Intel Adds Low-Voltage Xeon In Portfolio Revamp

Intel on Tuesday began making good on its pledge to revamp its processor line with devices that generate significantly less heat when it introduced the dual-core Xeon low-voltage processor, which has a total dissipated power of 31 watts.

Based on its previously disclosed Sossaman core, the Xeon LV is expected to be used in deployments requiring high density and power optimization, including blade servers, single-height chassis, SAN and NAS products, and network infrastructure systems.

The Intel LV will be used in a new blade server offering from IBM, the BladeCenter Ultra Low Power HS20, which will feature two of the new Xeon LV processors to provide a total of four processor cores in the blade.

The Sossaman core is based on Intel's Yonah mobile processor technology. Intel has also addressed the lower-power equation with the introduction of its Demsey MV processor, a 95-watt device targeted at mainstream server applications.

The new processors significantly lower Intel's power envelop from its existing Irwindale and Paxville DP processors, which have 110 watts and 135 watts power dissipation, respectively. Intel at its Developer Forum in San Francisco last week also provided details to its Woodcrest processor platform planned for introduction midyear. Intel says Woodcrest will provide about twice the performance of existing Xeon processors, with power dissipation of about 80 watts.The new Intel processors will bring the company into competitive balance with rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which offers its Opteron processors at power dissipation levels of 95, 68, and 55 watts.

Intel has also introduced an AdvancedTCA-complaint NetStructure MPCBL0040 single-board computer, a platform for telecommunications equipment that features two of the Intel LV processors.

Also planned is the Server Compute Blade SBXD62, a blade server platform product powered by up to two of the Intel LV processors.

The dual-core Xeon LV is available at clock speeds of 2 GHz and 1.66 GHz, and priced at $423 and $209 each, respectively, in quantities of 1,000. The MPCBL0040 will be available in the second quarter, priced at $4,495. The SBXD62 is scheduled for April availability and is priced at $945.