Intel next-gen CPU to be based on Pentium MMX?
updated 04:45 pm EDT, Fri June 29, 2007
Intel Larrabee Rumor
The production version of Intel's many-core Larrabee CPU may actually be based on 1995 technology, according to some insiders near Intel. The processor will reportedly involve heavily modernized and modified versions of the Pentium MMX architecture, which saw its original introduction 12 years ago through the workstation-oriented Pentium Pro. The surprise reversion is due to the need for a design with in-order execution of commands, which changed after the Pentium II and later designs appeared.
The choice of a seemingly limited design also lets Intel generalize and scale its design for other purposes, the sources claim. The expected adaptation of Larrabee for integrated graphics will be able to render complex images through sheer brute force and would also have the flexibility to draw more complex raytraced images, which calculate the paths of individual light beams to produce a more realistic effect.
Larrabee is still in the early stages of development and isn't anticipated for full production until 2009. [via Tech]
