World’s Highest Performing 4p And 2p X86 Processors For 32-Bit And 64-Bit Computing

Since the launch of the AMD Opteron processor, AMD has led the industry with flawless execution on enterprise products and we take great pride in the strong endorsements from our enterprise customers,” said Marty Seyer, corporate vice president and general manager of the Microprocessor Business Unit, Computation Products Group, AMD. “These models of the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture bring the newest level of performance to our customers. The platforms our partners launched today feature the world’s highest performing 4P and 2P processors for 32- and 64-bit computing.”

AMD has made significant enhancements to the AMD Opteron processor with these new models. Performance-enhancing features include support for SSE3 software instructions as well as an increase in the HyperTransport performance through an increase in bus frequency, to 1GHz.

Server and workstation systems featuring the AMD Opteron processor will soon be enabled with AMD PowerNow!™ technology with Optimized Power Management. “This technology helps to minimize overall power consumption for enterprise IT and workstation customers by decreasing strain on datacenter cooling and ventilation systems,” said Seyer.

Industry support
With the support of more than 300 independent software vendors and open source software organizations worldwide, representing 1,050 software packages, AMD64 technology has become the industry standard for simultaneous 32-/64-bit computing. AMD continues to demonstrate growing momentum in the enterprises market, with more than 40 percent of the Forbes Global 100 companies or their affiliates now using AMD Opteron processor-based systems. Today, AMD OEM and system builder partners introduced several new platforms based on the award-winning processor.

“HP is responding to customer demand for new levels of performance and price-performance by expanding our ProLiant and Workstation portfolios, reinforcing our leading position in standards-based computing,” said Paul Miller, vice president of marketing, Industry Standard Servers and BladeSystem, HP. “Together, with AMD’s delivery of the powerful new AMD Opteron processors Model 252 and 852, we’re announcing high-performance, dense and power-efficient ProLiant blade servers. In addition, we are expanding the most-trusted server family with the ProLiant DL385 and delivering the new HP xw9300 Workstation. Setting the stage for the next generation of performance, these systems are designed with dual core in mind, providing our customers with a compelling choice when it comes to meeting their most demanding x86 performance needs.”

"IBM was the first major vendor to offer AMD Opteron processor-based servers. The high-performance A-Pro IntelliStation and the IBM e326, which has been designed to support the AMD dual-core specification, both continue to deliver the performance and flexibility that our customers demand," said Leo Suarez, vice president, eServer division, IBM Systems and Technology Group. "IBM eServer technology like Xtended Design Architecture, combined with the latest AMD Opteron processor models, further enhances our ability to meet customers' growing need for optimal performance per watt."

“Our x64 (64-bit x86) systems powered by AMD Opteron processors provide our customers with the highest levels of performance and flexibility, to develop and deploy applications on virtually any operating system with seamless 32- and 64-bit compatibility,” said Lisa Sieker, vice president, Network Systems Group, Sun Microsystems, Inc. “We recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of our alliance with AMD and will soon be celebrating an extremely successful first year selling systems based on the AMD Opteron processor. We’ve enjoyed rapid double-digit growth in these high-volume markets and look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with AMD.”

Sun Microsystems currently has a robust line of AMD Opteron processor-based systems, including the Sun Java Workstation W1100z, Sun Java Workstation W2100z, the 2P Sun Fire V20z server and the 4P Sun Fire V40z x64 servers. All are designed to include the newest AMD Opteron processors.

As the latest solution provider to offer AMD Opteron processor-based servers, Egenera today announced two-way and four-way Processing Blade configurations for the Egenera BladeFrame system—a new computing architecture that simplifies the datacenter and reduces operational complexity to support a highly responsive business.

Pricing and Availability
The AMD Opteron processor Models 852 and 252 will be available to partners within 30 days. Volume server solutions based on the AMD Opteron processor Models 852 and 252 are expected to be available this quarter. The AMD Opteron processor Model 852 is priced at $1,514 in 1,000-unit quantities, Model 252 is priced at $851 in 1,000-unit quantities. The AMD Opteron processor Model 152, for single-processor workstations and entry-level servers, is scheduled to be available April 30 and will be priced at $637 in 1,000-unit quantities.