Digital ICs/DSPs: Dual-Core Xeon Processors Boost Server Performance By 50%

Feb. 16, 2006

Targeted for use in dual-processor servers, the first dual-core, hyper-threaded, Xeon processor helps to improve the performance and response time of multithreaded server applications. The company estimates that the dual-core processors can boost the performance of today's dualprocessor, 64-bit servers by up to 50%. This dual-core processor runs at 2.8 GHz, has an 800-MHz system bus, and includes 2 Mbytes of level 2 cache per core. The processor will work with the E7520 chip set. Since each core is equipped with its own cache, the amount of traffic on the system bus is reduced and each core has faster access to data. The processor also incorporates the EM64T 64-bit addressing, Hyperthreading technology, Execute Disable Bit, and Demand Based Switching. Running at 2.8 GHz, the processor is priced at $1043 in 1000-unit quantities.

Intel Corp.
www.intel.com

About the Author

Dave Bursky

Technologist

Dave Bursky, the founder of New Ideas in Communications, a publication website featuring the blog column Chipnastics – the Art and Science of Chip Design. He is also president of PRN Engineering, a technical writing and market consulting company. Prior to these organizations, he spent about a dozen years as a contributing editor to Chip Design magazine. Concurrent with Chip Design, he was also the technical editorial manager at Maxim Integrated Products, and prior to Maxim, Dave spent over 35 years working as an engineer for the U.S. Army Electronics Command and an editor with Electronic Design Magazine.