Intel plans to lower the price for its Quad-Core Xeon 3200 sequence (Kentsfield) and Dual-Core Xeon 3000 sequence (Conroe) processors, in April 2007, in a bid to help boost demand in the 1-way server market, according to server vendor sources. It will also introduce new 1-way targeted chipsets in the second half of the year, but will hold off releasing new processors based on 45nm technology until 2008. The Quad-Core Xeon X3220 is expected to drop from US$851 to US$530, while the X3210 will be cut from US$690 to US$423, say the vendors, both decreases of close to 40%. Prices for Dual-Core Xeon 3040, 3050, 3060 and 3070 CPUs are also set to fall between 10-40%, add the sources.
These two processor series will form the basis of Intel's 1-way lineup throughout 2007 and early 2008 with 45nm-based CPUs, dual-core (Wolfdale) and quad-core (Yorkfield) processors, scheduled to join the market in the first quarter 2008, the sources revealed. In the second half of 2007 Intel will transition from its Intel 3010 chipset (Kaylo platform), switching to the Garlow platform, which includes two chipsets currently known by their codenames Bigby-P and Bigby-V for the performance and value markets respectively, say the server vendors. Bigby-V will introduce support for quad-core processors to the value 1-way sever sector, the sources noted.
News source: DigiTimes
