X-bit labs

Intel’s Low-Voltage Xeon Processors to Inherit Pentium M Architecture.

Category: CPU

by Anton Shilov

[ 07/27/2005 | 11:55 PM ]

Intel Corp. representative confirmed that at least one of Intel Xeon processors for low-power systems will be based on the Pentium M architecture tailored for use in mobile computers. The new chips will be dual-core and are expected to support dual-processor operation.

“Sossaman, the code-name for a Xeon chip for blade servers due in the first half of 2006, derives from the Pentium M family, the company’s notebook chip family,” said Stephen Thorne, marketing manager of the server platform group at Intel, reports CNET News.com.

According to web-sites which gather unofficial information about yet-to-be released products, the Sossaman is to be based on the dual-core Yonah architecture and is expected to be compatible with current Intel Xeon DP platforms, such as Intel E7520 chipset. The chip is expected to have power consumption of 31W when working at about 2.00GHz, whereas its low-voltage brother is likely to consume approximately 15W when operating at 1.67GHz.

The new Xeon processor with Sossaman core will be primarily aimed at blade servers.

Intel says that a lot of server deployments these days require low power consumption. In order to address that market, the company recently validated Intel Pentium M processors for its server platforms and also supplies Low-Voltage Intel Xeon chips with thermal design power (TDP) of 30W and 55W. Processors with 30W consumption based on the NetBurst architecture operate at relatively low clock-speed and may not offer performance, which would satisfy clients.

Intel Yonah processor is a yet another derivative of the so-called Banias architecture, which inherits many peculiarities of the P6 architecture, which means that Yonah will not support 64-bit capability, unlike NetBurst-based and future-generation Xeon processors. Yonah will have two processing engines and will be produced using 65nm process technology late this year with commercial availability scheduled for Q1 2006. The target clock-rate for Yonah processor is 2.17GHz, while the chip’s processor system bus will clock at 667MHz.

Intel at IDF Spring 2005 in the USA disclosed three new technologies planned for Yonah that will improve the performance, power and design of mobile platforms. They include Intel Digital Media Boost, an instruction set for rich digital multimedia content creation; Intel Advanced Thermal Manager, for enhanced thermal monitoring, accuracy and responsiveness; and Intel Dynamic Power Coordination, which can automatically adjust the performance and power between the two processing cores on demand. Yonah will be single piece of silicon dual execution cores design. By contrast, Intel Dempsey design is a dual piece of silicon with one processing engines each.

According to Intel estimations, by the end of 2006 the share of dual-core server chips among the company’s shipments will be 85%.