Intel updates low-power Xeon 5400 line

Intel said that the 45nm chips will run at up to 2.5GHz and offer a 25 per cent performance boost over the previous line.

The company credits much of the boost to its use of new High-K transistors. The special design reduces the amount of power lost by each transistor and allows the chips to operate with more efficiency and a higher density of transistors.

The development of High-K has been a major factor in all of Intel's 45nm line of processors.

"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 the server platforms group at Intel.

Vendors will be able to purchase the 5400 series chips in increments of 1,000 units. The 2.33GHz L5410 will cost $320 per unit, while the 2.5GHz L5420 chips will cost $380.

Among the customers Intel expects for the new processors are traditional server heavyweights Dell, HP and IBM. Other vendors will include Fujitsu, NEC, Hitachi, and Asus.

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