Quad-Core Xeon System Previewed

TAIPEI -- Tyan Computer is showing off one of the first hardware systems containing Quad-Core Xeon 5300 processors at the Intel Developer Forum here today.

The device, aimed at small offices or home offices, carries several of the new Intel chips, which contain four microprocessor cores each. Multicore chips allow a computer to split up heavy workloads, and Intel says it has worked hard to make them as power efficient as possible.

The new Tyan computers will contain a total of 40 cores each and perform at 250G floating-point operations per second (flops) or faster, said Symon Chang, Tyan president and CEO.

The computers, which are taller than a large trunk but about the same width, will cost around $25,000 to $30,000 each and will launch on November 14, he added.

Intel has said it will bring its quad-core chips to market in a new line of Hewlett-Packard Co. workstations due to be introduced on November 13.

Sufficient Supplies

Also at the conference, Intel executives say they are expect to be able to meet demand for microprocessors in electronic devices for the holiday shopping season.

"We're at the point now where we don't see the [microprocessor] shortages we were seeing," said Tom Kilroy, general manager of Intel's digital enterprise group.

He said some places may see "spot shortages" of Core 2 Duo microprocessors, but that there is no general shortage in the market.

Global PC market concerns over shortages of microprocessors for desktop PCs and laptops, as well as a massive laptop battery recall, have caused analysts and vendors to worry demand may outstrip supply during the main sales season of the year.

Mooly Eden, general manager of Intel's mobile platform group said he was aware of worries over laptop PC battery shortages but that he has not heard of any actual shortages.

In August, PC vendor Dell announced it would recall and replace millions of laptop computer batteries because of a potential fire hazard. Several companies followed Dell's lead, and the total replacement figure now stands at over 7.9 million laptop batteries, causing concerns that there wouldn't be enough new batteries available to support the recalls at the same time as strong demand for new notebook PCs.

Around three-quarters of all microprocessors used in PCs globally are made by Intel. Any slump in sales of Intel processors often causes market watchers to lament that the entire PC industry is facing a downturn.