Intel 10-core Xeon processors inbound

Intel widened up its Xeon lineup with numerous new processors, 29 of them all flavored and seasoned on the 32nm node. A couple of them have ten cores, that's 20 threads ! The rumor of a ten-core processor of course was already surfacing every now and then.

Check 'r out, Intel's 10-core Xeon chips start at 2.0 GHz and go up-to 2.4 GHz in terms of clock frequency.

The 10-core processors have 24MB or 30MB of L3 cache, a 105W or 130W TDP, and come in an FC-LGA8 (LGA 771) package. The cheapest of the 10-core is $2,558, while the top of the tops costs $4,616 (!)

Intel competes in the server chip market with Advanced Micro Devices, which in the third quarter will start shipping a 16-core Opteron processor code-named Interlagos, which is based on the new Bulldozer architecture.

The 10-core Xeon chip is made using the 32-nanometer manufacturing process, an improvement from the Nehalem-EX chip, which is made using the 45-nm process. The chip is based on the Westmere architecture, which is a manufacturing refresh of the older but oh so successful Nehalem micro architecture.