AMD Planning 16-Core Server Chip For 2011 Release

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(PhysOrg.com) -- AMD is in the process of designing a server chip with up to 16-cores. Code named Interlagos, the server chip will contain between 12 and 16 cores and will be available in 2011.

Pat Patia, VP of AMD's server platform unit stated that increasing chip core counts will improve performance and reduce power consumption by the processors. The increase of server chip cores can reduce the total power consumption and server count in a data center.

The 16-core chips can be deployed in servers with two to four chip sockets thereby maximizing each server with up to 64 cores. The chip will be part of AMD's Opteron 6000 series chips.

AMD's Opteron chips compete with Intel's 8-core version of its Xeon server chips, code named Nehalem-EX, which is due for release in 2010.

AMD's future chips will integrate advanced power management features and improved instruction sets for better task executions in virtualized environments. By manually capping the power drawn by cores, users will be able to better control power consumption.

Along with AMD's new server chips, there are plans to add additional memory and cache support in the server platforms. One feature that would be lacking in these new chips is multithreading which allows cores to execute multiple threads and task simultaneously; this feature however is currently used in Intel's chips.

The new chips, made by AMD, will be made using the 32-nanometer manufacturing process which is more energy efficient and has better performance than the current 45-nanometer process.

AMD's goal is to add more complex features onto the surface of a processor chip so that it can handle a larger number of applications.

© 2009 PhysOrg.com

   

• Bob_Kob - Apr 27, 2009
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  So why cant we plug these into our computers now...
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• jaggspb - Apr 27, 2009
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  That would be the same reason why you can't plug any cpu into any motherboard. Motherboards are only designed for a certain set of cpu's. That's like saying why can't I plug in any engine into my car and expect it to work right or at all.
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• El_Nose - Apr 27, 2009
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  i think the better question is why isn't parrallel programming a mandatory paradigm --- who cares how many cores you have is the program only know how to use one. Most applications are STILL not designed to handle more than one core, heck they can;t truely handle more than one processor to maximum effect. We need to shift to a new paradigm of application design.
  
  -- please comment on this
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• jaggspb - Apr 27, 2009
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  I agree with you El. I see chip makers trying to hardware their way to better software utilization of these multicores much like they are trying to figure out how to hardware their ways to make more secure programs. Not sure if it is the right path though.
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• NeilFarbstein - Apr 27, 2009
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  Inter lagos is a big scam.
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• ghinckley68 - Apr 28, 2009
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  as a software eng I will say this it is not really necessary for 99% of the software on the market to use multiple cores. It slows most software down. It makes debugging a nightmare and greatly complicates development. the avg program even on a single core cpu, most of the time will barely use 1% of a modern cpu.
  This cpu is intended for the virtualaztion market ie where a server runs multiple OS under virtual machines.
  It is not an end user CPU although I am sure people will use it as that.
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