desktop line?

[Rock]

I heard a rumor that Intel cancelled their 64-bit desktop line and
that the market is left open to AMD. I think Intel may want to focus
on server market. Any official "news"?

Rock

 

[Scott Lurndal]

I heard a rumor that Intel cancelled their 64-bit desktop line and

The rumor was mangled by the time it hit your ears. HP has
discontinued their workstation/desktop _ia64_ EPIC processor line.

Through the magic of extensive cross-licensing agreements, Intel
is providing 64-bit support on the latest XEON line which is
compatible with AMD's long mode.

Intel will continue to produce 64-bit processors in both the
ia32 (EM64T) and ia64 lines for the immediate future. Down the
road, the ia64 may demise quietly.

 

[Rock]

Hp's cancellation of the itanium desktop line was last sept,as I
remember. Could be wrong.

No, I think this is new news, it seems the 64-bit drivers suck for
windows, and the dual core takes old drivers, and MS has pulled back
on its promise to "deliver a 64-bit windows xp within a month" of IDF.

And I think the PC Mag's test shows the dual-core Intel is at least
equivalent to the AMD64 bit (maybe it falls down in one category, I'm
not sure I remember correctly).

Maybe Xeon is compatible with AMD64, but I don't think it's
"equivalent" at least in performance, but the dual-core seems it is.
I dunno how the price compares, but Intel can decide to sell the CPU
for whatever they want.

Doesn't em64t run 32-bit drivers? I would expect MS would switch back
to 32-bit mode to talk to hardware, the way we used to switch into and
out of protected mode. Kind of makes the 64-bit drivers unnecessary.
Except for AMD support.

Rock

 

[Ed]

Doesn't em64t run 32-bit drivers?

Only if the OS is 32-bit.

 

[Scott Lurndal]

Hp's cancellation of the itanium desktop line was last sept,as I
remember. Could be wrong.

No, I think this is new news, it seems the 64-bit drivers suck for
windows, and the dual core takes old drivers, and MS has pulled back
on its promise to "deliver a 64-bit windows xp within a month" of IDF

Windows isn't the primary driver for 64-bit. Frankly, most people could
care less if windows were 32-bit or 64-bit. 64-bit matters for people
who want large memory and demanding applications - hardly the
windows space. 64-bit really doesn't provide the average windows user
with any benefit.

Linux is the preferred 64-bit ia32 architecture OS at this point in
time and it is growing pretty rapidly.

And I think the PC Mag's test shows the dual-core Intel is at least
equivalent to the AMD64 bit (maybe it falls down in one category, I'm
not sure I remember correctly).

dual-core is orthogonal to 64-bit support. AMD has announced dual
core too.

Maybe Xeon is compatible with AMD64, but I don't think it's

There is no maybe about the compatibility insofar as the 64-bit
architectural features are concerned. Some os bits may be slightly
different in the model-specific register space, but from an application
level, they are _identical_.

"equivalent" at least in performance, but the dual-core seems it is.
I dunno how the price compares, but Intel can decide to sell the CPU
for whatever they want.

As can AMD with their dual-core opterons.

Doesn't em64t run 32-bit drivers? I would expect MS would switch back
to 32-bit mode to talk to hardware, the way we used to switch into and
out of protected mode. Kind of makes the 64-bit drivers unnecessary.

em64t is no different architecturally than AMD64. The requirement for
32-bit vs. 64-bit drivers is an _operating system_ requirement, not a
hardware requirement, particularly since address spaces larger than
32-bits have been supported for a long time with PAE mode, and operating
systems have needed to support driver access (either directly or through
bounce-buffers) to extended memory > 4GB.

scott

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Hp's cancellation of the itanium desktop line was last sept,as I
remember. Could be wrong.

No, I think this is new news, it seems the 64-bit drivers suck for
windows, and the dual core takes old drivers, and MS has pulled back
on its promise to "deliver a 64-bit windows xp within a month" of

IDF.

Not that I've heard about. I do follow the news pretty closely. I get
alerts and stuff, but so far nothing about MS delaying Windows x64 some
more.

Doesn't em64t run 32-bit drivers? I would expect MS would switch back
to 32-bit mode to talk to hardware, the way we used to switch into and
out of protected mode. Kind of makes the 64-bit drivers unnecessary.
Except for AMD support.

Microsoft made a conscious decision not to support 32-bit drivers in
their 64-bit OS. So they created no thunking layer for 32-bit drivers,
like there is for 32-bit apps. If they allowed it, then it would take
years for 64-bit drivers to arrive.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Thomas A. Horsley]

There is no maybe about the compatibility insofar as the 64-bit

architectural features are concerned. Some os bits may be slightly
different in the model-specific register space, but from an application
level, they are _identical_.

Not absolutely (just close enough as makes no difference . Some of the
intel specific SSE3 (or are they up to SSE4 or 5 now?) instructions don't
exist on the amd, and the amd 3dNow! instructions don't exist on the intel,
and of course, the cpuid instruction returns different info , but mostly
you can't tell the difference.

Actually the best way to tell the difference is that if it runs twice
as fast, its an amd chip .
--email: (e-mail address removed) icbm: Delray Beach, FL |
<URL:http://home.att.net/~Tom.Horsley> Free Software and Politics <<==+