Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is already shipping its x86 quad-core microprocessor chips, code-named "Barcelona", to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Speaking in support of what AMD says is a start of a revolution in the data centre environment, several OEMs announced their own roll-out roadmaps for Barcelona-enabled products, most launching in November.
AMD EMEA corporate VP for sales and marketing, Alberto Macchi, says the quad-core Opteron processor-based servers that will shortly ship from these OEMs and system builders will deliver breakthrough capabilities to customers "in a time of dramatically escalating performance-per-watt emphasis".
Macchi and AMD president and COO Dirk Meyer described the Barcelona chip as "a four-way winner in performance, energy efficiency, virtualisation and investment protection".
Quad-core AMD Opteron processor-based systems, from global OEM and system-builder partners, begin shipping this month and are expected to increase in number through the remainder of the year.
Mapping out the company's own roll-out, the duo say AMD Phenom processors, which will leverage many of the same benefits brought to the data centre by Barcelona, are expected to be available for the desktop market in December.
Additionally, AMD has released Barcelona to channel partners, providing them with "a tremendous opportunity to be able to offer their customers quad-core AMD Opteron processor-based solutions very soon after launch". The chip maker says this will empower channel partners "with the opportunity to be early to market with solutions".
Endorsement
Paul Miller, HP's VP of marketing for enterprise storage and servers, says the quad-core AMD Opteron processor will allow them to help customers bring "new levels of efficiency to their infrastructure".
Sun Microsystems had similar sentiments, saying it was "thrilled about" the introduction of the technology. "Our upcoming quad-core AMD Opteron processor-based servers and workstations will only accelerate the momentum Sun is experiencing in its x64 business," says Sun Microsystems' systems group executive VP John Fowler.
"With so much pent-up demand for the scalability of native quad-core processing, Sun believes there will be rapid, widespread adoption of quad-core AMD Opteron processor-based systems," Fowler adds.
Brad Anderson, senior VP at Dell's product group, and James Gargan, IBM's VP for its brand management system and BladeCentre, agreed. Gargan says: "We look forward to bringing new products to market with AMD later this year to help strengthen IBM's position as the world's top server vendor."
Share