Fastest Intel Xeon chip
arrives
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
October 6, 1998, 12:20 p.m. PT
update Major computer makers rolled out a series
of new workstations using Intel's top-of-the-line
Xeon chip and Microsoft's Windows NT operating
system.
The chip, and the workstations based around it, are
designed to challenge the performance of Unix
workstations, said Anand Chandrasekher, general
manager of Intel's workstation division.
In fact, Xeon will
increasingly become a
chip for Unix operating
systems because of the
high-end markets the
systems target. The
upshot is that computer
manufacturers and users
will run not only
Windows but a variety
of operating systems
including Unix and
Liunx.
"The large installed base
of all of these high-end
workstation
environments is Unix,
and there is a lot of
infrastructure that people
have and they will
probably want that even as they migrate their
architecture," he said. Most Xeon systems run
Windows NT, but he added: "I think that you will
see a mix of Unix and NT over time."
Dell Computer, Compaq Computer, Gateway,
Hewlett-Packard, and Intergraph, among others,
announced new workstations and servers today
with the new chip.
As reported earlier, the only thing in short supply
may be the Xeon chip itself, an issue that has
dogged the high-end processor since its release
June. Computer executives have said that getting
adequate supplies of Intel's 400-MHz Xeon
remains difficult, especially for servers, and the
450-MHz version is expected to be no exception.
For Intel's part, the company maintains that
workstation Xeon chips are shipping in volume.
Intel has told manufacturers that greater numbers of
Xeon processors for servers will be available
toward the end of the month. (Intel is an investor in
CNET: The Computer Network.)
But while the shortage
may lift soon, it will only
apply to the lower end:
Today's release
comprises the 450-MHz
Xeon with 512K of
cache memory.
450-MHz Xeon with
1MB of cache memory
won't come out until
early 1999, according to
Chandrasekher.
Approximately 15
percent of Xeon
workstations sold to date use the 1MB version of
the chip, he said. Cache memory is critical for
boosting chip performance.
Earlier in the year, Intel said it was delaying a
high-end 2MB version of the 450-MHz Xeon for
four-processor server computers. So far, the chip
giant has released a slightly slower 400-MHz Xeon
chip available with 512K or 1MB of cache.
Some system delays, again mostly with servers, are
becoming apparent. Getting a Xeon-based server
from Dell, for instance, takes around 25 days,
executives there have said. Ordinarily, Dell servers
take five to seven days to arrive.
Other manufacturers have said that they have back
orders for Xeon machines as well. When Xeon was
first released, most major computer makers only
had a few hundred chips each, fewer than at a
typical Intel launch.
Nonetheless, that is not stopping manufacturers
from releasing products. Compaq debuted its
SP700 workstation. The company's first Xeon
workstation, it comes with either a 400- or
450-MHz Xeon chip with 512K of cache memory.
Workstations using the 1MB version of the chip
will be available by special order in the first quarter
of 1999. Base price for the systems will start at
$3,600.
Compaq has introduced a new graphics subsystem
for its more powerful Xeon offerings that uses a
graphics chip from Evans and Sutherland.
Dell and Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile, have
released new versions of existing Xeon
workstations.
Dell unveiled a version of its Precision 610
workstation with 512K of cache memory while HP
released a new version of its Kayak workstation.
The Dell system is priced beginning at $3,266 and
available immediately.
Despite the shortages, Intel cut prices on the Xeon.
The 400-MHz Xeon with 512K was dropped to
$824. The 450-MHz Xeon is also priced at $824.
Intel, however, did not drop the price of the
400-MHz Xeon with 1MB of cache. That chip still
sells for $2,675. It was slated to be cut to $1,980,
according to sources, in anticipation of the release
of the 1MB 450-MHz chip.
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