Ending the Woodcrest avilability debate once and for all
For anyone still confused after the trolls on this board have had their say, let's take a moment to stop and collect the data.
Dell and HP are both introducing Woodcrest servers, they have their websites enabled with configurable options, and they have an estimated ship date that they will need to answer to, for anyone who happens to purchase through them.
It's important to note the following:
1. Dell and HP together account for >50% of the overall server market. Their shipments alone constitute a major launch ramp.
2. While they are still offering their older models, the new Woodcrest systems offer far greater performance/watt and have attractive pricing, so it's likely that they will be big sellers right from the start.
3. Dell's and HP's current estimated ship dates for Woodcrest put them in mid-July, which sounds disappointing relative to a late June launch. However, once the rest of the data is viewed, it will become apparent that this is a general build time applicable to all server parts, not Woodcrest in particular.
For example, Dell's Woodcrest server, the PowerEdge 2950, comes with a ship date of 7/13/2006. For comparison, their previous generation server, the PowerEdge 2850, comes with a ship date of 7/7/2006.
In terms of HP, their configurable Woodcrest server, the ProLiant DL380 G5, has a ship date of 7/16/2006. Their older Xeon model, the ProLiant DL380 G4, has a ship date of 7/11/2006 or 7/17/2006 depending on the model. Their reconfigurable Opteron server, the ProLiant DL385, has a ship date of 7/13/2006.
Given the data, it's pretty obvious that Dell and HP are commiting to ship dates within only a couple of days of one another. This is not indicative of paper launched parts, no matter what the trolls say.
The data has spoken, and it's time to end the debate. Don't feed the trolls. They have no intention of arguing the facts. They just want to come in and throw their FUD without any regard for intellectual honesty. It's pathetic, and the best thing to do is not encourage it by responding.
Based on the volumes from these OEMs, it's clear that Woodcrest is going to ramp quickly and effectively. Intel has done very well with this launch, and hopefully it's the beginning of a new era of leadership from them. Too bad for the 'Droids that today marks the beginning of the end for AMD's gains in this market.
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