I recall the days of single core to dual-core transition. I hopped onto the bandwagon rather early because I saw and experienced the benefits first hand through the multi-threaded nature Hyper Threaded Pentium 4’s.

Dual-core is awesome and benefitial, but what about quad-core? Great for encoding, but overkill for a desktop. Most single applications have yet to fully utilize dual-cores. Even if you are running multiple CPU intensive tasks, dual-cores should suffice. That is, unless you insist on encoding 2 movies at the same time while playing World of Warcraft.

So why is Intel bringing a six core processor in the second half of 2008? For servers and those who multitask with the power of 3 persons of course. Just because we don’t need six cores, doesn’t mean Intel should stop pushing the boundaries.

PC gaming isn’t dead, but it is in disarray as some people put it. Initiatives like Steam and SteamWorks are solid attempts in making things easier for developers, but one company can only do so much. Have no fear. The PC Gaming Alliance is here to save PC gaming.

The alliance consists of Nvidia, AMD, Acer, Alienware, Intel, Dell, Gateway, Activision, Microsoft, Epic and hopefully more by the end of the year. With both major hardware and software manufacturers on board, the PCGA is hoping to raise awareness concerning PC gaming’s health, standardize minimum system requirements for games, address piracy issues and even improved distribution models.

Things look promising, but until I start seeing results: I’ll be cautiously optimistic.

It’s hard to imagine Intel going out of their way to create a processor for anyone, but themselves. However, it appears that Intel is making a habit of taking custom processor orders - specifically from Apple. It started out small with a custom Dothan processor for the Apple TV and then a custom Merom processor for the recently announced MacBook Air.
 
None of these custom orders have been drastic, but they are not typical of Intel. Typically, Intel sells a platform (ie: Centrino) or a chip to its customers and then they would do their best to accomodate Intel’s products into their own. Even the original Xbox’s processor was an “off the shelf” Intel Pentium III based design. Not even the almighty Microsoft could sway Intel for a specially catered design for its first console.

But times are changing.

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