Bensley is the name of Intel’s coming dual core Xeon platform and this platform consists out of the new Blackford chipset and Intel’s Dempsey Xeon processors. And the Dempsey-processor is really something with dual processor cores both supporting HyperThreading (I.e. two virtual processors), 2 x 2MB L2-cache and a processorbus at 1066MHz should be enough for Dempsey to beat the current Paxville Xeon processor with more than a small margin. At 2PCU.com they’ve had the opportunity to test the Bensley platform and with dual Dempsey processors it is a really impressive system.
Even if the performance is quite impressive the power consumption is a real drawback as each Dempsey-processor has a TDP at 130W. The Bensley platform won’t arrive for another couple of months, but what is really interesting is that the platform will support the next generation Xeon processor Woodcrest, which will be Intel’s first Xeon based on its new NetBurts/Pentium M-hybrid architecture.
“Probably the most interesting thing about Bensley though, is that by 2H06 we will get a drop-in replacement for Dempsey, Woodcrest. Woodcrest is the processor that a lot of people are waiting for as it takes the best of the current Netburst architecture, the best of the Pentium M architecture and throws in some tweaks and improvements to boot… All at a significantly lower TDP. With Bensley now, you can be sure you’re ready for Woodcrest later.”
