The GPGPU revolution is well underway, and the next stop seems to be the lucrative server arena. From an information point of view, a vast majority of servers are the ideal applications for GPGPU acceleration, as they are often required to perform repetitive processing. There is no doubt GPGPUs can accelerate specific server processes several times over CPUs.

However, so far, the only drawback has been the form factor of server systems. Servers are clearly designed for CPU usage, with no real space to fit in graphics cards. It is possible to replace the form to fit in PCI-e GPUs. This is not an option many server data centers are likely to opt for, however. Instead, the two year timeline given by AMD might simply allude to the availability of Fusion APUs.

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Intel's next generation Sandy Bridge, arriving in Q1 2011, is rumoured to have up to 2 GPUs on die. What is most impressive is that the entire package will be a single monolithic die. Thus, we are talking about a quad core CPU + 2 GPUs on a single die.

It is not clear as to why Intel would use 2 GPUs on one die, however. Though the next generation Intel IGPs are rumoured to be far superior, they will still pale in comparison to mainstream discrete GPUs from ATI or Nvidia.

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While Nvidia's GTX 480 branding came as a surprise, there are no surprises from AMD's CPU division. Upcoming six-core desktop CPU, codenamed Thuban, has been branded as AMD Phenom II X6. This brand name was revealed in Biostar's recent press release regarding the Leo platform.

Also revealed is AMD's next gen chipset, to be branded as 890GX and a direct successor to 790GX - again, no surprises.

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Following Gulftown, Intel will be looking to update their Core i7 line-up. One such CPU is rumoured to be the Core i7 970. However, the exact nature of this product is yet unknown. Some sources claim this will be a non-extreme version of the Core i7 975 at a lower price point. Fudzilla believes the Core i7 970 to be a slower clocked, non-Extreme, Gulftown CPU.

A look at Intel's nomenclature policy, however confusing it may be, would suggest the Core i7 970 should indeed be a Bloomfield CPU clocked at 3.33 GHz, replacing the Core i7 975 Extreme. With Gulftown, the Extreme end would move over to the six core Core i7 980X.

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Fudzilla reports that AMD is preparing a refreshed Phenom II quad core as part of the Leo platform headlined by Thuban six core CPUs. The codename is Zosma, and the brand names being thrown around is AMD Phenom II X4 960T.

Zosma is rumoured to be Thuban with two cores disabled, and this makes sense, to some extent. The clock speeds aren't known yet, but according to current nomenclature, we can expect the X4 960T to be clocked at either 3.3 or 3.4 GHz. The good news, however, is that the TDP is 95W compared to the current 965BE's 125W for C3 stepping.

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Following a successful release of the first 32nm Intel CPUs earlier this year, Intel is all set to reveal its next generation CPU, Sandy Bridge, in Q1 2011. Sandy Bridge will build upon Westmere (Nehalem's 32nm shrink). Some of the focus areas of Sandy Bridge are known to be power efficiency and GPU integration.

Next up in Intel's release schedule, however, is the uber extreme Gulftown six-core CPU. Incidentally, Sandy Bridge will only release as dual and/or quad core in Q1 2011, with further core CPUs likely coming in later.

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Intel's next flagship - 32nm Westmere based six-core Gulftown, is set to be branded Core i7 980X. Long rumoured to be branded Core i9, the most logical choice, Intel have yet again opted for a confusing nomenclature.

The 980X fits into the LGA 1366 socket, much like the Bloomfield Core i7 9xx CPUs. However, the Core i7 980X offers a much greater leap in performance over the Core i7 975 than the branding might suggest.

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