Intel Regaining of momentum

aced with the need to regain lost marketplace momentum,[20][21] Intel unveiled its new product development model to regain its prior technological lead. Known as its "tick-tock model", the program was based upon annual alternation of microarchitecture innovation and process innovation.

In 2006, Intel produced P6 and Netburst products with reduced die size (65nm). A year later it unveiled its Core microarchitecture to widespread critical acclaim;[22] the product range was perceived as an exceptional leap in processor performance that at a stroke regained much of its leadership of the field.[23][24] In line with the model, the following year saw the next "tick", a process improvement to shrink this range from 65 to 45 nm, and the year after saw the release of its positively reviewed successor processor, Nehalem.

Intel was not the first microprocessor corporation to do this. For example, around 1996 graphics chip designers nVidia had addressed its own business and marketplace difficulties by adopting a demanding 6-month internal product cycle whose products repeatedly outperformed market expectation.