Cooler quad-core computers coming soon, curtosey of Intel

John A 0 351 Views

Intel's finally received the kick-in-the-pants from its rival AMD, and, trying to kick that reputation of having hot chips has decided to revamp its server quad-core Xeon chips. The new chips, which have started shipping, use a mere 50 watts of power. It also has a 60 percent reduction from the previous generation of Xeon chips.

So how does this stack up with AMD? Well, Intel is ahead, which is probably why they released this now. Anyhow, AMD has only 68 watts, so AMD's got an 18 wattage reduction challenge set for them now...

So how low can these chip-makers go? It seems like they're catering to the server market, which uses incredible amounts of power. I wonder how long it'll take for solar-powered servers to come out. Regardless, it's good to see healthy competition making our products better, and the environmentalists happy. :D

Dani AI

Generated

Good catch, . The industry shift to lower‑power quad cores changed expectations, but “cooler” is a system attribute, not just a chip spec. A few clarifications and practical notes for readers who find this thread well after it was posted.

“Thermal Design Power” (TDP) is a guideline for cooling design, not a fixed measure of real‑world watts. Actual power draw depends on workload, turbo/boost behavior and platform components (memory, storage, VRMs, fans). Modern CPUs rely on C‑states and dynamic frequency/voltage scaling to reduce average consumption, so real savings show up under typical mixes of idle and bursty loads rather than a single benchmark number.

For rack and facility planning, CPU efficiency helps, but the larger wins usually come from system and facility improvements: consolidation (virtualization/containers) to raise utilization, high‑efficiency power supplies, and lowering PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness). Renewables like solar can power datacenters, but intermittency and storage/UPS remain the main integration challenges; lower power needs reduce the size and cost of that supporting infrastructure but do not remove it.

macOS‑centric troubleshooting and mitigation are often at the system level: common steps include checking Activity Monitor (CPU and Energy), enabling automatic graphics switching where available, keeping macOS and firmware current, resetting the SMC if fan/sensor behavior is erratic, ensuring vents are clear of dust, and swapping aging HDDs for SSDs to lower sustained heat. Kernel extensions or rogue background processes are frequent culprits for unexpected thermal behavior.

In short: competition spurred meaningful efficiency improvements, but judging a platform by a single chip number is incomplete. Worth focusing on whole‑system metrics and real workloads when comparing “cooler” hardware.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.

Edit Preview