Interested in the latest quad-core processor news from Intel and AMD, but too tired to read about it? Then kick back and listen to two podcasts with heavy hitters from the respective semiconductor powerhouses, and watch a short (non-blurry) video where I opine on whether you really need four cores on your desktop.Most forward-looking is my podcast with Intel Fellow Mark Bohr, who has been leading the development of the industry's first 45-nm processors. Those will appear later this year when Intel's quad-core Penryn ships.

Bohr explains how 45-nm chip-making technology allows engineers to pack more transistors onto a given slice of silicon than was possible at 65 nm, and to run the chips at lower power

On the immediate-news front, I've got a podcast with AMD's Randy Allen. Allen, VP of AMD's server and workstation division, talks about the Barcelona quad-core server processor, which is AMD's first quad-core chip

Allen explains that Barcelona's clock speed will rise from the 2.0 GHz of the devices released on the Sept. 10 launch to 2.3 GHz by the end of the year. As well, AMD plans 45-nm versions of Barcelona in the second half of 2008.

What does the rush to quad-core mean? To answer that question, we go to the video stream, where our anchorperson (me) opines that quad on the desktop is nice but not absolutely necessary. On the server side, however, it's amply justified by its cost (performance per watt being the new, preferred metric) and server-consolidation benefits.

Click below, to watch:

P.S. Also check out " Inside AMD's Phenom And Opteron Quad-Core Architectures" and the "Quad-Core Processor Buyer's Guide 2007".

Here are some slides on the AMD and Intel quad architectures, respectively:

This die shot identifies the different functional units of Barcelona, AMD's upcoming quad-core Opteron. (Click picture to enlarge.)

Harpertown and Yorkfield will be Intel's first 45-nm quads. (65-nm quad cores already are shipping.) (Click picture to enlarge.)