Cooling and early impressions
Intel's STS100C, pictured below, is a passive/active combination heat sink with a bundled removable fan. Designed solely for use in two-socket LGA1366 workstations, it isn't backward compatible with previous-generation Xeon parts.
Supporting up to a maximum TDP of 130W, the STS100C is recommended to be used with the fan attached in pedestal chassis that are well ventilated with cool air.
With the fan removed, Intel recommends a 2U or larger rack or a pedestal chassis with ducted airflow to the heatsink.
Early impressions
Taking into account the proven performance of Intel's Nehalem architecture, it's logical to assume that the Xeon 5500 series will be quick. Although server workload is radically different, we'd be inclined to think that the Nehalem-based Xeon W5580 will outperform Intel's own predecessors and may give AMD's Opteron range something to think about, too.
Yet, it should be noted that the expected performance leap is derived without a shrink in manufacturing process or a bump in clock speeds. The Xeon W5580 is, remember, still a 45nm part clocked at 3.2GHz and it retains a maximum TDP of 130W, too.
As it did late last year in the desktop segment, Nehalem looks set to raise the performance bar for the enterprise in one fell swoop - but will it have the desired impact? For IT professionals - or even the got-to-have-it-all home user - the stumbling block may be price. Intel, albeit armed with a convincing package, may struggle to prompt server or workstation users to invest in a Nehalem-based upgrade in today's economic climate - particularly when users upgrading from older Xeons will be required to invest in new boards and memory, too. It's argument, of course, will be that numerous lower-power servers can now be consolidated with fewer that offer far-greater performance.
With the desktop and server/workstation space seemingly done and dusted, Intel's left with one area that's yet to be given the Nehalem treatment - mobile. Unfortunately for its rivals, it'll be taking care of that with Clarksfield later this year.
If you're eager to see just how well the Xeon W5580 performs, stay tuned for our forthcoming in-depth review.
