The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip giant on Tuesday rolled out the industry's first four-core processors, including three quad-core Xeon 5300 processors and the Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor QX6700.
And in the first quarter of 2007, Intel plans to launch two more quad-cores: a low-voltage version for ultra-dense servers in a thermal envelope of 50 watts, and a single-socket processor for desktops and workstations. The mainstream quad-core desktop processor will be available in January, in time for the retail launch of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, Intel said.
Partners applauded the improved performance of the quad-core and the opportunities it brings to the channel for servers, workstations and desktop PCs. Intel, which launched its first dual-core processors last April, has made a speedy ascent to quad-core, they said.
"It's very cool that we're already starting to talk about quad-cores, since dual-cores are just starting to really gain traction and acceptance in the mainstream market," said Todd Swank, director of marketing at Nor-Tech, a system builder in Burnsville, Minn. "2007 is going to be a big year for computer resellers. With Vista being launched and these new hardware platforms, we're setting the stage for a whole new wave of innovative applications to be launched."
The quad-core Xeon 5300 chips have clock speeds ranging from 1.6GHz to 2.66GHz and front-side bus speeds of 1066MHz to 1333MHz in thermal envelopes of 80 watts. A performance-optimized, 120-watt version of the quad-core Xeon is available at a new price point of $1,172.
Intel said the quad-core Xeons are priced at $455, $690 and $851, comparable with its dual-core processors. The Core 2 Extreme quad-core, in a 130-watt package, costs $999.
With the new chips, Intel said it sees an immediate benefit for high-end server applications and virtualization software. On the desktop, the company expects the processors to give a big boost to digital content creation, video editing and Vista's 3-D features and Aero user interface. The company estimates that customers will have a 50 percent improvement in Xeon performance and up to a 75 percent improvement on the Core 2 Extreme workstation.
Chuck Orcutt, server business development manager at Seneca Data, a system builder in Syracuse, N.Y., said the real beauty of the quad-core is its compatibility with Intel's current chipset and motherboard platform.
