The VA's Northwest Network isn't running Solaris, which is the only operating system that the T1 chip supports today. Sullivan said he will be more interested when Sun adds Linux support to T1. The company last week pledged to enable Linux support but hasn't said when it will arrive.

Sun last week unveiled a pair of T1-based Solaris servers and at the same time began an effort to convince IT managers of the benefits of the chip's increased performance and low power consumption.

IT managers looking hard at heating and cooling issues are getting some help from other chip vendors as well.

For instance, Intel Corp. plans to release early next year a dual-core chip, code-named Sossaman, that uses 31 watts of power. In contrast, Intel's highest-performing dual-core Xeon, the Paxville MP, uses 165 watts. And Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has made the relatively low power usage of its dual-core Opteron chips (55 to 95 watts) a key selling point.

Lower-power chips may offer IT operations some help, but it was clear to attendees at the Gartner Data Center Conference here last week that server densities are moving inexorably higher as more performance is packed into chips to meet the growing needs of many users. Consumption Grows