AMD to launch quad-core Opterons in August

AMD this morning revealed that its Opteron will be the first native quad-core x86 processor to reach shipping computers. A workstation version of the same architecture that will form the basis of the Phenom chip, the quad-core Opteron should be more efficient than the Xeon 5300 at the same speed; the Intel rival grafts two dual-core CPUs together and often suffers if information has to be shuttled between the processors, according to earlier claims.

Though the initially shipping version will be clocked at 2GHz versus the 3GHz of the company's dual-core models, the efficiency combined with extra cores can crunch floating-point data 40 percent faster and certain database tasks by 70 percent, AMD says. Chips alone will begin shipping in August with pre-assembled workstations likely to arrive in September.