Intel Scatters Chips Across Enterprise

April 21, 1998 (3:59 PM EDT)

By Mo Krochmal,

Although Intel is expected to release its next-generation chip, the 64-bit Merced, next year, 32-bit chip architecture will continue to be an important part of its product line through the next decade, according to a report from Aberdeen Group.

Also known as the P7, Merced uses a new instruction architecture called IA-64. It is expected to run x86 and PA-RISC software natively, with clock speeds at 600 MHz and higher, and will be targeted at the workstation and server markets.

"They are taking the IA-64 approach, and a long-term life for IA-32 microprocessors, and that will continue on into the next decade," said James Gruener, the analyst who wrote the report, "Intel's Enterprise Strategy for the New Century."

Intel's commitment to the IA-32 architecture will be cemented midyear, when the company plans to release a family of 350-Mhz and 400-Mhz Pentium IIs, known as Xeon, for workstations and servers.

"Intel is focused on providing a number of different levels of microprocessors that will fit on different servers, offering multiple systems architectures for multiple market segments," said Gruener.

An Intel spokesman said the profile is right on the money.

"The report matches quite well the strategy that Intel has in bringing servers into the enterprise," said Pat Buddenbaum, marketing manager of the enterprise server group.