Intel updated its processor list Monday with new Core 2 chips for Macbook Air-class laptops and a crush of Xeon processors for workstations and servers.
The number of new processor models is 20 in all.
Intel Vice President Pat Gelsinger holds a new Xeon chip.
(Credit: Intel)As reported earlier, Intel has introduced new power-sipping low-voltage (LV) and ultra-low-voltage (ULV) processor models for laptops such as the Apple MacBook Air and Dell Adamo.
The new LV and ULV processor models include the 17-watt SL9600 (2.13GHz, $316) and 10-watt SU9600 (1.6GHz, $289). More power-hungry Intel mainstream mobile processors are typically rated at 25 watts or 35 watts.
And over a dozen new Xeon quad-core processors based on Intel's new Nehalem chip architecture were added to the Intel price list.
Processors in the Xeon 5500 series range in price from $1,600 for the 130-watt W5580 (3.2GHz) to $423 for the 60-watt L5506 (2.13GHz). Intel, for the first time, is also listing each new Xeon chip's giga-transfers-per-second rating (GT/sec). For example, the W5580 is rated at 6.40 GT/sec, while the L5506 is rated at 4.80 GT/sec.
Other Xeon 5500 series models include the 95-watt X5550 (2.66GHz, $958), the 80-watt E5520 (2.26GHz, $373), and the 60-watt L5520 (2.26GHz, $530).
Intel also debuted the Xeon 3500 series, including the 130-watt W3570 (3.2GHz, $999) and the 130-watt W3520 (2.66GHz, $284).
Ponder this: Is an Intel product launch still a launch, if the product debuts very publicly in an Apple computer?
I won't presume to answer that question. But the fact is that Intel will launch Nehalem-EP server processors later this month, despite their manifestation Tuesday in the new Mac Pro under their official model names: the Xeon 3500 and 5500.
The chips--in their desktop variant known as the Core i7--are being offered in eight-core or four-core configurations and, like all Nehalam-architecture processors, come with an integrated memory controller for (theoretically) better performance. (Intel's Core architecture does not integrate the memory controller.)
Other Nehalem-architecture features include: Hyper-Threading for, according to Apple, "up to 16 virtual cores" (which improves multitasking), and Turbo Boost Technology, which dynamically increases the processor's frequency, as needed.
The Mac Pro also offers high-end Nvidia and ATI graphics. Systems can be configured with either Nvidia GeForce GT 120 or ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics chips.
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