Intel presents custom Haswell processor for Amazon

Intel has made a modified version of a Haswell processor for Amazon. The web store uses the processor for its EC2 web service. It is still a pre-announcement: Amazon has not yet put the processor into use.

The processor for Amazon is based on an Intel Xeon E5-2666 v3 with a clock speed of 2.9GHz and Turbo Boost to 3.5GHz, the web store writes. This processor is not yet found in Intel’s processor database. With the processor, especially heavier web services such as online games should be able to handle C4 instances, Amazon thinks. In the heaviest configuration, there are 36 virtual CPUs available with 60GB of RAM and a throughput of 10Gbit/s.

The processor is based on Intel’s Haswell architecture and the processor maker has it manufactured at 22nm. Intel is making custom processors for existing customers more often: this year alone, thirty major customers are expected to get custom Intel processors. Intel counts Oracle, eBay and Facebook among its major customers.