64bit extension for the Xeon

[stiltman]

http://news.com.com/64-bit+Intel+server+onslaught+begins/2100-1010_3-5292380.html?tag=nl

The 3.6GHz chip, code-named Nocona, is used in increasingly powerful dual-processor machines that account for the bulk of Intel's presence in the market for servers. The systems are part of a new 64-bit era begun by Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices, an era that makes it easier to support more than 4GB of memory on the companies' "x86" chips.

Though Intel launched the 64-bit Itanium family in 2001, it wasn't practical to run the vast number of applications written for x86 chips such as Pentium and Xeon. Intel stands by its long-term Itanium plans, arguing that Itanium servers will have the same price but twice the performance as Xeon machines by 2007, but market analyst company IDC lowered its Itanium forecasts based on the arrival of 64-bit x86 chips.

The new chips range in speed from 3.6GHz to 2.8GHz and can be coupled with two different chipsets: the 7520, formerly code-named Lindenhurst, for more performance-minded servers; and the 7320, for assembling less-expensive models. Intel also released a chip called the IOP 332 for pulling data out of storage networks. The processor is based on a design from ARM, as are many other Intel networking chips.

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[rallynavvie]

Whoa stilt, where have you been. I've been talking about the Nocona Xeons in here for the past couple months :P

I also have been warning folks to wait for the next stepping revision due out in September instead of getting the current offering which has been having some compatability/stability problems.

[miksu]

As the article points, Lindenhurst-chipset has flaws with PCI-Express and DDR2-support. Namely, PCI-Express slots can't be used

[stiltman]

Whoa stilt, where have you been. I've been talking about the Nocona Xeons in here for the past couple months :P

I also have been warning folks to wait for the next stepping revision due out in September instead of getting the current offering which has been having some compatability/stability problems.

guess I missed it

[rallynavvie]

The DDR2 chipsets that are out now could be considered beta releases. You'll want to wait for the next generation chipset that supports DDR2 and PCI-E. There aren't very many PCI-E cards available quite yet anyway. Perhaps when the Noconas get a revision we'll see the 945 or whatever it is that's supposed to be the new equivalent to the venerable 875 chipset.