We reported back in September that Intel will unveil its Xeon MP processors with large L3 cache code-named Gallatin in the fourth quarter this year instead of the first quarter 2003 (see this news-story). Some sources confirmed that the Santa Clara-based semiconductor maker will launch its new processors intended for four-way servers on Monday, the 4th of November.

There was a number of reasons to force the introduction of Xeon MP Gallatin processors. Firstly, numerous large enterprises complained about poor performance of the present Xeon MP processors compared to the Pentium III Xeon CPUs with large L2 cache. Secondly, AMD prepares to enter the multi-processor server market and even considering their very weak positions even on dual-processor server side currently, their SledgeHammer chips can be very powerful and interesting for manufacturers and it became a critical task to Intel to offer the Gallatin chips earlier than the competitor offers the x86-64 CPUs. Frankly speaking, AMD has so many problems with both current and future processors that they are rather passive on the server market at the moment, by contrast, Intel manages to fulfil the demand on both high-end Pentium 4 and Xeon processors, therefore, it was relatively easy for Intel to launch the Gallatin code-named microprocessors now.

I remind you that the Xeon MP chips with Gallatin core are manufactured using 0.13 micron technology and are intended for 400MHz Quad Pumped Bus. According to preliminary information, the Gallatin CPUs with 512KB of L2 cache will be offered in the following configurations:

Core-clock: 2GHz; L3 cache – 2MB;
Core-clock: 1.9GHz; L3 cache – 1MB;
Core-clock: 1.5GHz; L3 cache – 1MB;

Intel's three largest equipment-making partners: Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM, plan to launch servers that use the new processor on Monday, according to InformationWeek. Dell is using the processor in its PowerEdge 6600 and 6650 four-way servers, with an entry-level server priced at $5 999, roughly the same price as with the previous version of the Xeon Processor MP. HP is upgrading its ProLiant ML570 server with the new processor while keeping its starting price at $6 599. IBM is going to introduce new four-way versions of its xSeries 255, 360, and 440 servers, all using the new Intel processor. Starting prices for IBM's new models are comparable with earlier Xeon Processor MP iterations; the 255 starts at $6 169, the 360 at $7 299, and the 440 at $18 099.

More information about the newcomer will probably be available on Monday, the 4th of November provided that there will be no changes in the plans.