Intel introducerer 2 GHz Xeon processor

Intel har netop annonceret en 2 GHz version af deres Xeon processor. Xeon, som sigter imod højtydende arbejdsstationer, og dual-processor systemer, er baseret på samme teknologi som Intel's Pentium 4 processor. Hidtil hurtigste version har været på 1.7 GHz, og der har de seneste dage gået rygter om at 2 GHz version var blevet vraget i forhold til en 2.2 GHz version, men Intel har med denne annoncering manet disse rygter til jorden. Intel, som normalt har denne del af markedet for sig selv, har måttet se deres 1.7 GHz Xeon overhalet af AMD's Athlon MP 1.2 GHz, og AMD er lige på trapperne med endnu hurtigere versioner af Athlon MP, rygterne går i øjeblikket på 1,4 og 1.53 GHz versioner. Xeon 2 GHz kommer med 256 KB L2 cache, og prisen ligger på US$ 615, hvilket betyder at den vil koste cirka 6.000 kroner i Danmark. Her er pressemeddelsen:

Intel® Xeon? Processors Reach 2 Gigahertz For Workstations

World's Fastest Workstation Processors Boost Performance More than 10 Percent

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 25, 2001 - Intel Corporation today introduced the world's fastest processor for dual processor, high-performance workstations. The 2 Gigahertz Intel® Xeon? processor, based on the NetBurst? microarchitecture, targets high-performance and mid-range workstation market segments and is expected to achieve performance increases of more than 10 percent over existing Intel Xeon processors.

A number of workstation manufacturers worldwide -- including Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens, Hewlett Packard, IBM and NEC -- are expected to start shipping platforms based on the new processor this quarter -- many starting today. According to industry analyst firm International Data Corporation, Intel-based workstations accounted for 68 percent of all workstation shipments in the second quarter of 2001.

The Intel NetBurst Microarchitecture and Intel 860 Chipset
Intel's Xeon processor family is specially designed to meet the scalability, availability and manageability needs of the high-performance workstation market segment. Workstations based on Intel's new Xeon processors use the Intel NetBurst microarchitecture to deliver processing power for video, audio, 3-D graphics and the latest Internet technologies.

The Intel Xeon processor platform is based on the high-performance Intel® 860 Chipset. This chipset features dual RDRAM* memory banks to complement the Intel Xeon's 400 MHz system bus, which provides up to 3.2 gigabytes of data per second.

In the future, faster clock speeds and larger cache configurations will provide further headroom for computation, graphical and I/O-intensive workloads.

Pricing and Availability
The Intel Xeon processor at 2 GHz with 256 KB level two Advanced Transfer Cache is priced at $615 in 1,000-unit quantities.

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom