Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has reportedly launched the updated version of its Opteron processor that has largely been responsible for the company's holding-its-own against arch rival Intel Corp. AMD has also announced that it is on track to unveil the first quad-core chip by middle of 2007.
According to Brent Kerby, product manager, AMD, the new and improved Opteron chips will sport faster and more efficient memory technology, thereby boosting processing speed by around 10 percent, while using the same amount of power as the previous chips. The new processors will also feature built-in support for so-called virtualization technology, which helps computers run multiple operating systems, making them more flexible.
Interestingly, the Opteron upgrade comes exactly a month after Intel launched its Xeon processors. Incidentally, Xeon chips have sported support for virtualization technology since November.
All this while, market watchers have been saying that while Intel has resorted to steep price-cuts to get rid of its older, unsold stocks, AMD has not dropped prices as much, but could well turn out to be the harder hit of the two mainly because of its inability to bring-out new products at higher prices. In such a scenario, the latest move by AMD is more than welcome.
In any case, the battle between the two chip makers is believed to have long shifted from merely making faster chips to one wherein the focus is on developing products that are both more energy efficient, as also have cost-saving and performance-enhancing features.
Commenting on the upgrade, Kerby said that the new chips would provide the company with more flexibility as regards its product line.
The Sunnyvale, California-based company is expected to roll-out its new chips, including the quad-core processor, by the middle of next year. As regards the quad-core chip, Kerby remarked that the company has "taped out" the chip - as in completed the major design work on it.
Source : techtree
According to Brent Kerby, product manager, AMD, the new and improved Opteron chips will sport faster and more efficient memory technology, thereby boosting processing speed by around 10 percent, while using the same amount of power as the previous chips. The new processors will also feature built-in support for so-called virtualization technology, which helps computers run multiple operating systems, making them more flexible.
Interestingly, the Opteron upgrade comes exactly a month after Intel launched its Xeon processors. Incidentally, Xeon chips have sported support for virtualization technology since November.
All this while, market watchers have been saying that while Intel has resorted to steep price-cuts to get rid of its older, unsold stocks, AMD has not dropped prices as much, but could well turn out to be the harder hit of the two mainly because of its inability to bring-out new products at higher prices. In such a scenario, the latest move by AMD is more than welcome.
In any case, the battle between the two chip makers is believed to have long shifted from merely making faster chips to one wherein the focus is on developing products that are both more energy efficient, as also have cost-saving and performance-enhancing features.
Commenting on the upgrade, Kerby said that the new chips would provide the company with more flexibility as regards its product line.
The Sunnyvale, California-based company is expected to roll-out its new chips, including the quad-core processor, by the middle of next year. As regards the quad-core chip, Kerby remarked that the company has "taped out" the chip - as in completed the major design work on it.
Source : techtree
