HP is dropping its line of Intel Itanium-powered workstations to concentrate on chips capable of running both 32-bit and 64-bit software.

Itanium-based client workstations the HP zx6000 and zx2000 are due to be discontinued immediately, although existing customers will be supported for the next five years, the firm promised.

"In working with and listening to our high-performance workstation partners and customers, we have become aware that the focus in this arena is being driven towards 64-bit extension technology," said HP in a statement.

"For the best price/performance balance and advanced 3D graphics capabilities, HP recommends its new HP Workstations xw4200, xw6200 and xw8200, based on the x64 architecture from Intel.

"Customers needing a stable HP-UX solution with 3D graphics are encouraged to investigate PA-Risc workstations."

The move comes as a blow to Intel as, according to analysts IDC and Gartner, HP accounted for over 50 per cent of the Itanium workstation market. HP engineers who had been working on the company's own Alpha processor line later co-developed the Itanium chipset with Intel.

"We're aware of HP's plan," said Intel in a statement. "The workstation market has never been a main focus of Itanium-based solutions, as our family of Intel Xeon processors provides the best overall price and performance.

"As analyst figures show, Xeon-based systems have grown significantly in popularity over the past several years."