Intel shows off McKinley processor

Intel executives outlined the company’s key microprocessor hardware

strategies and near-term technology roadmaps at its annual Intel Developer Forum

in San Jose. The forum drew nearly 5,000 engineers and system designers from all

over the world.

Intel officials at the forum, said the development of the McKinley processor,

the second-generation 64-bit processor that will follow the Itanium, is on as

per schedule. The Itanium, a chip plagued by long delays in reaching the market,

is now in test at customer sites and will be produced in volume later this year.

Intel’s future, however, appears to lie with McKinley which is in position

to quickly replace the Itanium whose life cycle is being eroded by a two-year

availability delay. "McKinley is in very, good shape. The product line is

better positioned today than it has been in years,'' said Paul Otellini, who

runs Intel's computer-chip group.

Otellini said Intel is now shipping initial McKinley engineering samples to

OEM customers. In the first public demonstration of the McKinley chip, Otellini

showed off a computer running three operating systems simultaneously.

"We're very pleased with the progress we've made on both the initial

version of the Itanium processor and McKinley. These products will be central to

Intel's success for many years to come."

Intel also said it had boosted the speed of its Pentium III Xeon server

processor to 900 megahertz from 700MHz, A new Xeon chip, called

"Foster" is planned for the next quarter, and is based on the Pentium

4 architecture.

Chief Executive Officer Craig Barrett told developers that the Internet would

continue to be at the center of Intel’s product development strategy.

"The Internet is the growth engine of the future. While technology

companies may be facing slower demand for certain products today, the worldwide

build-out of the Internet will continue to drive increased productivity, new

forms of communication and entirely new product categories well into the

future."

Barrett outlined four platform and silicon architectures that define Intel's

role in the Internet economy. "Intel's four architectures are designed to

provide the technology foundation upon which the industry can capture growth

opportunities created by the Internet. Intel is focused on providing customers

with the basic architectural building blocks for client devices, networking

equipment and servers that will allow greater innovation, faster time to market

and at lower costs," said Barrett.

The four architectures include: The Pentium-based IA-32 chip architecture and

the Intel Personal Internet Client Architecture (Intel PCA) are the primary

solutions for client-based wired and wireless computing. Intel's Internet

Exchange Architecture (Intel IXA) is designed to provide a ready-made blueprint

for building next-generation-networking equipment that can quickly be brought to

market.

The IA-64 Itanium processor architecture and Xeon processor families are

designed to meet the price and performance requirements of the Internet server

infrastructure.

But despite rumors that Intel may be on the verge of cutting back on capital

investments, Barrett said it would invest heavily in new silicon technologies

and manufacturing capacity that will enable the company to pursue future growth

opportunities.

"Intel will spend nearly $12 billion this year on R&D and new

manufacturing capacity. We're convinced this investment is essential to help

Intel develop the new products and technologies that will result in long-term

growth for our industry. This year we will begin producing 300mm wafers,

introduce copper metalization, ramp 0.13-micron technology. We intend to provide

the silicon that will power the Internet for generations to come," said

Barrett.

Otellini demonstrated several new and upcoming processors designed for mobile

uses, including the first public demonstration of an Intel processor using

0.13-micron process technology. He also announced the availability of a

low-voltage Pentium III processor operating at 700 MHz and drawing about 1-watt

average power.

"We intend to lead the industry across all aspects of the mobile

processor market segment," said Otellini. "From low power to high

performance and all combinations in between, Intel has consistently proven its

technological prowess and leadership in mobile computing."