Of course, it's not quite apples-for-apples when comparing a chip designed for a mobile phone with one designed for the server. Xeon chips are significantly more powerful when it comes to pure number crunching, for example. But SeaMicro argues that many typical server applications just don't require that kind of power. Running a Web server, for example, requires little more than the capability to shift lots of little pieces of data from one place to another.

Able to run standard x86 software, just like virtually any other Intel/AMD-based server, the SM10000-64 also overcomes any migration concerns server admins might have.

At just under $150,000 in its base configuration, the SM10000-64 is clearly a specialized tool. SeaMicro's first attempt at an Atom-based server, the SM10000, was picked-up by Skype, France Telecom, China Netcom Broadband and various other high-end users.

SeaMicro management is keeping quiet on whether it'll produce a smaller and less expensive version, although in a comment to BizFeed today a spokesperson said SeaMicro's technology is extremely scalable and that the company is "able to build larger systems appropriate for container size deployments as well as smaller systems," adding, "We will let the market guide us as to which we choose to do next."

The technology relies on standard PCI-Express cards loaded with four dual-core Atom chips, along with SeaMicro's own logic chips, so there's theoretically no reason why the technology can't be scaled down to make a multiple-processor Atom-based server that could fit in 1 unit of rack space.