For Day 11, I want to talk about the new processor numbering system for Xeon processors that Intel introduced on April 5, 2011. This new system will only be used for the new processors that Intel released on April 5 (the E3 Series and the E7 Series) and the upcoming E5 Series. The model numbers for existing Xeon processors will remain unchanged.
Figure 1: New Intel Xeon Processor Numbering System
The E3 Product Line is for single processor server or workstations. The first generation of this line (E3-1200 series)is essentially the same as the desktop Sandy Bridge processors that were released in January 2011. The E7 Product Line (the Westmere-EX) has different models that are meant for two socket servers, four socket servers, and eight socket and above servers. The E7-2800 Series is for two socket servers, the E7-4800 Series is for four socket servers, while the E7-8800 Series is for eight socket and above servers. Later this year, Intel will release the E5 Product Line, which is the Sandy Bridge-EP.
After the Product Line designation, you have a four digit number that tells you more details about the particular processor. The first digit is the “wayness”, which is the number of physical CPUs that are allowed in a “node” (which is a physical server). This first digit can be 1, 2, 4, or 8. The second digit is the socket type, in terms of its physical and electrical characteristics. The last two digits are the processor SKU, with higher numbers generally being higher performance. Finally, you may have an L at the end, which is for energy efficient, low electrical power processors.
