AMD launches Quad-Core Opteron

When a new baby is brought into the world, one of the first things that it receives is a name and "Quad-Core Opteron" is the moniker that AMD's quad-core platform (formerly known by the code-name "Barcelona") was christened with upon its arrival today. AMD is calling the Quad-Core Opteron "the world's most advanced x86 processor ever designed and manufactured and the first native x86 quad-core microprocessor." As you'll recall, the "native" distinction comes from the fact that the Opteron manages to fit all four cores on a single processor die--in contrast to competing quad-core chips from Intel. AMD is currently selling nine different versions of the chip, all of which are manufactured using a 65nm process, boast 512KB of level two cache per core and 2MB of shared cache. The top-of-the-line Opteron 8350 clocks in at 2.0Ghz and pricing for the chips ranges from $209 to $1,019 for quantities over 1,000.

While we've seen Intel maintaining a performance lead during the past few months, AMD's Quad-Core Opteron still has quite a few things going for it. Most notable is the chip's energy efficiency, thanks to a number of proprietary, power-saving technologies: Dual Dynamic Power Management, CoolCore, and Independent Dynamic Core Technology. CoolCore is particularly interesting; it allows individual components in the processor to be turned off when not in use. AMD says that the Quad-Core Opterons have shipped to OEM server manufacturers--expect announcements from Sun, IBM, HP and Dell later this week.

For more on the launch of the Quad-Core Opterons:
- see this press release
- and this Ars Technica article