AMD intros low-power 45nm quad-core Opterons
updated 09:00 am EST, Mon January 26, 2009
AMD Opteron HE Quad Core
AMD early Monday upped its claims to performance with a new set of Opteron HE quad-core processors. The new chips are the company's first of the type built on the current 45 nanometer "Shanghai" architecture and use just 55W of average power while also reportedly consuming about 20 percent less power than an equivalent Xeon when idle. The semiconductor firm touts the technology as ideal for servers but also makes it available for workstations.
Full details aren't available, though the lineup includes five HE models with a narrow clock range spread between 2.1GHz and 2.3GHz. These should be available immediately in systems from Dell, Sun and others. AMD is also accompanying the introduction with two full-power Opteron SE chips that use a more regular 105W but clock in at 2.8GHz and are targeted at high-performance systems.
