It’s been speculated for some 9 months that Intel’s forthcoming 90nm processor using the NetBurst® architecture, codenamed “Prescott” was to feature 64 bit extensions to the x86 ISA under the codename “Yamhill” not once but twice.
X-Bit Labs have the following:
American Technology Research believes it is likely that Intel Corporation will unveil a 64-bit x86 chip in Q1 or Q2 of 2004, which would be a huge endorsement of 64-bit computing; however, the firm says
it will take Intel close to one full year to build a support infrastructure of mainboards, chipsets, and graphics accelerators, leaving the 2004 playing field widefor Advanced Micro Devices who already has its 64-bit chips rapidly ramping up in production.
Obviously, this makes the whole Pentium V and Windows Elements thing and the news that Windows XP/Server 2003 for Extended Systems has been delayed all the more interesting.
Only time will tell as to how this particular conspiracy theory pans out… :D