The launch date of Intel’s graphics processor Larrabee has long remained clouded and previously it was believed that 2009 was still a possibility. That shipped has sailed now as Intel VP Paul Otellini has told PC Magazine that the mass production of Larrabee will start at earliest next year. For long Intel has been discussing the possibilities of launching several versions of Larrabee and this is highly emphasized in the Q&A.
“We always said it would launch in the 2009/2010 timeframe,” Intel spokesman Nick Knupffer said in an email Friday. “We are narrowing that timeframe. Larrabee is healthy and in our labs right now. There will be multiple versions of Larrabee over time. We are not releasing additional details at this time.”
Intel did not want to go into detail, but previous information and recently published pictures of the Larrabee die has indicated that the graphics processor could house up to 32 Pentium P54C cores, with smaller versions sporting 16 and 24 cores respectively coming later on.
