Judging by the performance of AMD’s first Bulldozer chips, Intel isn’t under much competitive pressure to roll out its next wave of chips. Nevertheless, EE Times is reporting that Intel may reach its goal of shipping 22-nm Ivy Bridge processors this spring with months to spare.
The site says the first Ivy Bridge processors will come out in March. According to SeekingAlpha’s transcript of the latest Intel earnings call, when asked when the first Ivy Bridge-based PCs would hit stores, Intel CEO Paul Otellini responded simply, “Spring.” That gives the chipmaker a launch window of mid-March to mid-June or thereabouts—so, a March rollout would be rather timely.
EE Times goes on to quote Real World Technologies’ David Kanter, who says Intel had to push back the Ivy Bridge launch because of delays with its 22-nm ramp. Kanter reportedly estimates that Intel will start shipping Ivy Bridge chips to hardware makers in the early part of next year’s first quarter. Otellini said last week that Intel kicked off Ivy Bridge production last quarter.