Intel has unveiled the next generation of its Xeon
processor, which will be the company's first chip to include the
Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T) that allows the processor to
run both 64-bit and 32-bit software.
Intel also released a chipset for workstations based on the new
Xeon processor, called the E7525, which includes a faster 800MHz
system bus, DDR2 (double data rate) memory, as well as Intel's
next-generation PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) Express
interconnect.
The new Xeon, which had been code-named Nocona, comes more than
a year after Intel's rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) released
its Opteron processor, which takes the similar approach of
extending Intel's 32-bit x86 processor instructions to handle
64-bit computing.
Nocona and Opteron systems will have different designs and use
different chipsets, but for most users the difference between the
two will not be visible, said Jim Turley, a microprocessor analyst
based in California.
"It still looks like a PC, smells like a PC and feels like a
PC," he said.
The Linux operating system already supports the 64-bit
extensions used by Nocona and Opteron, but Microsoft support will
not occur until the company ships new service pack releases of
Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, which are both expected by
year's end.
Intel's x86 processors and chipsets will gradually adopt the new
64-bit extensions, with the majority of x86 workstation and server
systems supporting the technology by 2005. The majority of all
Intel systems, including desktops and notebooks, will ship with the
extensions by 2006.
Robert McMillan and Tom Krazit write for IDG
News Service