Intel's newest top-line Itanium 2 processor is due to arrive Nov. 8, according to sources familiar with the plans.

The processor, an upgraded member of the Madison line, boosts high-speed cache memory from 6MB to 9MB--thus its nickname: Madison 9M. In addition, Intel is expected to update the rest of its Itanium 2 family, adding a lower-end model for dual-processor servers and a low-voltage model for servers that are packed densely together.

The launch is expected to dovetail with the release of the Top500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers. NASA's new Columbia supercomputer, a top contender for the No. 1 spot, includes the newer chips as part of Silicon Graphics Inc.'s new Altix 3700 Bx2 server.

SGI had said Columbia could perform 42.7 trillion calculations per second, or 42.7 teraflops. But an unpublished test that included the new Itanium 2 9M processors clocked the machine at 51.9 teraflops.

The newer chips in Columbia boost software performance significantly, Richard Dracott, general manager of Intel's enterprise platforms group, said Tuesday at the unveiling of the supercomputer. "We're seeing a 30 to 40 percent improvement in some of the codes," he said.