Intel debuts dual-core MP Xeons

Intel has announced its first multiprocessor dual-core Xeon server processors, which are now shipping.

Part of the Paxville family, Xeon 7000 series processors are available at speeds up to 3.0GHz and with a 667MHz dual independent system bus, with an 800MHz option due in early 2006.

Hyper-threading and Intel Virtualization Technology are also part of the design, which can be dropped into existing designs as a direct replacement for the previous dual-processor Xeon part. The virtualisation support will need a BIOS upgrade for activation, which is also expected in early 2006.

"This is rifle-shot performance straight out of the gate" said Rick Skett, director of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group for Europe. "For threaded applications and operating systems, performance is increased by 1.5 times over the last Paxvilles, with very quick validation. We promised these parts in the first quarter of next year, but we're delivering early".

Many of Intel's partners are announcing products based around the new chips, including Fujitsu Siemens, HP and Dell. Hugh Jenkins, Enterprise Marketing Manager at Dell UK, said: "We'll ship the PowerEdge 6800 dual-core quad socket on 15 November, with a 51 percent uplift in performance and a 43 percent improvement in performance per watt. We've demonstrated the first TPC-C benchmarks under a dollar per transaction, and we've now got dual-core right across our range"

Tikiri Wandaragula, senior server consultant at IBM, said: "We will announce 4 socket and 8 socket servers based on our X3 chipset and the MP Xeon, taking our xSeries range up to 32-way. We said at the launch of X3 earlier this year that we'd be supporting multiprocessor configurations, and this lets us bring in technology from our midrange and mainframe products. There'll be more announcements."

The chips cost between $1,177 (£668) and $3,157 (£1,792), depending on cache configuration and clock speed, in 1,000 unit quantities.