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Intel® E8501 Chipset

The Intel® E8501 chipset contains higher performance and more scalability than the prior generation Intel® Xeon® processor family. The Intel E8501 chipset enables performance gains on Intel's four-way MP platform of up to 64 percent over the previous generation, making the platform well-suited to running demanding, multi-threaded applications, such as databases, financial services and supply-chain management.

The chipset is designed for longevity—architected for the Intel® Xeon® processor 7000Δ sequence, yet also compatible with Intel® single-core processors—for an enhanced lifespan and for lowering Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The chipset's ability to support 64-bit as well as 32-bit applications lets you leverage your investment even further. It also offers increased bandwidth, and greater flexibility, manageability, and I/O integration than previous-generation MP chipsets.




Intel® E8501 Chipset Features

Features Benefits
Supports Intel® Xeon® processor 7000Δ sequence Projected performance increase over previous generation single-core processors. Initial preliminary testing resulted in up to approximately 60 percent performance gain over a previous generation single-core platform tested¹
Intel 64 Φ Enables extended memory addressability for server applications
Demand-Based Switching (DBS) with Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology Enables platform and software power management features to help lower average power consumption while maintaining application performance and improving acoustics
PCI Express* serial I/O
  • Next-generation I/O capable of up to 8 GB/s peak bandwidth
  • Improved RAS features compared to PCI-X
  • Lower latency compared to PCI-X for improved I/O performance
  • Software compatible with PCI-X to simplify parallel-to-serial transition
DDR2-400 memory
  • Provides up to 20% increase in memory bandwidth over DDR-333
  • Increased DIMMs per system for enhanced memory scalability
Enhanced reliability and manageability
  • Many memory controller features, together with PCI Express RAS features combine to help improve platform reliability vs. previous-generation platforms
  • Features include Error Correcting Code (ECC) system bus, memory RAID, and I/O and memory hot-plug
  • The Intel® E8501 chipset includes an SMBus port for remote management operation and support for a variety of third-party BMC (base management controller) and BIOS solutions
High-speed, 3-load front-side system bus (800 MHz) 12.8 GB/s—four times faster than previous Intel Xeon processor MP-based platforms with 400 MHz system bus
PIROM and thermal sensor Allows for scheduled service in the event of a system manufacturing defect or cooling device failure
Related Products

Processors Intel® Xeon® processor 7000Δ sequence
Chipsets
Server platforms

Package Information

Product Package
Intel® E8501 TNB .13um Technology (MP Server Northbridge) 1432-pin Flip Chip-Ball Grid Array (FC-BGA3) Package
Intel® E8501 XMB .13um Technology (ECC MP Server) 829-pin Flip Chip-Ball Grid Array (FC-BGA3) Package
Δ Intel processor numbers are not a measure of performance. Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor family, not across different processor families.

¹ Performance gain based on Intel internal measurements of Java Performance. Baseline Intel Server platform contains four 64-bit Intel Xeon Processor MP 3.33 GHz/8M L3 cache, Intel E8500 chipset, Intel Hyper Threading ON. The new Intel Server pre-production platform contains four Intel® Xeon Processor 7041 with E8501 Chipset with Intel Hyper Threading ON. Actual results will vary by hardware and software configuration.

Φ 64-bit computing on Intel architecture requires a computer system with a processor, chipset, BIOS, operating system, device drivers and applications enabled for Intel® 64 architecture. Processors will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an Intel® 64 architecture-enabled BIOS. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software configurations. Consult with your system vendor for more information.
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