News
AMD Adds Opteron Models
- By Scott Bekker
- September 09, 2003
AMD fleshed outs its line of Opteron processors on Tuesday, introducing a new model for entry-level systems and a new model for four- to eight-way systems. Opteron is AMD's competitive challenge to Intel's Itanium processors. Unlike current Itaniums, Opterons are designed to use the x86 instruction set for 64-bit computing to provide a more seamless transition from 32-bit to 64-bit applications.
The AMD Opteron Model 846 is designed for four-processor and eight-processor systems. The Opteron Model 146 is for workstations and entry-level servers. While AMD is critical of the clockspeed ratings that Intel uses to indicate the performance of its processor, both the new 846 and 146 processors run at 2.0 GHz. Architectural differences between the company's approaches do make clockspeed comparisons between their offerings meaningless.
The top-of-the-line Opteron 846 is available immediately in North America for a list price of $3,199 each in 1,000-unit quantities. That compares with $3,692 each for Intel's 32-bit, top-of-the-line Xeon MP server processor, and $4,227 each for Intel's 64-bit, top-of-the-line Itanium 2.
The Opteron 146 costs $669 each and is available immediately worldwide.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.