Intel has announced that 2007 will include 45nm server and workstation products as well as 3.0GHz Intel Xeon "Clovertown" 65nm chips. During a conference call with analysts, Kirk Skaugen (chief of Intel"s Xeon group) proclaimed that the chip giant plans to introduce low-power quad-core chips with 50W thermal design power in early March, to present code-named Caneland multi-processor server platform in Q3 2007 and to launch the first 45nm Xeon DP (dual processor) products in the second half of the year.
Based on the Penryn core, the new Intel Xeon 45nm microprocessor (for dual-socket applications) will be drop-in compatible with the company"s contemporary Intel 5000-series core-logic sets. There will be, however, an improved version of the Intel 5000-series chipset aimed at HPC/WS market segments that features 1600MHz processor system bus (PSB) coming in the second half of the year, in order to support higher-performance 3GHz Xeon "Clovertown" chips. Skaugen did not reveal any details regarding Intel"s 2008 next-generation microprocessors based on the micro-architecture known as Nehalem and its derivative Westmere, which will require a new platform.