CHIP GIANT Intel has confirmed it will launch its 6MB Madison Itanium processor on the 30th of June. At the same time, it also said it wil introduce a fresh flavour of Xeon MP Gallatin processors on the same date. The Madison is a grown up version of the Itanium 2 with a huge amount of cache, and Intel will also introduce its younger sister Deerfield, a chip with a smaller amount of cache, on the same date.
As we reported earlier, the Madison is likely to run at 1.5GHz and will cost only $4,300, while the 4MB Madison is less at $2,250. Deerfield, which is expected to run at 1.3GHz and will have 3MB of cache, is much less expensive at $1,100. The Xeon MP 2.8GHz (Gallatin) with 2MB of cache costs $3,700. You will need at least two of these to run in a multiprocessing server. Intel will add even more cache to Gallatin Xeons as the year wears on, and is also expected to introduce "low voltage" (LV) Itaniums for dual processor boxes.