TECHNOLOGIES TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2009 - part 2

Processors

A lot is happening in the field of processors as always, since this is undoubtedly the single most important field as far as computing is concerned. We shall tell you separately about what you can expect from Intel and AMD.
Intel processors

Intel Processors

Intel launched their latest Core i7 processors near the end of 2008. Formerly codenamed Nehalem, these are aimed at high-performance servers, and you can expect desktops and laptop versions coming out in the second half of 2009. Heralded as the biggest architectural advance Intel has made since the Pentium 4 in 2000, the architecture is scalable from two to eight cores. It makes use of HyperThreading technology, which makes its appearance for the first time after we saw it on desktop processors with the NetBurst architecture a few years ago. It is currently only in some Pentium and Xeon processors, allowing two threads per core.Along with energy efficiency, you also get better performance per clock speed and also a Turbo mode for an improved sleep facility. Cores not in use can be completely shut down, and they consume absolutely no power in this mode unlike its predecessors. To provide additional performance for applications not supporting multithreading, Core i7 boosts the clock speeds of the remaining cores while keeping the chip within its design power consumption limits.
According to the Intel's "tick tock" model, since the Nehalem is a "tock", 2009 will be a "tick", meaning that a new fabrication process will be used. We had seen at the Fall IDF 2007 that they had showcased the Tukwila wafer based on 32 nm fabrication process and it is this process which will be introduced for desktop processors this year.

AMD processors

Unlike Intel, AMD has still kept its plans for 2009 under wraps and have only stated that a transition to 45nm technology is on the cards making them one generation behind Intel. It is known that AMD will bring out six-core processors to join its triple-core and quad-core Phenom parts. Unlike Intel, they still refuse to go along rating and promoting processors according to clock speeds. We can only hope that they have something up their sleeve; otherwise it will be yet another eventless year for them.

Graphics

3D graphics cards have been rendering three dimensional graphics on the monitor, giving you a depth of perception. But 2009 will see a true out-of-the-screen 3D graphics in which you can experience games in three dimensions like you did while watching 3D movies.

There are many display technologies that can achieve this, but the one we are talking about is the Stereo 3D technology being promoted by Nvidia that will use special polarizing glasses to achieve the 3D effect.
Nvidia had launched PhysX in 2008 but there wasn't much happening about it last year. This year though, you will see many games embracing this version of physics algorithms done on certain GPUs of Nvidia. The first games to use PhysX as an integral part of game play will probably be launched during the second half of 2009. They will provide a greater level of reality in areas such as explosions, smoke and fog. The characters will have complex, jointed geometries for movements that will be more lifelike.
Intel is also expected to do something about its new GPU codenamed Larrabee in either the later part of 2009 or in the first part of 2010. Not much is known about how well it will perform in comparison with the already established ones from Nvidia and ATI. All that is known at this point in time is that the Larrabee has multiple cores and we will know the rest only after Intel is a bit more forthcoming about it.