HP will make AMD Opteron servers

We reported in early November that it had re-started work on four way Opteron servers, called internally the "Experiment Project".

That was supposed to be a secret, and it was until we revealed it.

But it's probably a bit too early to go around saying that this spells the end of the Intel Itanic microprocessor. Or even the beginning of the end. But as wartime leader Winston Churchill said, it could be the end of the beginning.

While Intel's original plan all those years ago was to gradually migrate its IA-64 architecture from the top end down, it has, we believe now, realised that Mr IA 64 will operate within a niche segment, in the realms of big tin.

Paradoxically, Intel will eventually build into the IA-64 all that lovely Alpha architecture that the firm used to covet so much. And, rather ironically, there's more than a passing resemblance between the AMD 64 designs and the Alpha.

Well, that's because Dark Mayor was the lead architect on both the DEC Alpha and the K8 of course.

Never say die. µ

L'INQ
KanellOS