Intel Says Xeon Needs More Work

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August 11, 1998 (11:36 AM EDT)

By Mark Hachman,

Concerned with the Xeon's performance in four-way servers, Intel will delay the launch of specific 450-MHz microprocessors until the first quarter of 1999.

Although Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel will ship the 450-MHz Pentium II microprocessors on schedule, the 450-MHz Xeon with 1 and 2 megabytes of Level 2 cache will be held for further testing, an Intel spokesman said. Both chips will be delayed from the fourth quarter until the first quarter 1999.

"We're not so concerned with the version with 512 kilobytes of cache, as server vendors generally don't choose it," the spokesman added.

Intel (company profile) wishes to ensure that no flaws occur when the 450-MHz Xeon microprocessors are used in conjunction with the 82450NX chip set for servers, he said. Intel previously acknowledged two flaws that occurred when 400-MHz Xeon processors were used with the 450NX, affecting both the microprocessor itself as well as its error-correction code. Those errors delayed the launch of the corresponding original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products by a little more than a month.

The 450NX chip set, which is now shipping, is itself not defective, he said.

The spokesman also acknowledged the presence of a low-cost, basic version of the NX chip set. While he declined to comment upon the 450NX Basic's release date, OEM customers have said it will be used in single- and dual-processor servers sold for between $3,000 to $10,000 in the first quarter of 1999. The full-fledged 450NX is designed for four- and eight-way servers with an end price of $10,000 to $50,000.