In a time where delays are pretty much expected it seems that both of our big processor manufacturers are actually moving launch dates to an earlier point in the calendar. First AMD, who was aiming for a launch of Socket AM2 on June 6, but moved it to May 23, and since then Intel has made its best to get its Core-based processors out to the public as soon as possible. The latest revolves around Intel’s server and workstation chip known as Woodcrest. Woodcrest has the same base architecture as the Core 2 Duo models Conroe and Mero, but will replace the Intel Xeon family. However, unlike both Conroe and Merom, Woodcrest will continue to use the previous name; Xeon. Although there will be some changes to the name such as new numbers separating them from today’s Xeon processors.
Earlier information has stated that Woodcrest would be announced on June 26, but this new information says that it will instead arrive on June 19. Intel is expected to launch six new Xeon models on June 19, all based on the new Woodcrest core and they will be branded with numbers ranging from 5110 to 5160. You can compare these with the Dempsey-based Xeon models that are listed as 50xx.
The processors will be launched at 1.6GHz, 1.86GHz, 2.0GHz, 2.33GHz, 2.6GHz and 3.0GHz, all using a 4MB shared L2 cache. The two ”slowest” will use a 1066MHz processor bus, while the other will have a bus running at 1333MHz (!). Prices range from $209 up to $851 for the flagship.
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