We received Dell's latest R810 server for review, coupled with the Intel Xeon X7560. The R810 supports two or four octal-core Intel Xeon Nehalem EX processors, with the potential of running up to 64 threads and half a Terabyte of memory. It also includes enhanced RAS features and hopes to compete with the RISC heavyweights like IBM's Power 7 servers, only at a much lower cost.

With stiff competition from AMD's Magny-Cours servers, IT professionals need to focus more than ever on the intended use before diving into a new server. We'll show where the Xeon EX does well and where other solutions have an advantage as we look at the R810 and Nehalem EX.

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