You can’t tell me you haven’t asked this question yourself: Why exactly is Intel coming along right now with an integrated memory controller idea? And why is it that Intel now plans to put graphics capability into the CPU. Does AMD innovate and Intel has begun to follow? Here’s some food for thought.

So, let’s get right to it. Why is the integrated memory controller (IMC), a key feature that made AMD’s current Athlon 64/Opteron platform so successful, developed for the next-gen Intel Nehalem platform? When I heard about the news, a statement by Intel’s Pat Gelsinger from a 2005 IDF popped up in my mind, in which the executive said that Intel would be thinking about such a technology when there’s the right time.

Nehalem’s release must be right time, apparently. But why? Intel had such a technology already developed in the past (see also the reader comments in our first Nehalem article ) for its never released Timna processor (some background on the development and the decision to scrap this chip can be found in our interview with Intel’s Mooly Eden). While AMD’s success with the integrated controller and customer pressure may have motivated Intel to rethink its IMC strategy, the official explanation is that multi-core has changed the landscape and will retire the concept of the good old FSB.

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