The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Intel guns one four-core Xeon, cools another

Richard Tobin

Not so new 

The 3GHz processors are the same ones Apple has been using in Mac Pros since April.

Branko

You forgot to mention... 

that Intel's 50W TDP is typical power ( not maximal) and that you have to add to that also power consumption of the NB chip, whereas Optys 68W is maximal TDP for CPU and memory controller.

Also, Xeon is using those slow, power hungry and above all expensive fb-dimms...

Nick Knupffer

50W is TDP 

Hi, I work for Intel - and I just wanted to clear something up -- 50W is TDP, that is the maximum power the chip will draw. Not typical, or average power. Those would be lower.

Nick Knupffer

New 3GHz Xeons 

To Richard Tobin - You are partially right - But these are the 1st quad-core 3GHz server chips to fit into a standard 120W thermal envelope. The chips you mention were only use in Apple workstations at had a higher TDP. These chips will be used in workstations and servers sold by nearly 50 OEM's. FYI - I work at Intel.

Richard Tobin

Mac processors 

No doubt you're right, but the ones in Macs identify themselves as Xeon X5365.

Anonymous Coward

TDP not accurate compared to AMD 

As said over and over again. Intel TDP values are lower because unlike AMD they have no onboard memory controller. When Intel releases their new chips that do have this built in, the TDP will most likely be near AMD.

So to measure it properly you would compare Intels chip + Memory controller TDP to AMDs single CPU

I think Intel have started heading in the right direction but at the moment it is still just marketing gimmicks keeping them ahead.

Bince

AMD is in deep doo-doo 

This is my opinion- Intel is doing whatever they can in keeping AMD in the rear of the pack, which I don't blame them at all! Being an ex-worker there it doesn't surprise me. NO, I'm not a disgruntled ex-employee, but I clearly remember the internal flyers on how Intel was viewed as a beast that must be slayed (anyone remember the promotional Dragonslayer days of the late 80's, early 90's?) or the big purple gorilla that was in the way of AMD becoming the premier, future CPU maker. Go Intel, Go! Hell, go ANYBODY, other than AMD! Looks like the BIG Gorilla is serving up HIS purple banana to AMD. Go get a life in some other manufacturing arena, OTHER than the chip business AMD.