Tony & Intel Investors - Intel's 450 MHz Xeon/4-way Server problem may be due to excessive heat.
Here's a news article that describes the issue.
Paul
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news.com
Intel works to cool down Xeon
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
August 14, 1998, 4:10 p.m. PT
Xeon needs to chill.
High operating temperatures on Intel's crŠme
de la crŠme of chips--its 400-MHz Pentium II
Xeon processor for sophisticted server
computers--are behind recently reported
performance glitches as well as the delay of
the 450-MHz version of the chip for
four-processor servers, according to sources
close to company.
Solving heat problems is crucial in high-end
servers since excess heat can cause data
error problems, an anathema in these
systems that handle critical corporate data.
Servers containing four processors are
some of the most powerful Intel-based
computers on the market today and typically
used to run critical database applications.
Intel is currently
performing extra
thermal testing on the
chip to get around the
problem, said an Intel
spokesman, but the
company may
redesign some of the
circuitry on the chip to cure it.
"When the speed goes up, the possibility of
errors increases," said one source in the
server community about Xeon in
four-processor configurations.
Xeon was initially designed to run at a
maximum temperature of 75 degrees
Celsius, according to sources. While a 75
degree thermal ceiling does not create
problems for one- and two-processor
systems, testing showed that it could affect a
crucial function, called error correcting code
(ECC), in four-processor systems.
Intel has now lowered the threshold to 65
degrees per chip for these servers. Intel is
meeting the goal by screening the chips
through additional tests. But this is likely only
an interim solution. To increase the number
that pass the tests, Intel is likely to change
some aspects of the design of the chip, said
several sources. Xeon carries higher profit
margins than comparable Pentium II chips.
Screening means a lower number of
acceptable number of chips and, right now,
four-processor Xeon servers are in short
supply.
"Dell has a four week backlog of them," said
Ashok Kumar, semiconductor analyst at
Piper Jaffray.
The Intel spokesman would not comment on
future product fixes but said, historically, Intel
has corrected such problems as an ordinary
part of improving the manufacturing process.
Computer vendors contacted declined to
comment on Xeon's heat dissipation, but
said that the effect on their server designs
would likely be minimal. Some sources,
however, added that Intel has requested
vendors to beef up their insulating systems.
IBM, Compaq and Dell, for instance, stated
that the thermal envelope on their respective
servers fit well within the recommended
design specifications from Intel. In other
words, their servers contain enough fans and
cooling features to keep the Xeon chip as
designed now well under 65 degrees
Celsius.
While four-processor Xeon servers, as
designed now, may fit within the prescribed
thermal envelope, Amir Ahari, server analyst
for International Data Corporation points out
that Xeon is one power hungry chip.
Server manufacturers have essentially
doubled the size of the power supplies they
have put into their Xeon systems. The power
supply constituted approximately 5 percent of
the budget of a four-processor 200-MHz
Pentium Pro server. Now, the power supply
takes roughly ten percent of the budget. This
additional power requirement forces server
vendors to build in more internal real estate
and, of course, even more cooling systems.
"The bigger a system gets, the more heat it
generates," he said, jokingly adding, "the key
question is how to build a server that does
not become the size of a mainframe."
Related news stories
450-MHz Xeon delayed again August 10, 1998
Compaq ships Xeon servers August 3, 1998 |
