The Quad-Core Xeon processor 5400 Series and dual-core Xeon processor 5200 will now be offered with extended, 7-year, life-cycle support, along with a new supporting chipset, targeting embedded, storage, and communications markets. The 45-nm processors and 5100 memory controller hub chipset are said to fit 200-W maximum power envelope specifications such as AdvancedTCA and NEBS Level-3 requirements.

The chips yield a 22% performance gain over previous-generation platforms within the same thermal profile, based on a 2.33-GHz 8-Mbyte L2 cache, 1,333-MHz FSB, 5000P chipset, and an 8 x 1-Gbyte dual-rank-FBD-DDR2-667 memory system. (Processors, $321 to $690; chipset