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Intel upgraded its server processor line Monday with the introduction of new Xeon chips and chip sets that the company hopes will help its push against competing processors from IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Hewlett-Packard.

Intel has started to ship four new Xeon chips that are designed to power two-processor servers and workstations. The chips were built with its latest 0.13-micron fabrication process, which has allowed Intel to push speeds on the Xeons up to 2.8 GHz. Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, also released three new chip sets and five server designs for the Xeons to help spur adoption of the chip, the company said in a statement.

The Xeon family is one of Intel's key weapons in the server market. It helps the company compete in the lower end of the market against IBM, Sun, and HP. Although its rivals' 64-bit RISC (reduced instruction set computing) chips have some higher-end features than the Xeons have, Intel is able to use its manufacturing know-how and wide industry support to keep down the cost of servers based on the chip.

Speeding Ahead

Intel-based servers are expected to beat RISC-based servers in revenue for the first time in 2003, according to a recent report from Dataquest, a unit of Gartner.

The new Xeons will be shipped at speeds of 2.8 GHz, 2.6 GHz, 2.4 GHz, and 2 GHz, with a 533-MHz frontside bus. Prices range from $455 for the fastest chip to $198 for the slowest model in 1000-unit quantities, according to the statement.

Intel has also released the E7501 chip set for two-processor servers, the E7505 chip set for two-processor workstations, and the E7205 chip set for single-processor workstations. Both workstation chip sets support USB 2.0 as well as AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) 8X, which boosts graphics-heavy applications, the company said.

In addition, Intel released five server designs for channel partners and smaller manufacturers that should help them get Xeon-based servers out at a quick pace. A pair of the server designs will be shipped in the next two weeks. The other three are due out early next year, according to a spokesperson.

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