Intel Announces Multi-core Teraflop Research Chip

Intel reported over the weekend it developed the world's first programmable test processor (a single, 80-core chip about the size of a finger nail) capable of delivering Teraflop performance, or trillions of calculations per second. Intel said in a press release that it "has no plans to bring this exact chip designed with floating point cores to market." Although it did say the research will be used "in investigating new innovations in individual or specialized processor or core functions ..." Intel's CTO Justin Rattner comments, "It points the way to the near future when Teraflop-capable designs will be commonplace and will reshape what we can all expect from our computers and the Internet at home and in the office." Intel says ten years ago when it achieved the first Teraflop performance, the computer took up 2,000 square feet and was powered by 10,000 Pentium Pro processors.

Sources: Press release, The Wall Street Journal
Commentary: Chip Stocks: Weak Motherboard Sales Signal Trouble In PC Supply Chain • AMD Gains Market Share in Q4, But Intel Strengthens in Servers • Merrill Lynch: Avoid 'Value Traps' GE, Tyco, AMD and Intel
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Intel (INTC). Competitors: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), IBM (IBM), Sun Microsystems (SUNW). ETFs: Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH), iShares Goldman Sachs Semiconductor (IGW), PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors (PSI), SPDR Semiconductor (XSD), Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK)

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