AMD announces widespread availability and broad global OEM support for new quad-core AMD Opteron processor

With IT decision-makers looking to do more with less, the newest Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor can help drive data center efficiencies and reduce complexities with innovations that offer superior virtualization performance and increased performance-per-watt. Global OEMs are expected to immediately offer enterprise and SMB customers more than 25 systems, available between launch today and the end of the year, based on the 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, codenamed "Shanghai."

"Flawless execution in bringing the 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor to market early results in new performance leadership on x86 servers," said Randy Allen, senior vice president, Computing Solutions Group, AMD. "In concert with our OEM and solution provider partners, AMD is addressing the need for enterprises to focus on their bottom line while giving them the innovations they need to build for the future. This enhanced AMD Opteron processor represents the most dramatic performance and performance-per-watt increases for AMD products since the introduction of the world's first x86 dual-core processors by AMD nearly four years ago. Simply put, the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor is the right technology at the right time."

Performance Leadership that Addresses Urgent Business Requirements Today
Data center managers are facing escalating pressures from the computing demands of enterprise workloads, like web serving and database applications, and the need to do more with less in the current IT spending climate. Emerging technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization, which has posted 60% year over year growth3 in the second quarter of this year, are being rapidly deployed but require a balanced solution. The latest Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors further enhance AMD's unique Direct Connect Architecture and offer a superior balanced and scalable solution to support today's increasingly heterogeneous computing environments.

Unsurpassed Virtualization Performance

Through improvements to AMD's Direct Connect Architecture and innovative AMD-Virtualization (AMD-V) technology, 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors build on AMD's legacy as the virtualization platform of choice, with the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor already powering nine global OEM servers specifically designed for virtualization. The new processors deliver faster "world switch" time, which enhances virtual machine efficiency, and feature improved Rapid Virtualization Indexing, AMD's innovation in AMD-V that reduces the overhead associated with software virtualization.

Unequaled Energy-Efficiency

Already offering industry-leading x86 server processor performance-per-watt, 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors draw up to 35% less power at idle compared to the previous generation while delivering up to 35% more performance, and feature a number of new power-saving technologies. AMD Smart Fetch technology can help reduce power consumption by allowing cores to enter a "halt" state during processing idle times with zero impact on application performance and compliments AMD CoolCore technology, which reduces power to unused.

Unmatched Platform Stability

45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors continue AMD's leadership as the only x86 server microprocessor manufacturer to serve 2P to 8P servers with a single architecture, while maintaining socket and thermal compatibility with the previous generation of Quad-Core and Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors. This helps customers reduce platform management complexity and costs and increase data center uptime and productivity. These new processors fit into the existing Socket 1207 architecture and are also planned for use in the upcoming "Istanbul" processor, the next generation of AMD Opteron processors.

Global OEM Support

Due in part to the AMD Opteron processor's status as the industry's most manageable and consistent x86 server platform, global OEM and system-builder partners enjoyed a rapid validation process and are expected to begin shipping their next-generation systems powered by the enhanced Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor this month.

Availability

The latest Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors at the 75-watt ACP ranging from 2.3 to 2.7 GHz are available immediately, with enhanced Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE (55-watt) and SE (105-watt) processors planned to follow in Q1 2009.

Upcoming 45nm Desktop Processors AMD also plans to bring this higher-performance and more energy efficient 45nm processor technology to the desktop PC market in Q1 2009 with the AMD platform codenamed "Dragon." This platform will be the second generation AMD performance desktop platform, featuring all next-generation components in comparison to the first generation AMD "Spider" platform released in 2008.