AMD Begins Revenue Shipments Of Bulldozer-Based 16-Core "Interlagos" Processors

by Marco Chiappetta — Wednesday, September 07, 2011, 07:22 PM EDT

We can’t quite spill the beans in regard to AMD’s upcoming Bulldozer-based desktop processors, codenamed Zambezi (yet), but the company made an announcement today that bodes well for those of you waiting to get your hands on AMD’s next-gen CPU architecture.

In a short and to-the-point press release that hit the wire a few hours ago, AMD announced that they’ve shipped their first Bulldozer-based processors for server and enterprise applications, codenamed Interlagos. Initial production of Interlagos, which is a 16-core processor utilizing two eight-core dies on a single package, began in August and revenue shipments to customers has already started.

AMD's "Interlagos" 16-Core Processors Are Compatible With Current Opteron 6100 Series Platforms

“This is a monumental moment for the industry as this first ‘Bulldozer’ core represents the beginning of unprecedented performance scaling for x86 CPUs,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group. "The flexible new ‘Bulldozer’ architecture will give Web and datacenter customers the scalability they need to handle emerging cloud and virtualization workloads.”

The first Interlagos chips are compatible with existing AMD Opteron 6100 Series platforms and infrastructure (after a BIOS flash that requires a previous-gen processor). According to the press release, many of the initial shipments have been earmarked for large, custom supercomputer installations that are currently being built, but partner system based on Interlagos are expected to launch and be available in the fourth quarter of this year.

Tags: AMD, processor, Enterprise, Bulldozer, Interlagos, 16-core

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com