Intel formally announced the introduction of the new 3500 and 5500 series Nehalem-based Xeon processors.

The 3500 series chips are meant for single-socket systems while the 5500's are meant to dual-socket configurations. According to both series of chips will be available with speeds up to 3.2GHz and feature Intel's turbo boost, hyper-threading, virtualization support, and integrated power gates.

Xeon 3500 processors will cost between US$289-$999 while the Xeon 5500's will run between US$188-$1600. New Mac Pro owners have already had access to the new Xeons, and Dell and Lenovo will have workstations available soon. Intel says that there will be over 230 systems available with the new Xeons before the year is up.