Intel announces Pentium III Xeon

Intel Corporation announced its new Pentium III Xeon processor, a new high-end server chip that allows for eight-CPU systems. Initial chips will run at 500 and 550 MHz, while faster versions are expected later this year. Like the Pentium III, the Pentium III Xeon features new 3D instructions, but the Pentium III Xeon offers a variety of L2 caches sizes--512 KB, 1 MB, and 2 MB--to provide different levels of performance at a price.

Dual processor Pentium III Xeon systems will cost approximately $4000 to $6000, while four processor systems will run up to $12,000. Eight processor systems could cost as much as $50,000