Intel launches Woodcrest server chips

Intel has released its new range of dual-core Xeon chips, the 5100 series codenamed Woodcrest, targeted at servers and workstations.

It says the new processors, based on its new Core microarchitecture, deliver up to 135 percent more performance with a 40 percent reduction in power consumption.

The 65-nanometer processors clock up 3GHz and use a 1.333 GHz front side bus; the two cores share 4Mbytes of level-two cache.

The 3GHz version has an 80-watt thermal design point (TDP) - the power, and therefore the heat, the system has bs able to cope with; the others are rated at 65W.

A 2.33GHz version shipping this autumn will operate at a lower voltage and have a TDP of just 40 watts. The new chips are all designed to work with Intel's Bensley server platform.

Heat dissipation has become almost as much of an issue in servers as it is in mobiles, as companies seek to reduce the running costs and increase the processing power in server farms without needing for massive extra cooling.