Itanium 2, Intel"s upcoming chip for high-end servers and workstations, has slimmed down.
The final version of the chip, which goes on sale in a few weeks, will have a surface area of 421 square millimeters--approximately 10 percent smaller than originally planned. The reduction in size comes because of subsequent manufacturing improvements, an Intel representative said.
Although it remains a relatively large processor, the slimmed-down chip will give Intel a little extra breathing room on costs and manufacturing. In February, Intel representatives said the chip would measure 464 square millimeters, which would have made it one of the largest chips in years.
Large chips cost more to make because fewer can be carved out of a single silicon wafer. Yields--the number of good chips produced from a wafer--also typically decline as chip size increases because of a greater potential for defects, according to analysts.
"Dropping a few additional square millimeters will up yields in both die size and defect density," said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at consulting firm Mercury Research.