After a big interest and success with the launch of Ryzen family of processors for consumers, AMD formally announced its new Naples server CPU today, featuring up to 32 cores, eight memory channels, and new, 128-lane Infinity Fabric. Codenamed “Naples”, the new server chip targets one and two-socket servers, aimed squarely at Intel’s Broadwell-EP-based Xeon E3/E5 V4 range, and the upcoming Skylake-EP-based Xeon E3/E5 “V5”. The overall theme of AMD’s chip is “have more of everything.” Naples has 32 cores, capable of 64 simultaneous threads, eight memory channels, supporting up to 2TB RAM and 128 PCIe 3.0 lanes. The PCIe pins are multiplexed and can
Intel’s 2015 Roadmap Conundrum: Tick-Tock is Not a Swiss Clock
In my 30-year career as an IT hardware expert, I’ve seen thousands of roadmaps, leaked, manage-leaked and official alike. Many were on target, yet still quite a few headed for the “failed” dustbin. Among all of them, Intel’s “tick-tock” plan was probably the most ambitious one in terms of attempted consistency and predictability. Knowing the multiple interlinked uncertainties of semiconductor process, CPU architecture, ecosystem changes and others, it was a wonder in itself that it lasted for several years, until the major slippages occurred in the Sandy Bridge generation. From then on, not only there were major delays introduced to the high end lines as the
