Yesterday (July 18), Intel officially launched the next-generation Itanium chip, codenamed Montecito, boasting double the performance of its predecessor.
The Montecito chip is a true dual-core processor and the first dual-core product in the Itanium line. Among the six versions of the Montecito chip released by Intel, the 9050 model is the premium version. The Montecito 9050 contains up to 1.7 billion transistors and features a high-speed cache of 24MB. The operating speeds of the Montecito chip versions range from 1.4GHz to 1.6GHz, with prices ranging from approximately $696 to $3,692.
All versions of the Montecito chip released this time utilize a system bus bandwidth of 533MHz, with only the Montecito 9010 version using a 400MHz bandwidth. In terms of power consumption, the Montecito averages about 104W.
Analysts believe that the launch of a series of Montecito chip versions with comprehensive performance upgrades is a new move by Intel to establish this chip line as a “standard” in the premium server market. Meanwhile, the company’s Xeon chip line has dominated the low-cost server market.
The first Itanium chip from Intel was a product that disappointed many due to its outdated, slow performance and low compatibility with x86-based software, such as the Pentium chip line. However, to compete with Sun Microsystems’ Sparc chips and IBM’s Power processors, Intel decided to completely revamp the Itanium chip. With the Montecito chip, Intel claims that all previous issues related to Itanium have been resolved.
“We had to undergo a difficult development process to perfect the new microprocessor architecture,” said Pat Gelsinger, director of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group. “That process is now gaining new momentum.”
However, these new developments did not significantly help Intel, as the company had to delay the launch of Montecito. The Montecito chip is now scheduled to launch this year instead of 2005 as originally planned.
Additionally, the speed of Montecito is at least 200MHz slower than planned. Intel also removed the Foxton feature from Montecito, a feature that would allow this chip to operate at speeds exceeding the standard by 200MHz when running at optimal temperatures.
Servers utilizing the Montecito chip are expected to officially hit the market in September. These systems will surely feature prominently from leading companies in the Itanium chip application sector, such as HP, Fujitsu, and Bull.
HP currently dominates the Itanium chip server market. However, competitors of HP are likely to capture significant market shares in the near future. Meanwhile, IBM and Dell have ceased to offer Itanium-based server products, and Sun has never planned to incorporate Itanium into its server offerings.
Hoàng Dũng
