AMD Opteron
 |
Keywords
optimus, Microsoft, Intel, Itanium processor, Windows Server 2003, x86 processors, SuSE, Red Hat, Parametric superiority
Links
Tools
Opteron
|
Opteron was designed to run existing 32-bit applications and offer customers a smooth transition to 64-bit computing. The processor provided a dramatic leap forward in performance. It also reduced the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)10. Opteron was offered in three versions: The 100 series (1-way), the 200 series (1 to 2-way), and the 800 series (up to 8-way). It provided a scalable architecture that AMD claimed was designed to meet current and future business needs. The Opteron was designed to scale from one to eight processors. This aided system designers by reducing the cost and complexity of building servers and workstations. It also reduced cost and increased server scalability. Hyper transport technologyOne of the most important features of Opteron was the HyperTransport Technology. The technology was designed to increase overall performance by removing I/O bottlenecks11, increasing bandwidth/speed, and reducing latency12. |
|
For workstation users, this meant increased graphics throughput (up to 8x AGP), quicker loading of applications and large data sets, better multi-tasking, and smoother transition between applications. HyperTransport technology was primarily targeted at the IT and Telecom industries, but it was useful for any application where high speed, low latency and scalability were necessary. AMD believed this technology reduced the number of buses while providing a high-performance link for PCs, workstation and servers, as well as numerous embedded applications and highly scalable multiprocessing systems.
Architecture:
AMD's technology was designed to allow customers to migrate to 64-bit computing without any significant sacrifice of the existing code base. The technology was designed to provide full speed support for x86 code base, offering high performance levels for existing 32-bit apps. It provided a large memory which was useful for computationally intensive applications, such as databases, ERP, decision support, scientific and technical modeling, etc. It also helped lower TCO and network management complexity through a unified architecture for desktop, notebook, workstation and server, and platform flexibility.
The Opteron's customer segments included worldwide enterprises, small-medium businesses, and government/education institutions, companies who required faster database transactions, or support for more users on e-commerce type applications, customers needing quick graphics response such as CAD and DCC industries with computational intensive tasks for financial modeling and scientific applications.
10] "A CPU History" by David Risley, PC Mechanic, 2001.
11] Short for Multimedia Extensions, a set of 57 multimedia instructions built into Intel microprocessors and other x86-compatible microprocessors. MMX-enabled microprocessors can handle many common multimedia operations, such as digital signal processing (DSP), that are normally handled by a separate sound or video card. However, only software especially written to call MMX instructions-so-called MMX-enabled software-can take advantage of the MMX instruction set.
12] System Bus: In broadest terms, a bus is a common connection between electrical devices. System bus most commonly means the data pathway that connects a processor to memory and to other peripheral devices.