Intel Duo is a 64 Bit chip

Just an article i ran across. basically the new Duo is a 64bit chip http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=4604

 

Hmm....interesting.

Moving this to Hardware, thanks for the article!

 

Wow, that is surprising.

Intel hiding 64-bit, PM w/ HT? Intriguing rumors, that would be awesome . .

 

What doesn't make sense is this sentence at the end of the article:

"Want to chat about the fact your new MacBook, iMac or Windows-based Core Duo notebook won't let you run a 64-bit OS, despite the CPU having the ability? Please do"

Why would intel want to keep their users from running a 64bit OS if it is actually possible?

Doesn't make sense...unless, they wanted to unveil a "true" 64bit Duo Core in the future, which we'll know is the same old thing with a twist....

Don't get me wrong...I love Intel products but I don't like being framed for money...

 

I'm doubting this - why would Intel do this? They would just be able to gain lots of ground on AMD by unveiling the first 64-bit dual-core CPU in notebooks. It just doesn't make sense - maybe Intel wants to improve their chips before really "unveiling" their 64-bit dual-core. I'm skeptical about this...

 

i had an arguement with a compusa sales guy. he said the core duo was 64 bit, i said hes full of crap.... hmmmmm

 

If true it wouldn't be new to Intel, and actually not too bad of an idea.

It was done before with the P4 HT. Northwoods had the HT technology all the time but it was disabled, and was not enabled until all the quirks were worked out in the last release of that core.

So this might just be the same case here.

Why do it? Well basicly intel avoids redesigning the core and reworking all the heat producing areas, architecture ... and in the mean time they fix what needs fixing and refine the manufacturing process.

 

I think qwester has it right. They probably had some functionality, but not as much as they needed or not completely stable. So they designed it in a way that allowed them to just "disable" in a sense, the 64bit feature of the chip.

It's all production costs. Early on, there were 486sx and 486dx chips. Quickly, Intel got yields up high enough on 486dx chips(included the math co-processor on die) that they yanked production of 486sx and just made the dx. They still had a market segment though for sx chips(w/o math co-processor), so they just disabled it(or made it into one of those nifty keychains they were handing out when the Pentium was released) and marketed those as sx chips.

This sounds like a similar thing...but I bet functionality wasn't there yet. If it had been working right, as stated earlier...it'd be a huge win and a great boon for investors to come out with a big jump ahead of their roadmap schedule.

 

Very interesting. Good find.

 

When opening the box supposedly containing your new "Merom" processor, all you will find is a sheet of paper with the unlock code for enabling 64-bit on your Yonah

 

i put my money on this reason if Yonah is 64-bit. I worked at intel before, the CEO dropped to his knees and begged the share holder for forgiveness for his mis-step of not having a 64-bit processor that backwards support 32-bit applications (Intel's Itanium vs. AMD's .. say mobile Turion). I thikn they are playing it safe this time -- solve all problems with 32bit first, whether it's power consumption or hardware compatibility. then they will annouce the 64bit "new chip" which is probably just by enabling one single bit in the hardware.

 

Since people are saying Yohan chip is a 64 bit chip or something like that, will it be safe to assume the memron processor will be able to fit into the currently napa platforms? (Sorry if this has been answered)

If it is, I think it would be a good investment to buy a laptop that uses the new chips and allowing yourself to upgrade to a 64 bit chip when it becomes necessary. Of course, if the Yohan chip is a 64 bit chip, it would be even better.

 

There have been rumors that Yonah will be pin-compatable with Merom. However, I wouldn't count on - Intel may change their design completely tomorrow, who knows. In addition, to upgrade from Yonah to Merom, you have to have the correct BIOS from the notebook manufacturer, meaning they have to support the same notebook model you have with a Merom CPU in it. I personally wouldn't go through the headache of hoping that Merom will be supported on your notebook and then replacing the CPU though.

 

I second xAMDvsIntelx's point. I bet the BIOS will be a major issue for such an upgrade!