New quad core server CPUs: AMD Barcelona vs. Intel Harpertown

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Opteron models

As we mentioned, the first quad core Opterions are available at a maximum clock frequency of 2.0 GHz. Before the year is over we should see models running at 2.5 GHz. The new Opterons with clock frequencies of 1.7, 1.8 and 1.9 GHz are available in a HE (high efficiency) variant, meaning this CPU will have an ACP of 75 W (95W TDP). As a first for AMD, the company is introducing models not jus for 2-way servers but also for 4- and 8-way servers. Intel had nearly a year between the release of Xeon DP (Clovertown) and MP (Tigerton) models. In the table below, you can see all quad core Opterions AMD has introduced.

Partners

During the introduction event AMD was able to show configurations of several of its partners. Amongst others Sun, Dell, HP, Acer and IBM showed working system based on Barcelona, while Supermicro, Tyan and Unwide demonstrated suitable barebones. In other words AMD has a nice and complete list of partners, pretty much no big server manufacturer is missing from its customer list. The time till which the new servers are actually available varies from 'a few weeks' to 'a few months'. This is not surprising, as even if a new system does not require much more than a change of CPU, this market segment demands long and careful validation testing. Even so, before too long you should be able to order a Barcelona server from one of the parties mentioned.