Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Launches New Microprocessor

After many months of stalling, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. launched the latest generation of microprocessors for servers, known under the code name Barcelona. Officially named Quad-Core Opteron, the new CPU is expected to put the company back on track after the drop in sales on the server market that was recorded lately.

Nine versions of the Barcelona will be available, all being designed using the 65nm technology. These will be the first AMD processors with 4 cores, and the first for server microprocessors built using this technology, the precedent models were created using the 90nm technology.

The new models that were released from AMD are:

- Quad-Core Opteron 8350 - 2Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 8347 - 1.9Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 8347HE - 1.9Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 8346HE - 1.8Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 2350 - 2Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 2347 - 1.9Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 2347HE - 1.9Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 2346HE - 1.8Ghz
- Quad-Core Opteron 2344HE - 1.7Ghz

All the chips are equipped with a 2MB L2 cache (512KB for each core). The first digit of the model indicates the destination of the microprocessors: 8 for the servers that have 8 processors, 2 for the single or dual processor. It is to be mentioned that the TDP (Therman Design Power) does not indicate the maximum processor usage, but the quantity of heat that the systems need to be able to withstand in extreme conditions.

The price of the microprocessors, ranges from $209 for the Quad-Core Opteron 2344HE, to $1019 which is the price of the Quad-Core Opteron 8350. These prices are available only for purchases of more than 1000 products at a time.

AMD claims that the new microprocessors are much faster than the previous series, an Opteron Quad-Core at 2Ghz, is 79% faster than an old series microprocessor, at 3Ghz. Also, five single-core microprocessors are needed to reach the power of a quad-core. The statements are justified, because the new processors have a large increase in performance.

An interesting aspect is the fact that each core is capable of running at different speeds than the other, allowing this way the dynamic management of the ticks, depending on the speed that is needed at the moment.

Different with Intel, and the same as all microprocessors released by AMD in the last years, the Quad-Core Opteron memory controller is integrated in the CPU, which makes the core, controller transfer speed relatively faster.

Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard,IBM and Dell have announced the release of more than 50 systems that will include Quad-Core Opteron processors, which is a great support for AMD in their goal to take over the microprocessor market.

Even if the actual series of microprocessors, will pass Intel on the performance, and energy saving chapter, the victory will be short for AMD, with the release of the Penryn, expected in November. The new Intel chip is designed based on the 45nm technology, and will have a much larger cache than all the Intel microprocessors released until now. On the other hand, AMD will release microprocessors that will have a faster speed than the Barcelona, reaching 2.3 Ghz, at the end of the year, increasing the frequency of which they operate during 2008.

Source: www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~119768,00.html