Intel First to Demonstrate Working 45nm Chips

New Technology Will Improve Performance and Energy Efficiency of Future Intel Platforms

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 25, 2006 – "Intel Corporation today announced it has become the first company to reach an important milestone in the development of 45 nanometer (nm) logic technology. Intel has produced what are believed to be the first fully functional SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chips using 45nm process technology, its next– generation, high–volume semiconductor manufacturing process."

Drops in die size don't always equate to major leaps in performance in my opion. In fact there are 110 nm and 90 nm Athlons that are very similair. Really The only reason to switch was the added features, like a lower heat profile. They for the most part take less wattage to run as they get smaller.

The next big boost to the CPU after a die shink is space. Space to add features like virtualization, more cache (see Mram and Zram in earlier posts). Does this mean someone like me who clunked down for a A64 s939 +4000 will upgrade when either Intel, or AMD comes out with the better 45nm chip? No, most likely not right away. If the features that are added though, make that much of a difference in my computing experience, then I would consider it, and that would also be when I move to dual core.