Intel today launched its Itanium II processor, the silicon manufacturer`s second generation 64-bit chip, and is expected to boost applications built for the first Itanium by 50% to 100%.
The processor (previously code-named McKinley) boasts an increase in system bus bandwidth of three times and a clock speed of 1GHz compared with its 800MHz predecessor. Backward compatibility with the Itanium A 3MB on-die level 3 cache will also help boost performance.
The processor is supported by two generic chipsets from Intel, the E8870 for two- and four-way systems, and the 9870 scalability port switch for eight-way and larger systems.
While the first Itanium was seen as a development and launch platform for the new technology, the Itanium II is regarded as a working environment-ready platform, with both IBM and HP launching their own chipsets in conjunction with Intel.
The HP chipset, the ZX1, is designed for one to four processor machines. The company is initially offering four Itanium II machines - the ZX2000 and ZX6000 workstations and the RX2600 and RX5670 servers.
The processor is expected to be used for computer-aided design (CAD) and graphical applications, particularly in HP`s workstations which feature a 4x AGP port which will be upgraded to 8x when the technology becomes available. It will also be used in science, research and life sciences studies; assembly models; and high-bandwidth infrastructure applications for government and defence.
There are some HP Itanium II machines already running in SA.
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