Intel targets Tigerton Xeons at AMD

By Barry Collins

Posted on 6 Sep 2007 at 11:42

Intel has launched a range of new quad-core processors aimed at the multi-processor server market - a key market for AMD, which has suffered in the desktop space at the hands of the Core architecture.

Previously known as 'Tigerton', the company claims the new Xeon 7300 series processors can deliver twice the performance and three times the performance-per-Watt of its previous dual-core products, and it's delivered a bevy of benchmarks from partners such as HP and Fujitsu-Siemens to back up its claims. Click here for Intel's claimed performance stats.

Along with the processors, Intel has debuted a new chipset (Clarksboro), together making up the Caneland platform. The new processors themselves will come in a variety of power configurations. At the top end, there's a 2.93GHz part running at 130 Watts. At the other there's a 50 Watt 1.86GHz part that's optimised for four socket blades.

The chip giant claims the new processors are particularly suited to virtualisation environments, where companies are trying to maximise server efficiency. "The platform's energy-efficient performance, coupled with enhanced virtualisation capabilities, will enable customers to significantly lower their total cost of ownership," the company says.

The Xeon 7300-series completes the company's transition to the Core architecture, 15 months after it first arrived, and potentially causing a headache for rival AMD.

Indeed, the launch is likely to have been timed to detract from AMD's Barcelona launch next week, in which the company is expected to focus on the new architecture's performance-per-Watt.