Intel is getting ready to release its 65nm Core Duo-derived 'Sossaman' server processor as the Xeon LV - if the latest announcement from Supermicro is anything to go by. The server motherboard maker this week launched a pair of products that will support the new chip and its 31W power envelope. The boards and the Xeon LV were almost immediately offered up by Tokyo computer retailers.

Supermicro's boards, the X6DLP-4G2 and the X6DLP-EG2, are pitched at "space-constrained cluster environments", the company said. They're based on Intel's E7520 chipset, aka 'Lindenhurst', and can take up to 16GB of ECC DDR 2 SDRAM. They have Gigabit Ethernet on board, and dual-mode "universal" PCI-X/PCI Express slots.

The boards take two processors, providing a four-way system. The 65nm Xeon LV is clocked at 2GHz and contains 2MB of L2 cache shared between its two cores. It incorporates Intel's Enhanced Speedstep Technology. Essentially, it's a 'Yonah' Core Duo/Pentium M validated for server use - indeed, with Supermicro boards turning up today in Japanese computer stores, according to a PCWatch report, a quick check reveals Windows system properties panel lists the part as a "Pentium M CPU 000 @ 2.00GHz".

Supermicro said it would also offer a range of server chassis to go with its new boards, and while it didn't say when either its or Intel's products would ship, their appearance in Tokyo suggests they can't be far off. Early next week, perhaps? ®