Intel Xeon 5600 six core microprocessor
248 mm2 die has 1.17 billion transistors
Intel's 32nm crop of Westmere Xeons targets the cloud, high end workstations and enterprise servers with robust security and virtualization capabilities. The 248 mm2 die has 1.17 billion transistors. These platforms have up to six cores and deliver 60 percent more performance than their predecessors while running cooler and taking advantage of the latest, low power memory technology. They are ideal for corporate server farms as well as components in massive multitasking environments running applications such as digital content creation and 3D rendering.Intel's 32nm crop of Westmere Xeons targets the cloud, high end workstations and enterprise servers with robust security and virtualization capabilities. The 248 mm2 die has 1.17 billion transistors. These platforms have up to six cores and deliver 60 percent more performance than their predecessors while running cooler and taking advantage of the latest, low power memory technology. They are ideal for corporate server farms as well as components in massive multitasking environments running applications such as digital content creation and 3D rendering.
New security features include support for Intel's Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) that accelerate AES crypto. The hardware encryption support improves SSL throughput and eliminates the need for off-chip hardware encryption. The Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT) is designed to prevent software attacks prior to the launch of a virtual machine manager (VMM). This combination provides a more secure, higher performance data center. This crop of Xeon's continues support for Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel HT Technology) that doubles the number of logical cores.
The Xeon 5600 line supports Turbo Boost power and performance management allowing a subset of cores to push the limits of performance providing an optimum power utilization for the desired performance. This is combined with the automatic intelligent power management system that handles the low power states for the six cores. The four core versions have a TDP rating as low as 40W while the six core versions can hit 60W. The top end 3.33 GHz six core chip tops out at 130W. At the low end, Intel is delivering the single core L3406 Xeon processor. This is designed for small server applications. The L3406 lacks AES-NI support.
Intel estimates a 15:1 consolidation of systems based on the prior generation will have a 5-month payback. This is in addition to providing a more secure and powerful efficient system. Pricing for the 5600 family starts at $387 for the four core, 2.26GHz E5620 (80W) and tops out at $1663 for the six core, 3.33 GHz X5680 (130W). These processors have a 12 Mbyte Intel Smart Cache. The 2.26 GHz L3406 (30W) is priced at $189 and has a 4 Mbyte Intel Smart Cache.