As expected, Intel Corporation today announced an enhanced Intel Xeon processor for dual processor servers and workstations, featuring the top performance and fastest clock speed in the Intel Xeon processor family DP line, as well as drop-in compatibility with existing platforms.

The new Intel Xeon processor at 3.20GHz features a 1MB L3 cache and 533MHz Quad Pumped Bus. It is designed for use in general-purpose servers for Web hosting, data caching, search engines, security, streaming media and high performance computing, and in workstations for digital content creation, mechanical and electrical design, financial analysis, and 3D modeling. System manufacturers are expected to ship systems based on this new Intel Xeon processor this week.

The Intel Xeon processor at 3.20GHz is drop-in compatible with existing systems designed with the Intel E7501 (for servers) or Intel E7505 (for workstations) chipsets, Intel PRO Gigabit Ethernet Network Connections and Intel Server RAID Controllers. It is also hardware compatible with systems from leading vendors and with Intel Server Products using dual Intel Xeon processors.

The Intel Xeon processor at 3.20GHz is now available worldwide for Intel's list price of $851 each in 1000-unit quantities.