Xeon 3400 processors push into entry level servers

INTEL HAS ANNOUNCED six new Xeon 3400 parts for entry level servers and it looks like its partners are rushing to get the boxes out to customers.

The 3400 range all have Error Correcting Code memory and RAID 0/1/5/10 for server operating systems, and according to Intel can "help small businesses grow" by enabling "64 per cent more sales transactions and up to 56 per cent faster business response time". Most run at 95W TDP.

The chips are based on Intel's Nehalem micro-architecture that can support a four-fold increase in server memory capacity, that is, up to 32GB.

The processors include the Intel Xeon L3426, a low-power variant that Intel claims draws just 45W TDP and is up to 188 per cent more energy efficient per dollar than the previous-generation Intel Xeon X3380.

It seems that hardware makers are rushing to get gear based around the chips out quickly too.

Super Micro in the US is already shipping a new lineup of 1U server building blocks for Intel Xeon 3400 series-based systems. Its 10 new SuperServer models are based on six new motherboards, including the high-density, 1016I-M6F SKU that supports up to eight hot-pluggable 6-Gbps SAS hard drives and on-board IPMI 2.0 remote server management.

Charles Liang, president and CEO of Super Micro claimed that it was the most important 1U server play from Intel since Harpertown and there are old people sitting in rocking chairs whose eyes still mist over when they recall the boom times of Harpertown.

He claimed that other OEMS are also just as enthusiastic. Amax already has a 1U server appliance based on the Xeon 3400 series ready to ship, he told CRN.

What is pushing the sales appears to be the fact that this launch coincides with the launch of several Micro ATX boards. Micro ATX boards are as cheap as chips and, with powerful new processors to put in them, that spells a very good opportunity for entry level server manufacturers. µ