AMD launches 40W six-core Opteron processor

San Francisco (CA) – AMD has introduced a 40W six-core Opteron processor. The retooled chip reportedly offers 31 percent higher performance-per-watt over a standard quad-core Opteron.

According to AMD spokesperon Brent Kerby, companies that require low power processors often deploy dense, large-scale IT projects where system energy trumps raw performance and every watt of saved power has a “significant” impact on the bottom line.

“This six-core Opteron – which operates on a 40 watt power band – is specifically tailored to ensure strong performance while helping to reduce power consumption,” Kerby told TG Daily.

“And unlike other chips manufactured by the competition [Intel Xeon], our six-core EE Opteron retains certain, much-loved features that are consistent with AMD’s HE iteration. For example, we have not reduced the memory speed, bus support, hyperthreading or cache size. As such, deployment of the 40W Opteron will undoubtedly extend well beyond Cloud 2.0 and social media environments.”

Jeff Jenkins of AMD expressed similar sentiments.

“The advent of cloud computing and social media networks have brought new datacenter requirements to the forefront,” explained Jenkins. “A number of companies have expressed interest in low-power solutions that don’t compromise virtualization capabilities or performance features. That is why we designed our six-core Opteron EE processor. It does more with less and helps address the very relevant challenge of maintaining dense data centers.”