Intel Nehalem-EX Server CPU: 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 64 DIMMS Per Platform

Intel have announced their latest Xeon processor, the eight-core Nehalem-EX.  Intended for servers, though providing an interesting insight into what the consumer Core i7 architecture might evolve into, Nehalem-EX can support up to sixteen threads with 24MB of shared cache, Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost.Video demo after the cut

There's also twice the memory capacity, with Nehalem-EX supporting 16 DIMMS per socket and 64 DIMMS per platform.  Compared to the existing Xeon 7400 processor the new chip offers almost three times the threads and 1.5x the cache.  That, Intel say, make it much more suitable for virtualization tasks.

The first Intel Nehalem-EX chips will reach the market in the second half of 2009, with IBM already onboard to produce servers and blades using the processor.  No word on pricing, but don't expect them to be cheap.