tech industry
08/18/2005, 4:25pm, EDT
Thursday, August 18th
Intel moves from megahertz to 'performance per watt'
Intel will take a new marketing approach when it introduces new line of processors next week. eWEEK reports that the company will begin touting performance per watt (i.e., power efficiency) as well as overall performance rather than its traditional megahertz marketing--similar to Steve Jobs' presentation at WWDC where he unveiled the Mac switch to the Intel-based architecture. "Intel is expected to detail next week at its IDF (Intel Developer Forum) a plan to begin building multicore chips with the architecture, a modified version of the circuitry behind its Pentium M notebook processor, during 2006. Intel's announcement will publicly signal an internal shift that's already taken place. After years of promoting clock speed, it's now emphasizing overall performance and power-efficiency. Intel's shift to processor numbers and its wholesale move to multicore processors sealed the deal for the architectural change, as power can be a limiting factor in fitting two or more processor cores together into a single chip."
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Is there anyone out there bragging that thier Mustang Mach 1 can shoot out 2000 watts? How about any iPod owners? anyone care how much wattage the 40G uses? anyone??
Computers are about how fast they can run.. not how efficient they are. And those that do care (like laptop users) could care less about the actual wattage ratings. they just wanna know how long the batttery will last.
Think about it. The majority of sales of computers these days are for laptops and not necessarily desktops.
So if you find something with decent processor performance (speed) but can last a long time without charging, that's where you'll win in the marketplace.
Not everyone wants to have the nine fans of a server - like computer in their home, nor do they want it emanating two hundred degree farenheit heat. They don't really want a case that's the size of a small Buick.
Power bills can be eye opening too.
Like I said, the Prius is a great car for driving - but if you're in the market for a car which will save the environment, go for a Civic GX (Natural Gas), Geo Metro or one of the many efficient Kias.
It IS ALL a Lie. Would you believe Megahertz? PPW, PP, MUN (made up name), SPeck 365... or even 'how long the battery lasts.'? The market is saturated, Apple and the requirements for Vista are the only driving forces in the old 'upgrade' sales method (not counting throwing away a pc instead of bothering to re-install) everyone who has listened to some salesclerk try to push battery life knows they are full of it. What..is that like w/ the drive asleep, the screen dimmed, the performance scaled, and only playing solitaire w/ one Move Per Minute?
In the world of Laptops, where you have a measured fuel supply (battery), it makes a lot of sense. But it's like MPG NOT HP. Even hybrid owners want to know MPG. Tank>Units of Gallons>Distance. Sure it's not a straight conversion, but it's a good way to state it.