Intel has delayed by months the release of the next three major versions of the Itanium processor, a new blow for the processor family. But the chipmaker also plans a change it said will boost the performance of its more widely used Xeon line.
The next Itanium, a major revision code-named Montecito, recently had been scheduled for debut this year, holding volume production until the first quarter of 2006 so the chipmaker can address quality problems. Now, however, it will debut in mid-2006, spokeswoman Erica Fields said Monday. Its successor, "Montvale," was pushed from late 2006 to 2007, and the next major redesign, "Tukwila," was pushed from 2007 to 2008.
In addition, Montecito won't incorporate the "Foxton" technology that would allowed the chip to run faster when it had cooled. Consequently, its top speed has been reduced from 2GHz to 1.6GHz, Fields said. Another change will be removal of higher-end Monticito models whose front-side bus--the connection to the rest of the system--runs at 667MHz, leaving only the 400MHz and 533MHz models.
"It was required for us to do additional work to meet the production-level quality Intel is known for," Fields said of the delay, though she wouldn't detail what quality issues had emerged.
Faced with initial delays, poor performance and software incompatibility with Xeon, Intel in recent years backed off its ambition to make Itanium the processor of choice for all servers. Instead, the company tailored it for higher-end machines that compete with those using IBM's Power and mainframe chips and Sun Microsystems' Sparc line.
Hewlett-Packard, which initiated the chip project, remains a major backer, but Dell and IBM have dropped Itanium support, and Microsoft's future version of Windows for Itanium will be suited only for high-end jobs.
The Itanium delay "is generally bad news," and competitors will likely pounce all over it, said Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff, but it doesn't change the overall competition between the top server makers. "HP still has a competitive high-end processor from Intel, even with this slippage," Haff said.
HP remains "fully committed to continuing to drive positive momentum for the Itanium-based HP Integrity server family," the company said in a statement, citing 113 percent growth in Integrity revenue in the July quarter.
Things look rosier for Xeon, which enjoys widespread market popularity. However, rival Advanced Micro Devices has been gaining share with its Opteron chip.
Dell Extends Mobile Technology Leadership with New Ultra-Mobile, Workstation Notebooks
Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) today introduced two new portable systems -- the ultra-mobile Latitude(TM) D430 notebook and Dell Precision(TM) M4300 mobile workstation - that build on the company's environmental and technology leadership.Reflecting Dell's goal to become the greenest technology company, Dell Latitude D430 notebooks and Dell Precision M4300 mobile workstations comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's newest Energy Star 4.0 standard. Dell has also added the Dell Precision 390, 490 and 690 to its list of compliant systems. With the addition of therecently announced OptiPlex(TM) 740 and 745 desktops and Latitude D630, D531 and D830 notebooks, the company is delivering the most comprehensive set of Energy Star 4.0 compliant product offerings of any major information-technology company."Not only are we innovating on an environmental front, we are bringing mobile technology to corporate and workstation users that allow them to get more done no matter where they work," said Vivek Mohindra, vice president, Dell Product Group. "We are also leading the solid state revolution. Dell was the first major system vendor to deliver on the technology and today we are also making available the most comprehensive set of products with solid state drives."Dell, the first major vendor to offer solid state drives, is extending this technology option to the Latitude D430 notebook and the Dell Precision M4300 mobile workstation. In addition, the company offers the drive on the Latitude D630 and D830. Solid state drives can provide a shock tolerance of up to 1,300 Gs(1) and are predicted to reduce the probability of failure by more than 5 times.(2)Computing Anywhere with the Ultra-Mobile Latitude D430The 12-inch widescreen Latitude D430, starting at three pounds,(3) is designed for customers who want extreme mobility that fits their on-the-go lifestyle, yet still provides performance, productivity and all-day computing. The system is available with the option of Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo(R) processors, extended batteries and the industry's fastest mobile broadband technology supported by the widest variety of carriers. In addition, durable design through the absence of moving parts, an optional solid state drive can improve Latitude D430 performance up to 23 percent(4) and can reduce boot time by up to 34percent.(5)The Latitude D430 is built on four cornerstones of quality, productivity, security and offer:-- HyperConnect(TM) features that enable users to work from virtually anywhere(6) with integrated draft 802.11n wireless connectivity for increased throughput and range enabled by Dell-designed HyperBand antennas that support multi-band wireless performance-- Smart Security solutions engineered to prevent unauthorized access with smart card, password, biometric readers and TPM 1.2-- RoadReady(TM) quality with magnesium alloy construction, solid state drives and full-time Strike Zone(TM) hard drive protection, all backed by about 13,000 hours of rigorous testing to help ensure durable operation-- A customer-driven design that delivers technology choices, including the latest 64-bit hardware and energy efficient productsDell is reducing complexity in customers' IT infrastructures so customers can focus more resources on expanding their business. The Latitude D430 is easy to deploy and maintain with focused services, four generations of component commonality and remote administration capabilities that come with Dell Client Manager.
The next Itanium, a major revision code-named Montecito, recently had been scheduled for debut this year, holding volume production until the first quarter of 2006 so the chipmaker can address quality problems. Now, however, it will debut in mid-2006, spokeswoman Erica Fields said Monday. Its successor, "Montvale," was pushed from late 2006 to 2007, and the next major redesign, "Tukwila," was pushed from 2007 to 2008.
In addition, Montecito won't incorporate the "Foxton" technology that would allowed the chip to run faster when it had cooled. Consequently, its top speed has been reduced from 2GHz to 1.6GHz, Fields said. Another change will be removal of higher-end Monticito models whose front-side bus--the connection to the rest of the system--runs at 667MHz, leaving only the 400MHz and 533MHz models.
"It was required for us to do additional work to meet the production-level quality Intel is known for," Fields said of the delay, though she wouldn't detail what quality issues had emerged.
Faced with initial delays, poor performance and software incompatibility with Xeon, Intel in recent years backed off its ambition to make Itanium the processor of choice for all servers. Instead, the company tailored it for higher-end machines that compete with those using IBM's Power and mainframe chips and Sun Microsystems' Sparc line.
Hewlett-Packard, which initiated the chip project, remains a major backer, but Dell and IBM have dropped Itanium support, and Microsoft's future version of Windows for Itanium will be suited only for high-end jobs.
The Itanium delay "is generally bad news," and competitors will likely pounce all over it, said Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff, but it doesn't change the overall competition between the top server makers. "HP still has a competitive high-end processor from Intel, even with this slippage," Haff said.
HP remains "fully committed to continuing to drive positive momentum for the Itanium-based HP Integrity server family," the company said in a statement, citing 113 percent growth in Integrity revenue in the July quarter.
Things look rosier for Xeon, which enjoys widespread market popularity. However, rival Advanced Micro Devices has been gaining share with its Opteron chip.
Dell Extends Mobile Technology Leadership with New Ultra-Mobile, Workstation Notebooks
Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) today introduced two new portable systems -- the ultra-mobile Latitude(TM) D430 notebook and Dell Precision(TM) M4300 mobile workstation - that build on the company's environmental and technology leadership.Reflecting Dell's goal to become the greenest technology company, Dell Latitude D430 notebooks and Dell Precision M4300 mobile workstations comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's newest Energy Star 4.0 standard. Dell has also added the Dell Precision 390, 490 and 690 to its list of compliant systems. With the addition of therecently announced OptiPlex(TM) 740 and 745 desktops and Latitude D630, D531 and D830 notebooks, the company is delivering the most comprehensive set of Energy Star 4.0 compliant product offerings of any major information-technology company."Not only are we innovating on an environmental front, we are bringing mobile technology to corporate and workstation users that allow them to get more done no matter where they work," said Vivek Mohindra, vice president, Dell Product Group. "We are also leading the solid state revolution. Dell was the first major system vendor to deliver on the technology and today we are also making available the most comprehensive set of products with solid state drives."Dell, the first major vendor to offer solid state drives, is extending this technology option to the Latitude D430 notebook and the Dell Precision M4300 mobile workstation. In addition, the company offers the drive on the Latitude D630 and D830. Solid state drives can provide a shock tolerance of up to 1,300 Gs(1) and are predicted to reduce the probability of failure by more than 5 times.(2)Computing Anywhere with the Ultra-Mobile Latitude D430The 12-inch widescreen Latitude D430, starting at three pounds,(3) is designed for customers who want extreme mobility that fits their on-the-go lifestyle, yet still provides performance, productivity and all-day computing. The system is available with the option of Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo(R) processors, extended batteries and the industry's fastest mobile broadband technology supported by the widest variety of carriers. In addition, durable design through the absence of moving parts, an optional solid state drive can improve Latitude D430 performance up to 23 percent(4) and can reduce boot time by up to 34percent.(5)The Latitude D430 is built on four cornerstones of quality, productivity, security and offer:-- HyperConnect(TM) features that enable users to work from virtually anywhere(6) with integrated draft 802.11n wireless connectivity for increased throughput and range enabled by Dell-designed HyperBand antennas that support multi-band wireless performance-- Smart Security solutions engineered to prevent unauthorized access with smart card, password, biometric readers and TPM 1.2-- RoadReady(TM) quality with magnesium alloy construction, solid state drives and full-time Strike Zone(TM) hard drive protection, all backed by about 13,000 hours of rigorous testing to help ensure durable operation-- A customer-driven design that delivers technology choices, including the latest 64-bit hardware and energy efficient productsDell is reducing complexity in customers' IT infrastructures so customers can focus more resources on expanding their business. The Latitude D430 is easy to deploy and maintain with focused services, four generations of component commonality and remote administration capabilities that come with Dell Client Manager.
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