Intel's next-gen Xeon chipsets to support 1066MHz

Exclusive Intel has peppered its server processor line with hints of confusion after announcing a recent shift in strategy, and we hope to do the company one better by revealing a new Itanium processor and the next-generation of Xeon chipsets.

A presentation by one Herbert Cornelius, technical marketing manager at Intel EMEA, briefly popped up on the web last week and broke word of Montvale to the world. Montvale, it appears, will follow the dual-core Montecito processor - the fourth generation of Itanium - and precede Tukwila. This means Montvale arrives in 2006 most likely as a speed bump to Montecito.

The presentation revealing Montvale once had a happy home here, but recent publicity has pushed the PDF into restriction.

A more obliging presentation from one Tommy Rydendahl, a solutions specialist at Intel, has disclosed "Blackford" and "Greencreek" as the 1066MHz chipsets meant to follow Lindenhurst and Tumwater for Intel's Xeon processors, El Reg can exclusively reveal. Tommy's roadmap gives a mid-2005 to 2006 introduction for the products, but the reality of their arrival is anyone's guess after this month's roadmap revamp.

You'll recall that Intel decided to whack the single core Tejas desktop chip and Jayhawk Xeon processor in favor of as of yet unnamed dual core processors.

This complicates matters a bit because Intel's cancellation of these chips occurred one week after the presentation listing Blackford and Greencreek was created. But, from what we hear, Blackford and Greencreek are still on the roadmap.

The same presentation also discusses Intel's 2006 plan for "low power/high performance processors," which seems to point to Whitefield. ®

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