Intel has announced that the largest number of processing cores have been integrated into one CPU chip – an 8 core processor that is ready to be delivered. This will be a production boon for high end server manufacturerers looking to enhance more performance into less space.
The Xeon 7500 series line offers the largest performance leap in the history of its Xeon chip. It is called the Nehalem-EX. With it here will be an average three-fold jump in performance. This is godsend to data centers. As a yardstick, data centers can now replace servers with 20 single core, four-chip with a single new Xeon 7500 processor system.
What is a Multi-Core Processor?
A multi-core processor is a processing system composed of two or more independent cores. It can be described as an integrated circuit to which two or more individual processors (called cores in this sense) have been attached. A dual-core processor contains two cores, and a quad-core processor contains four cores.
A Dual Core Chip
Multi-core processors are used across many application domains including general-purpose, embedded, network, digital signal processing (DSP), and graphics.
Hyper-Threading and More Memory
The Xeon 7500 features a technology called hyper-threading. It can double the number of threads or tasks that a processor can execute. An eight-core processor will handle 16 threads. This technology is new, and it is not part of the prior-generation Core 2 chips.
This new chip series is also supporting more memory. When new servers are installed with the 7500 Chip set, they will boast a four-fold increase in memory capacity, it will support up to 1 terabyte or RAM in four-processor configurations.
Pricing
Pricing for the Xeon 500 chip set will be in the neighborhood from $1,980 for a six-core X7542 to $3,692 to the eight-core X7560. But individual chip pricing has less significance for servers than for laptops and desktops. Server suppliers, understandably, price their systems on a variety of criteria that changes the impact of individual chip cost.
Source: Intel
