Intel is today starting to ship an upgraded Xeon processor, with 2MB Level 2 cache, aimed at organisations with dual processor servers.
According to Intel, the new 64-bit Intel Xeon chip, codenamed Irwindale, delivers up to 18% greater performance compared to the previous version due to beefed-up second level "L2" cache memory.
"The difference is that we now have double the Level 2 cache available, because we`ve added an extra megabyte, so for things like opening applications like Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word, the process is twice as quick as before," says Frans Pieterse, channel applications engineer at Intel SA.
"It`s like Internet cookies - it remembers what you`ve done and what you might be doing, to speed up the process."
Intel says 64-bit computing gives users improved reliability, lower power consumption, memory flexibility and increased security, as well as better performance. Workstations with the upgraded Xeon processor support a broad range of 32-bit and 64-bit applications, and with Hyper-Threading technology, it is aimed at multi-tasking environments. Intel will also shortly introduce Pentium 4 processor products supporting 64-bits and Hyper-Threading technology for desktop PCs.
"With Hyper-Threading technology switched on, users can expect a 30% performance increase, as based on recent benchmarking tests, " says Pieterse.
Within 90 days, Intel plans to introduce a platform codenamed Potomac, which is based on Xeon processor MP with up to 8MB of third-level "L3" cache memory.
Intel says the Xeon line doesn`t mean the end of its Itanium processors, which are also 64-bit, as the two differ in other areas and are used to support different workloads. But customers still have to wait a while for processors with 4MB cache to emerge.
"It is extremely difficult to produce a high-quality 4MB cache processor at the moment, but it will definitely be done. Intel already has 10MB cache processors in the laboratories," says Pieterse.
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