I don't write much about hardware, but every once in a while a hardware advance comes along that is so important that it deserves some attention. There are pragmatic reasons for this. What Bill Gates gratingly called "the magic of software" is the driving force behind our industry—the secret sauce that makes all these devices we interact with, PCs or otherwise, more interesting.

But this year, we begin a pivotal hardware transition that's as big a milestone, I think, as previous transitions. There's just one problem: Unlike the past, where we could simply point to a single thing—the move from 16-bit processing platforms such as the 286 to a 32-bit world of flat memory models—this year, it's a bit different. That is, it's not a single transition. It's a series of transitions.

Sandy Bridge

The first is simple enough, however Intel recently launched its "Sandy Bridge" microprocessors, which are the second generation of its Core-branded chips. But despite the identical naming—you'll still be picking between Core i3, i5,and i7 variants—these new designs are much improved over their predecessors.

As before, there will be dual- and quad-core variants of the chips, but this time around there will be far more of the quad-core versions, especially for desktop . Step up to the i5, and you'll find some 8-core versions, and with the high-end i7, even some 12-core chips. (These latter chips have not yet shipped.)

2011 Hardware Trends

Posted By: JMH
22 Jan 2011