The Intel Xeon X3480 was a server/workstation processor with 4 cores, launched in May 2010, at an MSRP of $612. It is part of the Xeon lineup, using the Lynnfield architecture with Socket 1156. Thanks to Intel Hyper-Threading the core-count is effectively doubled, to 8 threads. Xeon X3480 has 8 MB of L3 cache and operates at 3.066 GHz by default, but can boost up to 3.733 GHz, depending on the workload. Intel is building the Xeon X3480 on a 45 nm production process using 774 million transistors. The multiplier is locked on Xeon X3480, which limits its overclocking capabilities.
With a TDP of 95 W, the Xeon X3480 consumes a good deal of power, so decent cooling is needed. Intel's processor supports DDR3 memory with a dual-channel interface. The highest officially supported memory speed is 1333 MT/s, but with overclocking (and the right memory modules) you can go even higher. ECC memory is supported, too, which is an important capability for mission-critical systems, to avoid data corruption. For communication with other components in the machine, Xeon X3480 uses a PCI-Express Gen 2 connection. This processor lacks integrated graphics, you might need a graphics card.
Hardware virtualization is available on the Xeon X3480, which greatly improves virtual machine performance. Additionally, IOMMU virtualization (PCI passthrough) is supported, so that guest virtual machines may directly use host hardware.