Intel has begun shipping four new eco-friendly Xeon processors today with power-efficiency as low as 12.5 W per core.
Intel is promising that besides the lower power requirements, the new processors will offer an increase in performance and a savings for the environment. The new Intel Xeon X5492, X5470, X5270 and L5430 processors are Intel’s first Xeon processors to be halogen-free, although from this point on, all Xeon 5200 and 5400 series processors will be. Intel is looking to make most of its 45 nm processors and 65 nm chipsets halogen-free by the end of 2008. The new Xeon processors will also offer greater energy efficiency in part to a 45 nm manufacturing process and a reinvented transistor technology using a halfnium-based high-k metal gate formula.
The new quad-core Intel Xeon L5430 processor is the least power hungry of the new chips, featuring a 2.66 GHz clock-speed, 1333 MHz FSB and a very power-efficient TDP of just 50 W. The Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile processor for comparison has a TDP of 45 W and a 2.26 GHz clock-speed. The new X5470, also a quad-core, features a 3.33 GHz clock-speed, 1333 MHz FSB and a 120 W TDP, while the new X5492 quad-core features a 3.4 GHz clock-speed, 1600 MHz FSB and 150 W TDP. Lastly, we have the new Xeon X5270, which is a dual-core processor that features a 3.5 GHz clock-speed, 1333 FSB and an 80 W TDP.
The new processors are all drop-in compatible with existing platforms, though the Xeon X5492 will be only drop-in compatible with the Xeon 5400 chipset. Intel claims the X5470 processor has set a world record score of 150 using SPECint*_rate2006, which measures integer throughput performance. Prices for the new Xeon L5430, X5470, X5492 and X5270 are set at $562, $1386, $1493 and $1172, respectively.