Intel’s New Xeon’s pack fewer Watts

March 26, 2008: Intel has introduced two new low-voltage 45 nanometre (nm) Xeon processors that run at a meager 50 watts.

With the rising focus on energy efficiency, it’s no surprise that the chip manufacturing giant has gone to green friendly pastures with its newest additions. The new quad-core Intel Xeon L5400 series run at 12.5 watts per core with frequencies as high as 2.5 GHz.

"Using Intel's hafnium-infused high-k metal gate transistors has allowed our quad-core 45nm low-voltage server chips to attain new heights in power-efficient performance," said Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager of Intel's Server Platforms Group. "These chips deliver the speed needed while using meager amounts of energy."

Intel has also announced the shipment of 40-watt rated low-voltage processors next quarter and extending the life cycle of the L5410 series to 7 years, a boon for those looking for extended support years.

A chunk of the major systems vendors have signed on to support the new processor series, including Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Gigabyte, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Microstar, NEC, Quanta, Rackable, Supermicro, Tyan and Verari.

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