ED#64 : Intel SkullTrail Details

Many of you have already heard of the Intel SkullTrail or V8 systems Intel that put up on demo at the Intel Developer Forum. Designed to compete against the AMD Quad FX platform, the Intel SkullTrail comes with two CPU sockets, allowing eight processing cores on a single motherboard with multi-GPU capabilities.

Recently, we managed to obtain some insider info on the Intel SkullTrail project. Here's the latest update on this project :

• The SkullTrail is only meant to be a temporary flagship or proof-of-technology product, not a permanent Intel product.
• The SkullTrail will use Socket 771. That means only Intel Xeons (like the upcoming 45nm Harpertown) can be used.
• The SkullTrail will require the use of FB-DIMMs (Fully Buffered DIMMs).
• The motherboard will have a 10-layer PCB.
• There will be a very limited production run, with only 2000 units to be manufactured.
• At this moment, Intel will only sell the SkullTrail motherboards online, directly from Intel.
• The SkullTrail motherboard will be very expensive, at > US$ 600.
• The SkullTrail motherboard is set for final tests in Week 50, 2007, in time for a launch in Q1'08.

That's it for now. If you are looking for more insider info on Intel or AMD, do take a look at these previous editorials :

• ED#63 : Intel BoneTrail Release Imminent!
• ED#62 : New Intel 65nm Processors & Price Cuts
• ED#61 : It's The End-Of-Life For Intel Core 2 Mobile CPUs too
• ED#59 : Intel To Announce End-Of-Life Processors
• ED#58 : Intel To Rebrand Processors In 2008
• ED#57 : The AMD Phenom Goes Triple Core!

Questions & Comments

If you have a question or comment on this editorial, please feel free to post them here!