AMD's 64-Bit Gambit

AMD's success certainly prompted Intel to change its tune with the new Xeon--code-named Nancona--it unveiled in June. The 64-bit extensions it uses, called EM64T, are compatible with AMD's.

Rather than forcing ISVs to choose between differing extensions, Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight64 in Saratoga, Calif., is happy Intel kept the hatchet buried. "Intel deserves a lot of credit for deciding to be compatible with AMD, rather than doing its own thing," he says.

Still, Intel can't avoid sending out the subtle message that it has endorsed AMD's technology. "A year ago, Intel said, "Who needs 64-bit X86s?' Now they're saying, "You need it, and we've got one,'" Brookwood points out. "In that regard, it has cemented the perception of AMD as being technologically astute. It's clearly the first time I know of where Intel has had to go off and be compatible with something AMD did, rather than vice versa."

For Intel, that may rankle some. Xeon manager Braun thinks AMD is putting an awful lot of emphasis on 64-bitness. "Our side of that story would be that it's not a differentiator," Braun says. "A balanced platform is a lot more than adding 64-bit extensions to an architecture. It has to do with supporting faster memory, faster buses and faster I/O paths."

Those faster system-side technologies include the new PCI Express point-to-point interconnect, which Intel is introducing as a means of boosting I/O speeds, and next-generation DDR2 memory.

Braun says putting those technologies together will drive an overall increase in performance that's not just due to the speed of the processor.

Intel's intention to shine the spotlight on its external enhancements rather than the 64-bit extensions is evident in the nomenclature it uses for its new part. Nancona keeps the "Xeon" moniker of its prior 32-bit cousins. The only difference is the extended designation, "Xeon with 800-MHz system bus." (Intel says it's sticking with Xeon to add value to an already strong brand name.)

"It's an extension to the existing architecture," Braun says. "There's an extended register set. There are paths within the processor that are 64 bits and some that are 32 bits."

It's too early to tell how the new Xeon will be received. Analyst McCarron believes it will gain most of its adherents from existing users of 32-bit Xeons, rather than by stealing away potential Opteron customers. He also notes that Opteron is particularly strong when it comes to four-way servers. Here, there's an additional technical wrinkle: four-way Opterons compete with a separate Intel part dubbed Xeon MP. That device has yet to be updated with 64-bit extensions.

Microway's Fried agrees that four-way Opteron servers are a particular sweet spot VARs should be attentive to.

For the VAR looking ahead to mid-2005, rumblings that Intel may have only begun to fight back against AMD remain in the air. Several resellers who declined to be named say they have been briefed about an Intel plan to add its own on-board memory controller to a future Xeon. Intel's Braun declined to comment on the company's product plans, noting only that it will continue to emphasize platform-level features.

An on-board controller would enable Intel to effectively claim the same chip-levels as Opteron. That could reposition the marketing battle between the two from today's platform dance into an old-style microprocessor dust-up.

Sticking to his competitive guns, AMD's Ruiz is ready for anything Intel plans to dish out. "We're here for the long run," he says, "and we're not going away."