Will Intel Kill x86-64 By Supporting It?

Intel’s announcement last spring that they’d be releasing processor’s compatible with the new AMD64 standard was simultaneously revolutionary and yawn-worthy. Revolutionary because, in spite of Intel’s best efforts to pretend otherwise, it marked the first time Santa Clara had been forced to adopt chosen to adopt a competitor’s technology in the CPU industry. Predictions ran rampant that Itanium was dead, that Intel would continue to adapt AMD technology, and that Bennifer was on the rocks. Yawn-worthy because Yamhill was the most open secret in California, and everyone knew it was coming.

Turn the clock ahead and its launch time for Nocona with support for what Intel is called EM64T, or Extended Memory 64 Technology. The title is a hint for what Santa Clara wants to emphasize—64 bits is for large memory arrays, not necessarily so much for performance. Here’s a thought for you though—what if Intel’s decision to support AMD64 wasn’t a cave-in to AMD’s design or market demand, but a cunning attempt to sideswipe it?