The Intel Xeon E5530 was a server/workstation processor with 4 cores, launched in March 2009, at an MSRP of $530. It is part of the Xeon lineup, using the Gainestown architecture with Socket 1366. Thanks to Intel Hyper-Threading the core-count is effectively doubled, to 8 threads. To further increase overall system performance, up to two Xeon E5530 CPUs can link up in a multi-processor (SMP) configuration. Xeon E5530 has 8 MB of L3 cache and operates at 2.4 GHz by default, but can boost up to 2.666 GHz, depending on the workload. Intel is building the Xeon E5530 on a 45 nm production process using 731 million transistors. The multiplier is locked on Xeon E5530, which limits its overclocking capabilities.
With a TDP of 80 W, the Xeon E5530 consumes a good deal of power, so decent cooling is needed. Intel's processor supports DDR3 memory with a triple-channel interface. The highest officially supported memory speed is 1066 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 E5530 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 E5530, which greatly improves virtual machine performance. Additionally, IOMMU virtualization (PCI passthrough) is supported, so that guest virtual machines may directly use host hardware.