ADVANCED Micro Devices (AMD) has introduced a broad portfolio of dual-core solutions from server and workstations for enterprise users to desktop and desktop-replacement notebooks for consumers and business users.
At the second-anniversary celebration of the AMD Opteron processor, the company announced immediate availability of the dual-core AMD Opteron 800 Series processor for four- to eight-way servers.
The new processors deliver up to a 90 percent performance improvement for application servers over single-core AMD Opteron processors. For desktop PC users, AMD announced the new AMD Athlon 64 X 2 dual-core processor brand that will enable true multi-tasking capabilities for richer computing experiences.
AMD's key OEM customers, including Sun, HP and IBM, showcased ground-breaking, dual-core platforms based on the non-disruptive AMD64 technology, the world's leading x86, 64-bit computing environment. Only AMD customers will have the ability to upgrade 90nm-ready server platforms with dual-core processors and continue running legacy 32-bit x86 applications as well as new 64-bit OS solutions.
Dual-core processors are the next evolution of AMD64's Direct Connect Architecture and were designed from the ground up to directly connect two cores on a single die, along with memory, I/O and dedicated caches, improving overall system performance and efficiency and helping to eliminate the bottlenecks inherent in a front-side-bus architecture.
Unlike other dual-core systems, migrating to dual-core processing based on AMD64 technology can be seamless, thanks to a non-disruptive upgrade path. AMD64 technology is designed to deliver the higher performance of a multi-core processor in the same power envelope and the same infrastructure as a single-core AMD64 processor.
For server/workstation customers this means the AMD Opteron processor can continue to provide the best performance-per-watt ratio in the industry.
For multi-tasking and multithreaded environments, two cores offer more physical resources, enabling operating systems to prioritise and manage tasks from multiple applications simultaneously and, therefore, maximise performance.
Dual-core AMD64 processors are designed to be compatible with the existing base of x86 software, whether it is single-threaded or multithreaded. This means the more than 1,300 applications from more than 300 ISVs and open-source software organisations that are featured on the AMD64 Software Ecosystem Web site www.amd.com/amd64ecosystem will be able to support AMD64 dual-core processors with a simple BIOS upgrade and no substantial code changes.
Dual core on the desktop
AMD also announced the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor brand for dual-core desktop and desktop-replacement notebook processors. AMD is currently shipping samples of the AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core processors to leading OEMs worldwide.
The AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor will especially benefit prosumer and digital media enthusiasts, as well as those who run many software applications simultaneously.
With its breakthrough performance on multithreaded applications, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor will allow consumers and businesses to take digital content creation and multimedia experiences to a whole new level.
PC users, who have been frustrated by staring at the hourglass icon when trying to work on multiple programs at once, can significantly increase performance with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor.
For example, with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor, users can simultaneously burn a CD, check e-mail, edit a digital photo and run virus protection - all without slowing down their computer.