Intel Corp. says it has rushed introduction of a new quad-core chip originally scheduled for next year to Monday to meet demand from server manufacturers for the processor. Intel is shipping the Xeon 5335 processor two months ahead of schedule as an addition to its 5300 series of quad core processors.
Quad cores, which allow the microprocessor package to perform up to four functions simultaneously, were first introduced by Intel in November. Intel has been pushed by rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc."s plans to launch a quad-core release in 2007. The 5335 is a 2GHz processor with a 1.333GHz front-side bus and 8M bytes of Level 2 memory cache. The front side bus is the connection between the central processing unit and the memory cache. The 5335"s list price is US$690 when purchased in quantities of 1,000 or more. It is positioned above the 5320 model, which features a 1.86GHz processor, a 1.066GHz front-side bus, selling for $455, and below the 5345, with a 2.33GHz processor and a 1.333GHz front-side bus for $851.