The Inquirer reports that Intel's Sandy Bridge E server chips, also known as the Xeon E5 series, are set to debut week.



From MacRumors:

According to the report, the chips have been in the distribution channel for several weeks now, meaning that manufacturers utilizing the chips, as Apple would be expected to do in an updated Mac Pro, will be able to hit the ground running.Boston confirmed to The INQUIRER that Xeon E5 chips have been in the channel for a few weeks now and confirmed to us that it won't be a paper launch. We have also been shown Xeon E5 systems from other large vendors that give credence to the notion that Intel's Xeon E5 will arrive, for real, next week.Benchmarks are evidently still under embargo until next week, but the Xeon E5 chips will undoubtedly be a vast improvement over the chips found in the current Mac Pro, which hasn't been updated since mid-2010. Other companies such as Dell have already begun announcing new products based on the Xeon E5, meaning that Apple could be ready with Mac Pro updates in the relatively near future.

  Mac Pro Update Now Possible with New Xeon E5 Chips Next Week