As expected, Intel Corp. on Monday unveiled its new Intel Xeon processors featuring 64-bit technology as well as large amount of cache memory, providing 2-way servers and workstations additional performance compared to previous-generation central processing unit.

“Intel today is shipping an upgraded 64-bit Intel Xeon processor, codenamed ‘Irwindale’, that includes a beefed-up second level ‘L2’ cache memory reservoir that delivers up to 18% greater performance compared to the previous version,” the company said in its statement.

Intel’s Xeon processors with Irwindale core sport 2MB of cache, 800MHz Quad Pumped Bus, Extended Memory 64 Technology, SSE3, Hyper-Threading as well as Demand Based Switching (DBS) with Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology to dynamically adjust power and lower the processor’s power demand. The new Intel Xeon processors are drop-in compatible with existing infrastructure based on E7525, E7520 and E7320 chipsets that also sport PCI Express interconnection as well as dual-channel DDR2 SDRAM.

Intel Corp. expects that by the end of February it will have shipped two million units of the 32/64-bit Xeon. The company also recently said 80% of Intel Xeon processors shipped in Q1 2005 will be 32-/64-bit products that can execute both 32-bit as well as 64-bit code.

Intel Xeon 64-bit processors with 2MB of L2 cache are available now at speeds ranging from 3.0GHz to 3.60GHz. Intel’s list prices in quantities of 1000 are: 3.60GHz - $851; 3.40GHz - $690; 3.20GHz - $455; 3.0GHz - $316.