In the October 1989 issue of IEEE Spectrum, an article titled “Microprocessors Circa 2000” predicted that multi-core processors could come to market soon after the turn of the century. The paper was the work of four Intel Corporation technologists — including Pat Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of the Digital Enterprise Group, who envisioned the future through the lens of Moore’s Law. Fifteen years later, their predictions are proving true, and multi-core processor capability development has become one of Intel’s top business and product initiatives.
Intel continues to focus its near- and long-term efforts on enhancing the overall computing platform to deliver greater value and functionality to PC users. About three years ago Intel sharpened its continued focus on platform-level improvements and began providing fundamental technologies and features in a move to bring more benefits to users. Intel’s vision of a balanced platform is moving beyond gigahertz (GHz) and expanding the company’s focus on the fundamental technologies and features for delivering greater value and functionality. Intel has realigned its strategy and moved resources away from pure GHz-oriented projects and the result is the company embracing multi-core architecture. Intel also continued to invest in its manufacturing capacity during the 2000 economic downturn to ensure that it has the capacity to deliver processors, including multi-core processors, in high volume and at affordable price points.
Multi-core processor capability is central to Intel’s platform-centric approach. By enabling enhanced performance, reduced power consumption and more efficient simultaneous processing of multiple tasks, multi-core processors promise to improve the user experience in home and business environments.
