Intel regained a technological edge last year when it released the first four-core processors by combining two dual-core ones.
However, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) introduced a quad-core microprocessor for the desktop, replacing its venerable Athlon processor with the new "Phenom" design in an attempt to better compete with Intel Corp., media reported Tuesday.
The chip, announced Monday, will reach stores in the second half of 2007 and share similar architecture with the Barcelona quad-core Opteron server chip AMD is planning to launch in the middle of 2007.
Quad-core processors are being introduced now as the future platform for playing videogames on the PC, and for someday streaming high-definition content from the Internet to the TV through a home media server. The high-end processors are also expected to find a place in workstations used in computer-assisted design, or in video editing, or animation.
"AMD has always enjoyed a great bond with the enthusiast community, and the introduction of the AMD Phenom processor family will take our relationship to new heights," said Gautam Srivastava, vice president.
During a pre-launch news conference last Friday, AMD executives spent lots of time demonstrating the better graphics quality of a videogame running on a Phenom-powered PC running Windows Vista, which contains Microsoft's latest collection of application programming interfaces for game programming and video.
AMD did not share features or specifications of the Phenom chip design, so some industry experts are withholding judgment until they see benchmark testing. But one analyst said the time is right to bring multicore computing to the masses, as consumers use more and more video, multitasking and digital media in their everyday applications.
"It's going to benefit them," said Toni DuBoise, senior analyst at Current Analysis West. "I've been waiting for their next product for some time because essentially they didn't have an answer to Intel's Core 2 Duo and that was reflected in their market performance."
Adding the Phenom chip to its line of desktop processors will allow AMD to push dual-core processing from its top-shelf desktops into the entire mainstream product family. That is a key strategy at a time when users are looking for better results from running Windows Vista and doing complex media creation, digital entertainment and multitasking, said Ian McNaughton, AMD's product manager for Athlon 64 FX products.
"Our products are no longer just math computation-type processors, but are about your experience on the PC, whether it's YouTube, BitTorrent, DVR or dual- and quad-core gaming," McNaughton said. "There's a rising expectation; people expect their PCs to be instantaneously reactive. Waiting a minute for a laser printer to print a page is no longer acceptable. Waiting for your PC to boot up is no longer acceptable."
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