Intel to tout new dual-core Xeon chips on Tuesday
Intel Corp., the world's leading microprocessor maker and new supplier of chips for Apple's Macintosh computer line, will take center stage at its own developer forum this week to talk about its latest technologies, which are expected to include a couple of new dual-core server chips.
Among its announcements, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company may debut a new 65-nanometer (nm) dual-core Xeon server processor code-named Dempsey, which is reportedly on track to begin shipping by the end of the first calendar quarter of the year. The chip will bridge the gap between now and the Fall, when Intel will ship Woodcrest — its first server chip to truly address performance per Watt concerns and ideally give rival AMD's Opteron line a run for its money.
Dempsey — which packs HyperThreading support, a 1066MHz front-side bus, and Demand Based Switching and Vanderpool Technology — is expected to run at speeds between 2.5GHz and 3.46 GHz. The former is a rack-optomized variant at 95W dubbed Dempsey MV, while the latter is the performance version of the chip at 130W.
Intel may also unveil Sossaman, a 2.0GHz ultra-dense, low-power 32-bit server processor with 2MB of L2 cache. The chip, which consumes substantially less power at 31W, will likely replace the company's current Low Voltage and Ultra Low Voltage Xeon processors.
By early 2007, Intel will begin shipping its first processors with four cores, which will arrive first in the form another Xeon server chip dubbed "Clovertown." Therefore, it's also likely the company will use its developer forum to discuss its strategy for moving from dual-core chips to quad-core chips.
Intel may also offer additional details on its Viiv home entertainment platform and provide a glimpse at some future processors which have yet to surface on leaked company roadmaps.
48 Comments
And still no Opteron or G5 beater.
Woodcrest/Conroe better be good and on time.
These Xeon's are Netburst's last gasp. Goodbye and good riddance
Would seem unlikely to me that Apple introduces the Intel-Xserve in the next weeks, following Intel's announcement.
But perhaps the Xeon could go into Apple's PowerMac?
But it would make most sense to me if the iBook 12" + 14" / PowerBook 12" were the next lines to be transitioned, perhaps in mid-April. PowerMac and PowerBook 17" (maybe also the Xserve) could be next, perhaps at WWDC06.
Would seem unlikely to me that Apple introduces the Intel-Xserve in the next weeks, following Intel's announcement.
But perhaps the Xeon could go into Apple's PowerMac?
But it would make most sense to me if the iBook 12" + 14" / PowerBook 12" were the next lines to be transitioned, perhaps in mid-April. PowerMac and PowerBook 17" (maybe also the Xserve) could be next, perhaps at WWDC06.
The new Xeon is probably still slower than the top G5 and certainly hotter. The low power Xeon is slower than the chips in the MacBook Pro. Both are outrageously expensive.
If there's a PowerMac replacement at WWDC, it's not the Xeon.
If there's a PowerMac replacement at WWDC, it's not the Xeon.
I'd be surprised if we see any sort of Intel PowerMac before the release of Photoshop that runs natively on Intel processors... or at least, I would expect that Apple would keep the G5 on until that time. That said, Apple probably isn't really focused on the PowerMacs (or at least they shouldn't be). Most of their sales come from the consumer-level iMac and the Powerbook-turned-MacBoook Pro...