AMD unveils new multi-core chip
The dual-core Next-Generation Opteron processor introduced by AMD in Santa Clara, California, was touted as providing more power without drawing more electricity than its predecessor.
The new Opteron was also said to set the stage for an AMD quad-core chip to be released in the middle of 2007.
AMD’s market-dominating Silicon Valley rival Intel recently announced plans to begin selling quad-core processors by the end of this year.
AMD downplayed Intel’s apparent lead, saying its rival was merely sandwiching two of its new Xeon dual-core chips while AMD was crafting four computer brains onto a single die in a way that would use less electricity.
Multi-core chips were becoming the norm for the computer market, particularly for business servers, AMD spokesman Phil Hughes said.
"If you bought a server today with a mother board that used a Next-Generation Opteron processor you would be able to swap out the processor when quad-core is available," Hughes told AFP.
The Next-Generation Opteron improved performance by as much as 25% without increasing the power consumption of its AMD predecessor, Hughes said.
Some of the nearly two dozen models of Opteron chip released on Tuesday outperform their Intel counterparts, AMD claimed.
"Today’s announcement represents continued innovation along the customer-directed path we blazed years ago," AMD Server and Workstation Vice President Randy Allen said in a statement.
"We provide the complete x86 processor architectural standard for others in the industry to emulate and have planned a seamless upgrade path to quad-core processors."
AMD first marketed Opteron processors in 2003 and posted record Opteron sales in its second fiscal quarter of 2006.
AMD was eating away at Intel’s market share before Intel unveiled its family of speedy, power-sipping dual-core Xeon processors last month.
Intel cut prices on earlier model processors to clear the way for the millions of dual-core chips being pumped out of its facilities worldwide.
INet-Bridge || Discuss this article
Loading ...