14 DAY TRIAL // INTEL has several motives to be glad. 2006 was a pretty good year for them. I won't insist on telling you things that you already know, but I have to say that the Core architecture is a big hit. Every CPU from the E6300 to the Cloverton and Kentsfield ends up in applauses. And I'm not that glad since AMD doesn't have any comparable products. I'm not a fan of AMD, but I think that competition is healthy. And in this sector, at least until Agena comes, the war has ended.
In case you need another proof, watch out because a new Xeon is out, codename E5335. The CPU was originally scheduled for a February 2007 release, but it seems that the fifth quad-core processor that INTEL produces will be out sooner.
2 GHz for the E5335 might seem a low speed but the CPU still has a 1333 MHz front-side bus and comes with the full 4x2MB of level 2 cache. The CPU is also the last in the actual quad core line because INTEL says that they are already planning to produce native quad cores instead of dual-die ones.
"This year we've seen Intel refresh its whole product lineup. I think this was more about proving that the company still has its chops and it's still capable of delivering high-quality products on schedule than a real demand in the market for quad-core chips," said Charles King, analyst at Pund-IT Research.
The chips will cost $690 each in 1,000 units shipments and will be introduced as soon as Vista arrives. However, the latest Xeon keeps a pretty high price tag, motive for which, with the arrival of Xeon 3000 value line it will probably lose some of its price.