Intel integrates memory controller into Nehalem, so what’s the drama?

Everyone has known for about a year that the Core i7 processor (codenamed Nehalem) would have an integrated memory controller (IMC). For the little story, AMD did this years ago. But it’s surprising to read that this is an “admission” from Intel that AMD “nailed” a key feature years before. While the drama is interesting, it is a little exaggerated, in my opinion. Ever since AMD introduced an IMC in its processors, people have asked Intel when they would follow. I don’t remember Intel rejecting the idea, and their answer was more along the lines of: “when it makes sense for us”. Interestingly enough, Intel was able to beat AMD without the IMC, it’s not like they are the underdog today. IMC is nice, but it’s not a silver bullet (ask AMD): improvements have been made on the whole architecture.

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Computers, Featured, Top Stories
Tags: Thoughts