Intel launched its first dual-core server processor Monday, a Xeon that makes up some ground lost to rival AMD but it's due to be superseded by a more powerful model in just a few months.
Dual-core processors have two processing engines on a single slice of silicon, increasing the amount of computing power a single server can handle. It's an approach that has been used in high-end server chips for several years from IBM, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard but now is arriving in mainstream x86 processors such as Xeon and Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron.
Intel took an unusual step to catch up to AMD, which released its dual-core Opteron in April. Manufacturing was going so well with Intel's "Paxville" chip--a dual-core model designed for higher-end servers with four or more processors--that Intel released a version for dual-processor servers. The urgency of the move is illustrated by the fact that Intel plans to release what was to have been its inaugural dual-core Xeon, a chip code-named "Dempsey," in the first quarter of 2006.
News.context
What's new:Intel launched "Paxville," its first dual-core server processor, designed for higher-end servers with four or more processors.
Bottom line:Intel released the chip earlier than expected in an unusual step to catch up to AMD, which released its dual-core Opteron in April.
More stories on dual-core processors
In addition, the original high-end version of Paxville for multiprocessor servers, called the Xeon 7000, will be available within 60 days and run at clock speeds up to 3GHz, said Kirk Skaugen, general manager of Intel's server platforms group. The chip is arriving "several months" earlier than expected.
Only in 2003 did AMD become a serious contender in the market for processors designed for servers, higher-end machines that handle round-the-clock jobs such as e-commerce Web sites and inventory tracking. The company has jumped ahead of Intel with several key features and gained share against its Silicon Valley competitor, but Intel's greater manufacturing capacity and customer reach have partially offset AMD's gains.
And AMD remains a step ahead, said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood. "The Intel product is clearly an improvement over the single-core chip in terms of performance, but I think AMD will continue to win most of the benchmarks," he said. Intel will be better able to counter AMD's power efficiency with its "Woodcrest" Xeon, which is due in the second half of 2006, and to counter AMD's performance with "Whitefield," which is due in 2007, Brookwood predicted.
As expected, HP and IBM joined Dell in announcing servers with the processor Monday. Dell announced its dual-core Xeon models in September. Sun, HP and IBM already offer servers using AMD's dual-core Opteron.
Intel's dual-core Xeon, designed for dual-processor servers, runs at 2.8GHz and costs $1,043 in quantities of 1,000. That's a big notch more expensive than the $690 Intel charges for the high-end single-core Xeon, running at 3.6GHz.
Dual-core processors have two processing engines on a single slice of silicon, increasing the amount of computing power a single server can handle. It's an approach that has been used in high-end server chips for several years from IBM, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard but now is arriving in mainstream x86 processors such as Xeon and Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron.
Intel took an unusual step to catch up to AMD, which released its dual-core Opteron in April. Manufacturing was going so well with Intel's "Paxville" chip--a dual-core model designed for higher-end servers with four or more processors--that Intel released a version for dual-processor servers. The urgency of the move is illustrated by the fact that Intel plans to release what was to have been its inaugural dual-core Xeon, a chip code-named "Dempsey," in the first quarter of 2006.
News.context
What's new:Intel launched "Paxville," its first dual-core server processor, designed for higher-end servers with four or more processors.
Bottom line:Intel released the chip earlier than expected in an unusual step to catch up to AMD, which released its dual-core Opteron in April.
More stories on dual-core processors
In addition, the original high-end version of Paxville for multiprocessor servers, called the Xeon 7000, will be available within 60 days and run at clock speeds up to 3GHz, said Kirk Skaugen, general manager of Intel's server platforms group. The chip is arriving "several months" earlier than expected.
Only in 2003 did AMD become a serious contender in the market for processors designed for servers, higher-end machines that handle round-the-clock jobs such as e-commerce Web sites and inventory tracking. The company has jumped ahead of Intel with several key features and gained share against its Silicon Valley competitor, but Intel's greater manufacturing capacity and customer reach have partially offset AMD's gains.
And AMD remains a step ahead, said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood. "The Intel product is clearly an improvement over the single-core chip in terms of performance, but I think AMD will continue to win most of the benchmarks," he said. Intel will be better able to counter AMD's power efficiency with its "Woodcrest" Xeon, which is due in the second half of 2006, and to counter AMD's performance with "Whitefield," which is due in 2007, Brookwood predicted.
As expected, HP and IBM joined Dell in announcing servers with the processor Monday. Dell announced its dual-core Xeon models in September. Sun, HP and IBM already offer servers using AMD's dual-core Opteron.
Intel's dual-core Xeon, designed for dual-processor servers, runs at 2.8GHz and costs $1,043 in quantities of 1,000. That's a big notch more expensive than the $690 Intel charges for the high-end single-core Xeon, running at 3.6GHz.
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