AMD has taken the Bulldozer core-chip technology further with the release of Opteron 4200 and Opteron 6200 (originally code-named “Valencia” and “Interlagos”). The initial Bulldozer CPU was only meant for desktops, though the release of Opteron series introduces the server variants of the Bulldozer architecture.
The Interlagos Opteron 6200 features 16 cores, or what could be said, 8 dual-core chips with four memory channels. The Valencia Opteron 4200 features 4 dual-core chips and two memory channels.
The performance of Bulldozer was a disappointment for most because of its poor single-threaded design, but there seems to be a significant difference coming with the Opteron series built on the same architecture. The server software that is used to process instructions is supposed to be well threaded and can hence take advantage of all Bulldozer’s cores.
AMD is focusing on the High Performance Computing segment with over 500,000 Bulldozer cores being shipped since September. The Opteron Interlagos is scalable to 4 sockets supporting 16 BullDozers each. The L1 cache is arranged as 16KB data per core and 64KB instruction per module, while the L2 cache is 1MB per core. Opteron 6200s “Interlagos” have a shared 16MB of L3 cache per socket, while Opteron 4200s “Valencia” only have a shared 8MB per socket.
By claiming the lowest x86 watts/core in the industry at 5.3W for Interlagos and 4.375W for Valencia, AMD has proved that its new Bulldozer-based Opterons offer more efficient economics for cloud-computing needs with less power, less floor space and lower platform price.
The Interlagos Opteron 6200 features 16 cores, or what could be said, 8 dual-core chips with four memory channels. The Valencia Opteron 4200 features 4 dual-core chips and two memory channels.
The performance of Bulldozer was a disappointment for most because of its poor single-threaded design, but there seems to be a significant difference coming with the Opteron series built on the same architecture. The server software that is used to process instructions is supposed to be well threaded and can hence take advantage of all Bulldozer’s cores.
AMD is focusing on the High Performance Computing segment with over 500,000 Bulldozer cores being shipped since September. The Opteron Interlagos is scalable to 4 sockets supporting 16 BullDozers each. The L1 cache is arranged as 16KB data per core and 64KB instruction per module, while the L2 cache is 1MB per core. Opteron 6200s “Interlagos” have a shared 16MB of L3 cache per socket, while Opteron 4200s “Valencia” only have a shared 8MB per socket.
By claiming the lowest x86 watts/core in the industry at 5.3W for Interlagos and 4.375W for Valencia, AMD has proved that its new Bulldozer-based Opterons offer more efficient economics for cloud-computing needs with less power, less floor space and lower platform price.
No comments:
Post a Comment