Benefits of 90nm processors? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

a1t3r3g0 · 10-03-2003, 08:25 AM

I'm thinking of getting a new system around Christmas time. I've read that both Intel and AMD are planning to have 90nm processors in the first quarter of 2004.
Would there be any benefit in waiting for these versus the current 130nm chips? I tried searching google for some info but all the results I've found only talk about the fact that they are planning them, not what it will mean.

bermuDa · 10-03-2003, 10:53 AM

it's too early to plan your computer around a processor that hasn't even been announced yet.

If you wait until christmas time, the price of the 64bit athlons will have gone down a little, or at least driven down the price of its predecessors. Is it performance or price you're after?

a1t3r3g0 · 10-03-2003, 03:11 PM

I'm looking for performance.. which is why I'm wondering about the new processors. If 90nm technology will mean a big speed boost, then I can wait a few months past Christmas for it. But if it won't mean much, then I won't bother to wait. It's just that I have no clue as to what it will mean...

On AMD's website, they have a Processor Roadmap which puts it in the first half of 2004, and I think I read that Intel is aiming for Q1.

oberon · 10-04-2003, 01:03 PM

The number you're talking about is the minimum distance between wires/FETs on an ASIC/VLSI chip like the P4. The smaller the number, the more transistors can be fit on a single chip in the same space. Therefore, generally speaking, the smaller process allows for faster chips to be produced since electric signals don't have to go as far. So a chip built on a 90nm process can be faster than one on a 130nm process, but not necessarily. There are a lot of other factors, like chip design.

The speed of light and laws of thermodynamics are rapidly becoming issues, but I imagine we'll see 10nm or smaller processes in the next couple years.

Nooze2k · 10-05-2003, 08:54 PM

On a side note, this months issue of CPU magazine has an interesting article on tri-gate transitors that Intel is working on. Up til now, all transistors have been cut into silicon in a 2d-like fashion. However, with this new technology, they can now build transistors 3-dimensionally, increasing the flow of electrons (higher speed) with less electron loss and less heat creation. Very interesting article that was a really good read.

Scorpion23 · 10-07-2003, 09:01 PM

Nooze2k, they don't have an online edition do they? I'd like to take a look at that article.

Nooze2k · 10-10-2003, 08:50 PM

They do have an online edition.... requires either a magazine subscription or the magazine access code (which I haven't been able to get to work.) Tomorrow I'll scan the article and post it.

10-03-2003, 08:25 AM	#1 (permalink)
a1t3r3g0 Psycho Location: 127.0.0.1	Benefits of 90nm processors? I'm thinking of getting a new system around Christmas time. I've read that both Intel and AMD are planning to have 90nm processors in the first quarter of 2004. Would there be any benefit in waiting for these versus the current 130nm chips? I tried searching google for some info but all the results I've found only talk about the fact that they are planning them, not what it will mean.

10-03-2003, 10:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
bermuDa don't ignore this--> Location: CA	it's too early to plan your computer around a processor that hasn't even been announced yet. If you wait until christmas time, the price of the 64bit athlons will have gone down a little, or at least driven down the price of its predecessors. Is it performance or price you're after? __________________ I am the very model of a moderator gentleman.

10-04-2003, 01:03 PM	#4 (permalink)
oberon Quadrature Amplitude Modulator Location: Denver	The number you're talking about is the minimum distance between wires/FETs on an ASIC/VLSI chip like the P4. The smaller the number, the more transistors can be fit on a single chip in the same space. Therefore, generally speaking, the smaller process allows for faster chips to be produced since electric signals don't have to go as far. So a chip built on a 90nm process can be faster than one on a 130nm process, but not necessarily. There are a lot of other factors, like chip design. The speed of light and laws of thermodynamics are rapidly becoming issues, but I imagine we'll see 10nm or smaller processes in the next couple years. __________________ "There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb

10-05-2003, 08:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
Nooze2k Tilted Location: Ontario, Canada	On a side note, this months issue of CPU magazine has an interesting article on tri-gate transitors that Intel is working on. Up til now, all transistors have been cut into silicon in a 2d-like fashion. However, with this new technology, they can now build transistors 3-dimensionally, increasing the flow of electrons (higher speed) with less electron loss and less heat creation. Very interesting article that was a really good read. __________________ " Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies, Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I "

10-07-2003, 09:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
Scorpion23 Psycho	Nooze2k, they don't have an online edition do they? I'd like to take a look at that article. __________________ "Empirically observed covariation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for causality" - Edward Tufte

10-03-2003, 03:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
a1t3r3g0 Psycho Location: 127.0.0.1	I'm looking for performance.. which is why I'm wondering about the new processors. If 90nm technology will mean a big speed boost, then I can wait a few months past Christmas for it. But if it won't mean much, then I won't bother to wait. It's just that I have no clue as to what it will mean... On AMD's website, they have a Processor Roadmap which puts it in the first half of 2004, and I think I read that Intel is aiming for Q1.

10-10-2003, 08:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
Nooze2k Tilted Location: Ontario, Canada	They do have an online edition.... requires either a magazine subscription or the magazine access code (which I haven't been able to get to work.) Tomorrow I'll scan the article and post it. __________________ " Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies, Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I "