64-bit Xeons coming from Intel

Intel seems to be biting the bullet and developing Xeon chips with some 64-bit capabilities. In an article from Computer Business Review online, author Timothy Prickett Morgan writes: bq. The conspiracy theorists are not always wrong. The future Xeon workstation and server processors from Intel Corp that are based on the new "Prescott" core that was announced a few weeks ago do indeed have 64-bit memory extensions in them. bq. With the launch of 64-bit Xeons, which will roll out in the next several months, server strategies based on Itanium and Opteron are put into a new light, if not called directly into question. bq. Intel made the announcement of the 64-bit extensions to the Xeon processors yesterday during the opening keynote address by CEO Craig Barrett at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. In referring to the 64-bit extensions, which were reportedly developed under the code name "Yamhill," Barrett called the extended Xeon "probably the worst kept secret in Silicon Valley history." This is not a 64-bit core - the central part of the CPU is still running at 32-bits but it does allow for 64-bit addressing. This is fantastic as it makes dealing with large amounts of memory a lot simpler. The Xeon is based on their consumer P-4 CPU but is optimized for large-scale computing and the server market. This is probably in direct response to AMDs hugely successful Opteron. This Xeon chip is not the new Itanium - the Itanium is a true full 64-bit CPU and when they get the performance issues worked out, it will be the next generation of computing.