• Intel introduced the first Xeon processor in 1998 as an enhanced version of the Pentium II processor. More than a decade later, the brand lives on as Intel's flagship line of processors for network servers. Xeon processors tend to be more expensive than Intel's desktop processors. However, they also contain features that enhance their performance in a server environment.
  
  

Power-saving Features

• Total cost of ownership is a factor that is certain to be on your mind when you assemble a server computer. Server computers tend to be very powerful, which can result in high cooling and power bills, particularly if you are installing several servers. The Xeon 5600 series includes a feature called Intelligent Power Technology that allows the processor to adjust its power consumption to a much finer degree than a desktop processor. While a desktop processor merely reduces its clock speed during periods of lower activity, the Xeon can adjust the speed and power consumption of each processor core independently.
  
  

Virtualization Technology

• Virtualization uses software to create a virtual computer with its own storage space and operating system. Because of the power of today's modern processors, virtualization allows you to run several virtual machines on the same physical computer, reducing the amount of hardware needed in your server room and lowering your costs. Virtualization also allows you to run more than one operating system on the same computer, and to run software that the computer would otherwise be unable to (such as Linux software on a Windows computer). Xeon processors include Intel Virtualization Technology, making virtual machines perform as well as possible on current hardware.
  
  

Eight Cores

• As of 2010, Intel Xeon processors include as many as eight distinct processor cores in the same package. You can increase this number by using a motherboard with multiple processor sockets and installing more than one Xeon. With a multi-core processor, each processor core can work on a command or program thread independently of the others. Using a server operating system optimized for a multi-core environment ensures that if one user generates a particularly strenuous workload on the server, it will still have resources available for the other users on the network.