AMD Launches New HE and SE 6-Core Opterons

Last month, AMD was able to launch their first batch of 6-core Opteron processors, a few months ahead of the company's initial schedule. The processors are based on the core internally codenamed "Istanbul" and feature a native 6-core design manufactured using Global Foundries' advanced 45nm process technology.

This month, AMD is expanding their line of 6-core processors and announcing a handful of new Opterons in the 8000 and 2000 series, for 4 and 8 socket and 2 socket platforms, respectively.

AMD is announcing three AMD Opteron HE (8425, 2425, 2423) and three Opteron SE (8439, 2439) processors today, with clock speeds ranging from 2.0GHz to 2.8GHz. The 55W HE branded processors are targeted at low power environments, like large data centers that are power constrained, or at consumers that factor power budget as key purchasing component. The 105W SE branded processors, however, are for the more performance hungry buyer, or for very compute intensive applications where performance is key purchasing criteria.

Due to the additional two cores, these new 6-core processors offer up to 50% more performance than current quad-core offerings at similar frequencies, and AMD also points out that all of the processors offer the same feature set. There is a consistent feature set across all power bands--whether buying standard, HE or SE class processors--they will all have the same features, and will differ only in their performance and power.

The new Opteron HE and SE series processors have prices ranging from $455 for the 2.0GHz 2423 HE to $2,649 for the high-end 2.8GHz 8439 SE. The full price breakdown is available in the slide above.