The Intel Xeon X7560 was a server/workstation processor with 8 cores, launched in March 2010, at an MSRP of $3692. It is part of the Xeon lineup, using the Beckton architecture with Socket 1567. Thanks to Intel Hyper-Threading the core-count is effectively doubled, to 16 threads. To further increase overall system performance, up to eight Xeon X7560 CPUs can link up in a multi-processor (SMP) configuration. Xeon X7560 has 24 MB of L3 cache and operates at 2.266 GHz by default, but can boost up to 2.666 GHz, depending on the workload. Intel is building the Xeon X7560 on a 45 nm production process using 2,300 million transistors. The multiplier is locked on Xeon X7560, which limits its overclocking capabilities.
With a TDP of 130 W, the Xeon X7560 consumes a lot of power, so good cooling is definitely needed. Intel's processor supports DDR3 memory with a quad-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 X7560 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 X7560, which greatly improves virtual machine performance. Additionally, IOMMU virtualization (PCI passthrough) is supported, so that guest virtual machines may directly use host hardware.