AMD has introduced the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, which it claims is the world's most advanced x86 processor ever designed and manufactured and the first native x86 quad-core microprocessor. Designed from inception for the most demanding datacenters, Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based servers from global OEMs and system builders can deliver breakthrough capabilities to customers in a time of dramatically escalating performance-per-watt emphasis.
Critical considerations for today's most challenging business requirements inspired Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor innovations: energy efficiency with a 50 percent increase in integer and floating-point performance, enhanced virtualization performance, and investment protection via a customer-centric approach enabling non-disruptive transitions from dual- to quad-core within the same power and thermal envelopes to help keep infrastructure costs down.
Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based systems from global OEM and system-builder partners begin shipping this month and are expected to increase in number through the remainder of the year. AMD Phenom processor solutions, which will leverage many of the same benefits of this innovative, next-generation architecture, are expected to be available for the desktop market in December.
Systems based on Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors have been announced by a host manufacturers, including IBM, HP, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Appro, Egenera, Gateway, Rackable Systems, Supermicro and Verari.
AMD introduces Average CPU Power (ACP)
In another development, AMD has also introduced the Average CPU Power (ACP) metric, which represents processor power usage, including cores, integrated memory controller, and HyperTransport technology links, while running a suite of typical and relevant commercially useful high utilization workloads to be more indicative of the power consumption that end-users can expect. ACP is a useful metric for data center operators when estimating power budgets to size their datacenters. AMD will continue to provide thermal design power (TDP) specifications to platform designers in AMD power and thermal datasheets.