Intel Xeon processors with 1MB L3 cache for 2P platforms are set to come on Monday, the 14^th of July, our sources revealed today. The Xeon processors with three times larger cache than the current models are positioned as the top offerings for the company’s 2-way platforms and are probably brought against the AMD Opteron CPUs with 1MB L2 cache launched earlier this year.

The initial chip for DP platforms with 1MB of L3 cache will be the Intel Xeon 1M 3.06GHz processor to be launched on Monday. We revealed the information about such processors back in mid-April (see this news-story), but now we can also told you that later this year Intel will also launch a faster Xeon 1M microprocessor with 1MB of L3 at 3.20GHz. As we reported earlier, the chips will utilize the very same platform and 533MHz Quad Pumped Bus currently used for Intel Xeon processors, as a result, there should be no problems in deploying such solutions quickly.

Besides, expect Intel Xeon processors to drop in price on the 14^th of July. Currently we are hearing that the new pricing will look as follows:

The Xeon 1M processor at 3.20GHz for 2-way servers and workstations is set to debut at $851 in quantities starting from 1000 units. That one is going to be a very strong rival for AMD's Opteron processor 200-series.