If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, AMD must be chuffed to bits at the news of Intel's plans for Nehalem.

Nehalem (Ne-hay-lem) is the replacement for Core 2 and enters production in Q4'08. The new processor will be available with 2-8 cores with 2-way threading on each core, so you could see as many as 16 virtual cores in Windows. This Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) sounds similar to the Hyper Threading that Intel used in its Netburst designs.

The new architecture will initially be built on the same 45nm process that is used in Penryn Core 2 processors and will then move to 32nm in 2009/2010. The die shrink is codenamed Westmere.

AMD was proven correct when it introduced 32-bit/64-bit x86 support with Opteron and Athlon 64 and it will be further vindicated when Intel moves the memory controller from the Northbridge of the chipset to the prcessor core. Nehalem will use a triple channel DDR3-1333 memory controller with up to three DIMMs per channel, so it will be no surprise if motherboards have six memory modules rather than the usual four.

The other plaudit for AMD is the QuickPath Interconnect that Intel will debut in Nehalem, as it sounds very similar to HyperTransport. Surely there can be little doubt that AMD will be thrilled that Intel has the tools to increase the speed of its processors...

Tags: advanced micro devices intel corporation hyperthreading nehalem netburst intel core 2 intel quickpath interconnect amd