(PR) AMD Releases 6-core Istanbul CPU for servers
New Six-Core AMD Opteron™ Processor Delivers Up to Thirty-Four Percent More Performance-per-Watt in Exact Same Platform
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced availability of the world’s first six-core server processor with Direct Connect Architecture for two-, four- and eight-socket servers. Six-Core AMD Opteron™ processors (code-named “Istanbul”) extend AMD’s commitment to offering server customers superior value at every price point with unmatched platform flexibility.
Across a single platform, AMD can address the need for more cores and greater scalability with the new Six-Core AMD Opteron processor and offer a cost- and power-efficient solution with Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors. Systems based on Six-Core AMD Opteron processors are expected to be available beginning this month from leading OEMs including Cray, Dell, HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems, along with support from motherboard and infrastructure partners. HE, SE and EE versions of the Six-Core AMD Opteron processor are planned for the second half of 2009.
- Six-Core AMD Opteron processors leverage existing platform infrastructure and a low-cost, power-efficient DDR-2 memory architecture which can help lower system acquisition costs;
- HPC, virtualization and database workloads can benefit from increased 4P STREAM memory bandwidth of up to 60 percent1 enabled by HyperTransport™ technology HT Assist, which helps reduce processor to processor latency and traffic;
- AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) technology and the AMD-P suite of power management features are available across all performance and power bands, ensuring no-compromise choice;
- The new Six-Core AMD Opteron processor has up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt over the previous generation quad-core processors in the exact same platform.2 (AMD Opteron™ processor Model 2435 [SPECpower_ssj™2008 overall 1297 ssj_ops/watt, 501,246 ssj_ops at 287W @ 100% target load] compared to AMD Opteron™ processor Model 2382 [SPECpower_ssj™2008 overall 970 ssj_ops/watt,376,878 ssj_ops at 272W @ 100% target load])
“Based on close collaboration with our customers, we believe there is a clear value shift changing the economics of the server market,” said Patrick Patla, vice president and general manager, Server and Workstation Business, AMD. “The new Six-Core AMD Opteron processor meets the increasing need for a combination of low total cost of ownership, superior performance-per-watt and scalability. Simply put, Six-Core AMD Opteron processors deliver top-line performance that’s bottom-line efficient.”
Key Product Features
- Six true cores
- HyperTransport™ Technology Assist (HT Assist)
- Increased HT3 bandwidth
- AMD-P power management technologies
- AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) technology
- Same power/thermal ranges as Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ processors
Feature Details
HyperTransport™ Technology Assist (HT Assist) reduces cache probe traffic between processors, which can result in faster queries in 4 and 8-way servers that can increase performance for cache sensitive applications such as database, virtualization, and compute intensive applications.
HyperTransport™ 3.0 Technology (HT3) increases interconnect rate from 2GT/s with HT1 up to a maximum 4.8GT/s with HT3, helping improve overall system balance and scalability.
Integrated DDR2 DRAM Memory Controller: Low-Power Memory To Reduce Power Consumption
AMD’s Integrated Memory Controller works exclusively with high bandwidth, energy-efficient DDR2 memory. It incorporates Memory RAS for increased fault tolerance to reduce system downtime and increase system reliability.
AMD-P Power Management Technologies
- Enhanced AMD PowerNow!™ Technology with Independent Dynamic Core Technology allows each core to vary its frequency, based on the specific needs of the application. This allows for more precise power management to reduce data center energy consumption and thereby reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).
- Dual Dynamic Power Management™ allows each processor to maximize the power-saving benefits of Enhanced AMD PowerNow! technology without compromising performance. Dual Dynamic Power Management can reduce idle power consumption and allow for per-processor power management in multi-socket systems to decrease power consumption.
- AMD CoolCore™ Technology evaluates which parts of the die – the cores, the memory, or both – are needed to support currently running applications. It can cut power to unused transistor areas to reduce power consumption and lower heat generation.
- AMD PowerCap Manager gives an IT manager the ability to put a cap on the P-state level of the cores via the BIOS. This can help reduce processor power consumption of a system.
- AMD Smart Fetch Technology enables inactive cores to write contents of their L1 and L2 caches to the shared L3 cache. This can allow the inactive cores to enter a “halt” state and draw less power, reducing CPU power consumption.
AMD Virtualization™ Technologies
- Rapid Virtualization Indexing and Tagged-TLB were developed to allow the translation of virtual to physical memory addresses in hardware instead of software. This helps decrease latency, improve performance, and increase the number of virtual machines running on each physical machine—allowing for a higher performing, more flexible IT environment.
- Extended Migration allows movement of a virtual machine between two physical machines running AMD Opteron™ processors on many virtualization software solutions. AMD Extended Migration is backward compatible with Single-, Dual-, Quad-, and Six-Core AMD Opteron processors.
- AMD-Vi supports I/O level virtualization which provides direct control of devices by a virtual machine (requires SR5690/SR5670 chipsets). This improves performance through direct assignment of devices to a guest OS, and improves isolation and helps improves security for the VM’s.
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