A notable inclusion of perhaps every processor-in-box product, apart from the processor, cooler and documentation, is the case-badge for the processor. The case-badge is a small sticker that shows the company logo for the processor installed in the PC. Intel is reportedly designing new logos (in effect case-badges) for at least 14 of its products. The logos, most of which are rounded-rectangle shaped seem to have been designed to give the processor box a new look, also indicating perhaps that the company is designing new packaging material as well, that use the new logos.

Intel has large volumes of Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and Xeon processors in the making, that Intel feels need new clothing. Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad, get the distinct chrome-blue colour that one can find in the Core i7 (non-XE) logo. Core 2 and Core i7 logos look similar at the first glance. Core 2 Extreme gets the chrome-black colour the Core i7 XE logo has. All Centrino series badges stick to the silver-white colour scheme. The logo designs have small inlets on the top-right corner that have small portions of the die-shot. Core 2 and Centrino logos have die-shots of a portion of the Penryn core, while the Core i7 logos use those of the Bloomfield core. Interestingly, Xeon keeps its current logo, as well as a new one with chrome-slate colour, and design of the current Core i7 logo, perhaps making it clear the Xeon processor is based on the Nehalem architecture. The new logos will be effective from Q2 2009.

Intel's mainstream market implementation of the Nehalem architecture will come in the form of monolithic quad-core a dual-core chips that have northbridge machinery integrated. Based on the Lynnfield (quad-core) and Arandale (dual-core) designs, Intel will place the processors on a common system design dubbed the "Ibex-Peak". The processors are likely to be branded as Core i5, Core i4 or even Core i3 depending on a lot of factors. Additionally, Intel plans enterprise variants of the said chips.

To seat these chips, Intel is designing new sockets: LGA-1155, LGA-1156 the two can be classified into the sockets for the desktop variants, with another LGA-1167 socket most likely to be exclusive for the Xeon variants. PCGH sourced some images from Intel's Design Development Tools (DDT) portal (found here), which tell that Intel names its new series of sockets as "socket H". Pictured below is a processor package viewed from its business-end. The other three you can see, are interposer-boards. These are devices that resemble the actual product packages that sit on the sockets. You can see a grid of leads over the "IHS" of the package. The leads serve to help in the technical development of products based on the package design, hence it is found on the DDT portal. It should give you an idea of what an LGA-1155, LGA-1156 and LGA-1167 processor should look like, sans the leads on the IHS. The images below in the same order. Finally, pictured much earlier, is the Ibex-Peak platform motherboard that demonstrates the design.

Intel pushed its performance supremacy lead further up with the introduction of the Nehalem micro-architecture. The introduction served as a milestone event in the company's history, where it sought to rearrange various components of the PC, by moving certain parts of the chipset to the processor package. In the months to come, with the introduction of the Ibex-Peak platform, the company hopes to migrate even more components from the system core-logic to the CPU package. A lot of engineering potential is unlocked due to the modularity of the various components of a Nehalem-derived CPU.

At the upcoming International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) event, Intel plans a decent set of technology demonstrations and papers. The advance program information document shed some light on Intel's itinerary. In session 3 held on February 9, Intel will present papers on its 8-core Xeon processor, following which is a session on 45nm IA processors. The session is on processors built with features characteristic of the Nehalem micro-architecture, in having integrated memory controllers, a coherent point-to-point interconnect, and up to 8 processing cores. Interestingly, the description included a note on the power consumptions, ranging from "sub-10W to 130W", which leads us to believe Intel to have plans on making derivatives of the Nehalem micro-architecture with some very low energy footprints. Another interpretation would be that a new breed of processors could have idle power consumptions as low as <10W. Currently the most energy-efficient Nehalem-based processor known to be in the works is the Xeon L5520 that has identical features to those of the Core i7 series while having a clock speed of 2.23 GHz and a rated TDP of a mere 60W.

Following the news which we covered here, Hexus.net has got hold of a slide which officially details Intel's new 8-core Enterprise Xeon processor. Codenamed Nehalem EX, it will feature 8 processing cores, with 2 threads per core, totaling 16 threads and as had been previously said, a transistor count of 2.3 Billion. This information was obtained as part of a pre-ISSCC conference call, but more information is expected to be officially announced at the start of the ISSCC on 8th February.

Sitting tight on the desktop and server performance thrones with the Core i7 and Xeon Dunnington series procesors, Intel is looking to carry on with its product launch-cycle with the introduction of octo-core (8 cores) enterprise processors later this year. The company is expected to detail the industry about this upcoming processor series as early as next month at the Solid State Circuits conference in San Fransisco between February 8 and 12.

The processor in question will be based on the Intel Nehalem architecture and will consist of eight x86 processing cores, a massive transistor-count of 2.3 billion, and will be built on the company's current 45nm manufacturing process. It will hold 24 MB of L3 cache, a quad-channel memory interface and QuickPath Interconnect system interface. Furthermore, it is aimed at quad-socket server platforms. Intel will keep this only upto a presentation level at the conference and not a launch. It is expected to start off with quad-core Xeon processors based on the new architecture later in this quarter.

Following periodic price-cuts for its Core 2 series desktop CPUs, Intel could be planning significant price-cuts for its Xeon series enterprise CPUs. This, according to Pacific Crest analyst Michael McConnell. The price-cuts are model-specific. According to McConnel, they are expected to range between 15 and 40% for quad-core Xeon processors and around 13% for dual-core models.

McConnel sees the price cuts as a response to excess inventories of Xeon processors, which is up 13% in Q4, worth up to US $3.85 billion. Another significant factor is AMD, which seems to be gaining market-share through HP, a major player with enterprise-computing. The new prices could be implemented by 18th of January.

Industry observer DigiTimes reports today that chip maker Intel is planning on launching new server Nehalem-EP and Nehalem-WS processors within the first quarter of 2009.

Intel is planning to launch Xeon 5500 (Nehalem-EP) and Xeon 3500 series (Nehalem-WS) server CPUs in the first quarter of 2009, according to sources at server makers. Intel will launch ten CPUs for the Xeon 5500 series: quad-core W5580 (3.2GHz), X5570 (2.93GHz), X5560 (2.8GHz), X5550 (2.66GHz), E5540 (2.53GHz), E5530 (2.4GHz), E5520 (2.26GHz), E5506 (2.13GHz), E5504 (2GHz) and dual-core E5502 with prices at US$1,600, US$1,386, US$1,172, US$958, US$744, US$530, US$373, US$266, US$224 and US$188 in thousand-unit tray quantities. For the Xeon 3500 series, Intel will launch three CPUs: quad-core W3570, W3540 and W3520 priced at US$999, US$562 and US$284.
In additional news, Intel is planning to phase out seven notebook CPUs including the Core 2 Extreme X7900 and X7800, and Core 2 Duo T7800 and L7700 in January next year.

Intel informed today that it will be phasing out a large number of server Xeon processors during the next eight months. That's mainly because of the forthcoing Nehalem platform and the new Core i7 processors. Intel also said that it is already producing more 45nm processors than 65nm chips, so it's time for some of the 65nm parts to drop off the charts. The list includes six dual-core Xeon processors with Woodcrest core, these are the 1.86GHz Xeon 5120, 2.66GHz 5150, 2.33GHz LV 5148, 1.60GHz 5110, 2.0GHz 5130, 2.33GHz 5140 and 3.0GHz 5160. The list continues with nine quad-core models with Clovertown core, the 1.86GHz E5320, 1.86GHz L5320, 3.0GHz X5365, 2.66GHz X5355, 1.60GHz E5310, 2.33GHz E5345, 2.0GHz E5335 and 2.0GHz L5335. Sales of different variations of these CPUs are also going to be phased out. The total count is 31 server models, that won't be produced anymore. Final customer orders for these processors can be submitted until April 23, 2009. Intel plans the final shipment of these processors for July 23, 2009.

As promised, today Intel sliced the prices of several of its Core 2 and Xeon processors, just before the Nehalem launch. Below is the list that describes best all price reductions.

After flaunting the P6T Series motherboards, and the monstrous Rampage II Extreme, ASUS decided to expand its Bloomfield CPU-supportive motherboard lineup with its workstation-class offerings. ASUS is known for bringing in workstation boards on desktop platforms. They have had Intel 975P based workstation boards, just as they had nForce 590 SLI boards. These desktop-thru-worksation platforms are usually single CPU socket platforms, with certain workstation features, such as PCI-X interface, enterprise-grade storage controllers, among other features that make them durable and suitable for mission-critical environments. They don't sport enterprise chipsets, and hence carry batch-leading desktop chipsets.

With Nehalem and the new Socket 1366, ASUS did just that, with the inclusion of two single-socket workstation boards. These motherboards, at the outset support the upcoming Core i7 processors, and have the potential to support Xeon processors that use the same socket, or even the same core. There are two models lined-up: P6T6 WS Revolution and P6T6 WS Pro. The P6T6 WS Revolution is the flagship board. It features six full-length PCI-Express slots, which might have variable number of available PCI-Express lanes, depending on the number of PCI-E cards connected. It features a 16+2 phase CPU power circuit. The board features the Tylersburg X58 chipset, along with an ICH10 series southbridge. There is passive cooling for the VRM area, northbridge, and a large southbridge block, that could be possibly cooling a supplementary PCI-Express switch chip. Storage options include Serial-attached SCSI (SAS), SATA II and e-SATA ports.

Noctua today released four new CPU coolers for Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron processors. Optimized for use in dual socket systems, the new DX (Dual Xeon) and DO (Dual Opteron) versions of Noctua's highly successful NH-U12 and NH-U9 series introduce the premium quality quiet cooling performance that has become synonymous with Noctua to the world of professional workstations and servers. "Maximum cooling performance at minimum noise levels and excellent reliability can be particularly important when it comes to high-end workstations and special server applications", explains Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO. "Due to the ever-growing demand for our Xeon and Socket F mounting kits, we decided to design new, customized versions of our coolers that are completely tailor-made for use on Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron systems, especially dual socket configurations. Enter the DX/DO series!"

Intel Corporation has extended its lead in the high-end server segment, setting new standards in virtualization performance with the launch of seven 45 nanometer (nm)-manufactured Intel Xeon Processor 7400 Series products. With up to six processing cores per chip and 16MB of shared cache memory, applications built for virtualized environments and data demanding workloads, such as databases, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning and server consolidation, experience dramatic performance increases of almost 50 percent in some cases.

Intel Corporation continues to expand its 45-nanometer (nm) manufacturing chip portfolio with the launch of its first four halogen-free Intel Xeon processors, signaling another step in Intel's march toward minimizing the environmental footprint of its products. The chips reach new heights in performance and energy efficiency. Much of the energy efficiency these new processors provide comes from Intel's advanced 45nm manufacturing capability and its reinvented transistors that use a Hafnium-based high-k metal gate formula. In addition, all previously launched versions of the Intel Xeon 5200 and 5400 series will now be halogen-free.

On September 15th Intel plans to fabricate the Intel Xeon 7400 Dunnington series processor, the company's last Penryn generation processor to be released. Xeon 7400 will mark the end of a previous server era, and after it the new Nehalem Core i7 processor family will start to appear in the fourth quarter. The Xeon 7400 will be Intel's first 6-core server chip. It will be produced using 45nm high-k process technology and will boast 16MB of L3 cache. The Xeon 7400 Dunnington series is also one of the first Intel chips to have a monolithic design, like Nehalem. In other words, all six cores will be on one piece of silicon. To date, for any processor having more than two cores, Intel has put two separate pieces of silicon - referred to as die - inside of one chip package. Server vendors announcing Xeon 7400 powered products will include Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, IBM and Unisys, according to Intel senior vice president Pat Gelsinger.

During the ongoing Intel Developer Forum (IDF) event, Intel has announced its first 6-core processor codenamed Dunnington. It will be branded as the Xeon X7460 and is expected to become available in servers beginning next month. Intel claims that systems using this chip already broke performance records, including an 8-socket 48-core IBM System x3950 M2 server, which became the first platform to break the 1 million tpmC barrier on the TPC-C benchmark.

Intel has also shed some light on the upcoming fleet of processors based on the Nehalem architecture. The first wave would only include quad-core, HyperThreading-enabled processors based on the Bloomfield core, also said is that they are planning to manufacture a second server derivative designed for the expandable server market (Nehalem-EX). Later, desktop processors based on the Havendale (dual-core) and Lynnfield (quad-core) processors, while the notebook/mobile platform will be offered the dual-core Auburndale and Lynnfield quad-core parts.

Following price-cuts for some of the desktop offerings (covered here) , Intel has cut the prices of some models of the enterprise-segment Xeon processor, reports industry observer DigiTimes.

The Xeon X3220, X3210 and E3110 get a roughly 12% cut with the X3220 and X3210 both dropping from an original price of US $224 to US $198 with the E3110 price dropping from US $188 to US $167, according to the company.

According to a product change notification sent to Intel customers yesterday, Intel will be moving all of its 45nm Xeon DP processors from the C-O to the E-0 stepping. A total of 18 processors will get a new CPUID (0xA005b013): the Quad-Core Intel Xeon X5482, X5460, X5450, X5472, E5450, E5472, E5440, E5462, E5430, E5420, E5410, E5405, L5420, L5410 and dual-core Xeon X5272, X5260, E5205, and Intel Core 2 Duo L5240 processors. The new stepping chips will have the same specs, only the Xeon DP X5482 CPU will have its TDP changed from 150W (C-0) to 130W (E-0). However, a BIOS update will be required in order to run the new stepping CPUs. First E-0 samples are expected to become available on July 3rd. The updated processors are scheduled to begin shipping on October 6th.

Intel Corporation has further increased its energy-efficient performance lead today with the introduction of two low-voltage 45 nanometer (nm) processors for servers and workstations that run at 50 watts, or just 12.5 watts per core and frequencies as high as 2.50GHz. The Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processor L5400 Series takes advantage of Intel's unique 45nm manufacturing capabilities and reinvented transistor formula that combine to boost performance and reduce power consumption in data centers.

Taipei, Taiwan, February 26, 2008 -Catering to users who need a powerful motherboard with high speeds and great expansion slot interface support, ASUS, worldwide leader in motherboard design and production, has today released the Z7S WS workstation motherboard. This innovative motherboard is equipped with dual socket 771 and utilizes the latest Intel 5400 chipset for vigorous performance. It also supports fully buffered DDR2 800MHz dual-channel memory, dual PCI Express 2.0 x16 lanes; and comes in the compact CEB form factor. With this innovative motherboard, users will enjoy convenient slot expansion and enjoy fast and efficient work efficiency.

Intel informed vendors that it will begin cleaning up its dual-core Xeon 3000-series portfolio. The 3000-series version 3040, 3050, 3060 and 3070, all based on the 65 nm Conroe core, are entered into the firm's product discontinuance program and are going to be phased out. The high end models 3075 (2.66GHz) and 3085 (3.0GHz) will remain available for now.

When we reported about the Inquirers review of the Asus Z7S we were quite skeptical. ASUS contacts could not confirm existence and even doubted the news themselves due to various reasons. (naming scheme, FB-DIMM's on enthusiast board, etc)
Besides a small review the Z7S was not heard of. Though we are happy to be able to tell you it isn't a hoax, a contact at Asus confirmed existence of the board and it is indeed aimed at previous PC-DL/NCCH-DL users.
Unfortunately nothing new is known, but seeing how the aforementioned boards were priced odds are it will not cost you an arm and a leg. Which is, of course, relative.
Strategically it would make sense to release this around the release of Skulltrail, the only board with similar features. So let's hope for some more news next month.

We all know the Inquirer isn't always right. However this story seems solid. The Inq is reporting of a new Asus s771 board. Of course nothing special, though next to Skulltrail this would be the only board with overclocking options in the BIOS.

Noctua today announced the availability of a new mounting kit for Intel Xeon processors as well as a new Xeon-Edition of the much acclaimed NH-U12F and NH-U9F coolers. Noctua's CPU coolers, which have won more than 100 awards and recommendations by leading international websites and magazines, can therefore now be used in Intel Xeon-based servers and workstations.

Intel today announced the Xeon 7300/7200 series of processors, the final products to be based on the company's Core microarchitecture. Manufactured using a 65nm process, the new Xeon MP chips (codenamed Tigerton) are part of the Caneland platform, which has been designed largely for virtualisation applications. This means that the processors should provide up to 2.5x the virtualisation performance and up to 3x the performance-per-watt compared to the preceding Xeon 7100 platform based on the Netburst architecture. There are eight new processors in total, six quad-core models with clock speeds ranging from 1.6GHz through to 2.93GHz, with respective prices ranging from $851 to $2301, and two dual-core models running at 2.4GHz and 2.93GHz being priced at $856 and $1177 respectively. Interestingly, the dual-core models can support twice as much memory as the quad-core, which could allow for cheaper servers where memory is more important than being able to run multiple threads quickly. This announcement comes just five days before AMD launches its new Barcelona processors.

Intel's latest roadmap reveals three new Penryn based Xeon models with a higher front-side bus speed - 1600MHz. The three new processors are available in dual-core and quad-core models. Quad-core Xeon E5472 and E5462 are the first quad-core models to receive the 1600MHz FSB treatment. The Xeon E5472 features a 3.0GHz clock speed while the E5462 is clocked at 2.8GHz. Both CPUs feature 80-watt TDP. Intel plans to release these 1600 MHz front-side bus processors in Q4 2007 with the rest of the Penryn family. Pricing for the quad Xeons starts at $797 for the E5462 and $958 for the E5472, per processor, in 1,000 unit quantities. The third and only dual-core 1600MHz FSB processor is E5272. The Xeon E5272 features a 3.4GHz clock speed and is priced at $1,172. Intel has also pulled in the launch of E5272 to Q4 2007, with the quad-core processors.