Intel Makes Biggest Transistor Advancement

The new processors incorporate 420 million transistors for each dual core chip.

Intel has unveiled sixteen new chips incorporating 45nm Hafnium-based high-k metal gate transistors that are smaller, faster and low-power than previous generations. Intel declares the breakthrough as being the biggest transistor advancement in 40 years.

The new processors incorporate 420 million transistors for each dual core chip and 840 million transistors for each quad core chip - nearly double the transistor density of previous models. The Intel Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors are also the first to be manufactured on the 45 nanometer scale, boosting performance and lowering power consumption.

The breakthroughs pave the way for Intel to design suitable products that are 25 percent smaller than previous models, as well as the essential ability to pursue new ultra mobile and consumer electronics “system on chip” opportunities in 2008.

The 12 new quad-core processors boast clock speeds ranging from 2GHz up to 3.20GHz, with front side bus speeds of up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 12MB. The three new dual-core chips feature clock speeds of up to 3.40GHz, a front side bus speed of up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 6MB. The 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors are compatible with server platforms using the Intel 5000 chipset family.