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However, the launch of these processors is likely to be overshadowed by the forthcoming release of the dual core 'Montecito' version of the Itanium.

The company also says that the bus will be included in the Montecito dual core Itanium processor due to be released later this year. Intel is claiming big things for the Montecito. It reckons that the dual core architecture means that it will deliver up to twice the performance, three times the system bandwidth, and will have more than

At the same time, new power management techniques mean that Montecito is also expected to deliver more than 20 per cent lower power consumption than previous versions of Itanium. Montecito will also have Hyper-Threading technology built in, enabling four times the threads of the existing designs.

Kirk Skaugen, general manager of the Server Platforms Group commented 'We are coming up on the next major milestone for the Itanium processor family - dual-core server platforms based on Montecito. The preliminary performance results we are seeing on Montecito-based systems will further expand Itanium's leadership in its targeted market segments.'

According to the latest TOP500 list of the world's fastest super computers 79 are powered by Itanium processors.

The Intel Itanium 2 processor with the 667 FSB at 1.66 GHz with 9 MB of cache is priced at $4,655 in 1,000-unit quantities. The 1.66 GHz with 6MB of cache costs $2194 in 1,000-unit quantities.