Intel to release Itanium 2 at two speeds
Source: CNet News
Intel's upcoming Itanium 2 processor will come out at 900MHz and 1GHz, according to sources, and cost about the same as existing Itanium chips.
In all, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker will release three versions of the 64-bit chip for high-end servers next week: a 1GHz version containing 3MB of level three cache memory, a 1GHz version containing 1.5MB of cache, and a 900MHz version containing 1.5MB of cache.
The cache-speed variations will allow Intel to sell the chip at different prices, depending on performance. Increasing the clock frequency, measured by megahertz, generally increases performance, as does increasing the size of the cache, a reservoir of memory for rapid data access.
Prices will range from about $1,300 for the 900MHz version to $4,200 for the 1GHz version with the 3MB cache, according to sources close to the company. Intel had announced the 1GHz chips earlier.
Current Itanium processors sell for between $1,177 and $4,227.
