| Q: | What markets are you targeting with the AMD Opteron™ 200 Series processors?
| | A: | Single- and Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ 200 Series processors with Direct Connect Architecture are for use in two-way servers or workstations. Enterprise workloads typically benefiting from two-way server processing include Web servers, file & print servers, Java application servers and email servers, as well as clustered two-way servers good for heavier-duty workloads such as database and decision support/data warehousing. Two-way standalone and clustered systems are also frequently used for high-performance computing applications such as life sciences, oil & gas and other engineering applications. Workstation applications that take advantage of the performance of the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture include digital content creation, mechanical and electrical design, financial analysis, 3-D modeling, and engineering applications such as oil & gas, EDA, scientific visualization and CFD. |
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| | Q: | Why dual-core now? Who needs dual-core?
| | A: | Customers and end users currently face thermal and environmental challenges with today’s computing platforms. AMD64 dual-core technology will deliver the best-balanced solution to meet their computing demands within a given power envelope. Multi-core processors will help to break through today’s single-core performance limitations, and provide the performance capacity to tackle more advanced software.
AMD64 dual-core technology can improve system efficiency and application performance in today’s multi-threaded and multi-tasking environments. The Direct Connect Architecture of all AMD Opteron processors enables superior performance on multi-threaded and symmetric multi-processing (SMP)-capable operating systems and applications because the AMD Opteron processors offer SMP capabilities at the processor level, not the system level.
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| | Q: | What are the features of the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor?
| | A: | Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors feature:
- The best performance for multi-threading and multi-tasking needs in x86 server environments.
- Attractive pricing to encourage customers to drive rapid dual-core adoption.
- The industry’s best x86 dual-core architecture —AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture, which directly connects multiple processor cores, the memory controller and the I/O directly to the central processor unit and helps eliminate the bottlenecks inherent in a traditional front-side bus.
- Best performance-per-watt architecture in the market, because all Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors operate within the same power envelopes as our single-core 90nm processors.
- Best performing one-way, two-way and four-way x86 server and workstation processors in the industry.
- The investment protection of not only the best 64-bit platform but also the best performing 32-bit platform.
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| | Q: | Explain AMD’s model number system for the AMD Opteron processor. What are the frequencies of the processors in relation to the model numbers?
| | A: | AMD Opteron processors are described by a three-digit model number. The first number indicates the maximum scalability of the processor. Thus, the AMD Opteron 100 Series processors can be used in one-way servers or workstations while the AMD Opteron 800 Series processors can be used in up to eight-way servers and workstations. The second two digits indicate relative performance within the series. So, for example, a Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 280 outperforms a Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 275. |
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| | Q: | Has AMD changed the model number scheme for the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors?
| | A: | Yes. The model numbers for the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors will begin with 165, 265 and 865 and advance in increments of five versus increments of two like the single-core processors. This reflects how dual-core processors scale more than single-core processors. |
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| | Q: | What models of the AMD Opteron 200 Series processor are available now?
| | A: | The AMD Opteron 200 Series is currently available in single-core Models 254, 252, 250, 248, 246, 244 and 242 and in dual-core Models 280, 275, 270 and 265. |
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| | Q: | What are the prices of the AMD Opteron processors?
| | A: | Please see AMD Processor Pricing for a complete listing of prices for single- and dual-core processors. |
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| | Q: | What motherboard support is available for these processors?
| | A: | The single-core AMD Opteron 200 Series processors with Direct Connect Architecture are currently supported by motherboards from manufacturers such as Abit, Arima, ASUS, Gigabyte, IWill, MSI, Newisys, SuperMicro and Tyan for 2-way servers and workstations. More information on specific boards and configurations can be found in the system component information.
Motherboards that support 90nm, single-core AMD Opteron processors can be upgraded to support Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors with a BIOS update. No hardware changes are required. |
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| | Q: | What OEMs or system builders are offering systems featuring the 200 Series of the AMD Opteron processor?
| | A: | Leading OEMs Egenera, Fujitsu-Siemens Computer, HP, IBM and Sun, along with regional system builders, currently offer two-way systems including workstations, servers and blades based on the single-core and Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture and are expected to add the newest version, the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 280, to their current and new platforms. Please contact the OEM for information on specific configurations supported and planned. |
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| | Q: | What is the memory capability of the AMD Opteron 200 Series processor?
| | A: | In addition to providing world-class 32-bit performance, the AMD Opteron 200 Series processors are 64-bit capable, allowing them to support very large memory (up to 1TB of physical memory), well beyond the 4GB limit of competing 32-bit processors. In server and workstation environments based on 2P systems, this large memory addressability can benefit enterprise workloads including large databases, business processing (ERP, CRM, SCM) and business intelligence, as well as other IT infrastructure applications including heavy-duty Web serving and messaging. Workstation applications that can take advantage of the performance of the AMD Opteron processor include oil & gas, EDA, scientific and engineering [such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or finite element analysis], digital content creation (DCC), mechanical and electrical design, financial analysis, and 3-D modeling. With its 128-bit integrated memory controller and three HyperTransport™ technology links that together offer up to 24.0GB/s of I/O bandwidth per processor, the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture can provide a higher level of performance for multi-threaded applications by reducing memory latency (e.g., the CPU can get information more quickly and in turn produces results more quickly).
The AMD Opteron processor is based on AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture, which helps eliminate the bottlenecks inherent in traditional front-side bus architectures and, instead, directly connects processors, memory controller and I/O to the central processor unit for improving overall system performance and efficiency.
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| | Q: | What chipset support is available for these processors?
| | A: | The AMD Opteron 200 Series processors are supported by the AMD-8000™ series of chipsets. This series includes the new AMD-8132™ HyperTransport PCI-X® 2.0 tunnel, the AMD-8131™ HyperTransport PCI-X Tunnel, AMD-8111™ HyperTransport I/O Hub and the AMD-8151™ HyperTransport AGP3.0 Graphics Tunnel. In addition, VIA offers the VIA K8T800 chipset. NVIDIA supports the AMD Opteron 200 Series processors with the NVIDIA nForce3 Pro 150 and 250 chipsets and the NVIDIA nForce Professional 2200 and 2050 chipsets that support PCI-Express. Serverworks offers HT2000 and HT1000 chipsets that support PCI-Express.
Since the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors are designed to be completely compatible with single-core AMD Opteron processors, all chipsets that currently support the AMD Opteron processor will also support the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors.
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| | Q: | What benchmarks are you providing for these processors?
| | A: | Workstation benchmarks include Fluent, Cinebench 2003, Cadalyst 2001, Maya and SoftImage XSI. Server benchmarks include SPECfp®_rate2000, SPECint_rate2000, SPECjbb2000, SPECweb99_SSL, MMB3, SAP Standard Application Sales and Distribution (SD), TPC-H™, WebBench, NetBench and SPECjAppServer2002.
For more information, please see the benchmarks or the specific organization Web site. |
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| | Q: | What software supports these processors?
| | A: | As a backward-compatible x86 microprocessor, the AMD Opteron processor is designed to support all existing 32-bit server and workstation operating systems from Microsoft® (Windows® Server 2003, Windows XP, etc.), major Linux distributors (RedHat, SuSE, TurboLinux, SCO, MandrakeSoft), and Sun Solaris. In addition, several 64-bit operating systems exist in production versions (Windows 64-bit editions, RedHat Enterprise Advanced Server 4.0, TurboLinux 10 Server, Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.3, UnitedLinux V1, MandrakeLinux Corporate Version 3.0, NetBSD, Solaris 10) and several more are in development. For an up-to-date listing of 32- and 64-bit software applications that support AMD64 technology and AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture, visit the AMD64 Ecosystem.
For multi-tasking and multi-threaded environments, two cores offer more physical resources, enabling operating systems to prioritize and manage tasks from multiple applications simultaneously and, therefore, maximize performance. Dual-core AMD64 processors are compatible with the existing base of x86 software, whether it is single-threaded, multi-threaded or hyperthreaded. This means the more than 1,300 applications from more than 300 ISVs and open-source software organizations that are featured in the AMD64 Ecosystem will be able to support AMD64 dual-core processors with a simple BIOS upgrade and no substantial code changes.
More than 30 strategic software partners joined AMD in the launch of AMD64 dual-core technology, including market-leading vendors for operating systems, development tools and database, IT infrastructure, engineering and graphic design tools. The industry’s leading operating systems — Windows 64-bit editions, Solaris 10 and Linux dual-core-compatible operating systems — are all optimized for AMD64 dual-core technology. |
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| | Q: | Are the AMD Opteron 200 Series processors available through the Validated Server Program?
| | A: | Yes, the Validated Server Program offers systems based on the single-core and Dual-Core AMD Opteron 200 Series processors. For more information, see the Validated Server Program.
The Sanmina-SCI 2100 Server is available through the Validated Server Program. Systems/barebones that have passed AMD’s Thermal Testing process include products from Accelertech, Arima, Avnet, CCSI, Dawning, MSI, Sanmina/SCI, Tatung, Tyan and Uniwide. For more information on these products, see the list of thermally tested barebones platforms. |
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