Monday, April 16, 2012

AMD Ready to Launch New Opteron Processor Models

AMD Ready to Launch New Opteron Processor Models

In the battle for the server market, AMD has reportedly started shipping faster CPUs on almost every front. Updated versions of its CPUs started to appear in the energy efficient line, the top line, the dual socket line and the quad socket versions.

For those that need a reminder, AMD’s Opteron CPUs, designed for the new C32 and G34 sockets, use a four digit numbering scheme.

The first digit refers to the number of sockets that the platform supports.

4xxx Opteron CPUs support single processor and dual processor platforms and 6xxx Opteron CPUs are designed for dual or quad processors systems.

The second digit in the numbering scheme denotes the generation of the architecture that’s inside the CPU.

“1” means that the processor belongs to the K10 family of CPUs, like the "Magny-Cours" and "Lisbon" chips.

“2” refers to the newer processors, based on the “Bulldozer” architecture like “Interlagos” and “Valencia.”

The last two digits are related to the clockspeed of the server CPU: the greater the numbers, the higher the working frequency.

The HE or EE denominators refer to the TDP level of the chip. HE comes from high-efficiency and EE is short for energy-efficient.

The new server CPUs listed at online shops are the Opteron 4230 HE, the 6278 and the 6284 SE models.

The first one, the Opteron 6230 HE is a consumer version of the embedded processor with the same model number. It has a 2.9 GHz working frequency, 6 cores and comes with 8 MB L3 Cache while dissipating a maximum of 65 Watts when fully loaded.

The AMD Opteron 6278 and 6284 SE have sixteen cores, also sixteen megabytes of Level 3 cache and work at 2.4 GHz and 2.7 GHz respectively.

The rated TDP is 115W for the 6278 and 140W for the 6284 SE.