AMD Shows Off Interlagos Server CPUs Ahead of September Launch

Rumours are making the rounds that AMD will be launching their Interlagos line of server CPUs sometime in September. The date for launch is likely to be 27th of September. The Interlagos line of CPUs will be based on the Bulldozer architecture that AMD has been working on, for a while. The Zambezi line of desktop processors is also based on the same architecture. Zambezi processors will be 8-core procssors whereas the server equivalents will have 16-cores. The last major change in architecture was back in 2003, so there’s a lot depending on this new change. X-bit Labs reports that AMD has showed off the new 16-core Opteron line chip. No performance numbers or benchmark scores were disclosed at the demonstration. The new processors are based on the 32nm fabrication process although the first decision was to go with 45nm. 

Massive 16-core processors coming soon

The demonstration 1P server unit ran a 16-core Opteron 6200 range processor with 8 DIMMS fully populated. Previously, some details on the upcoming Opteron processors were leaked. Four models from the 6200 series were disclosed. The slowest of the lot was the 6220, an 8-core 3 GHz (3.5 GHz on Turbo) processor with 8MB of L2 cache. The fastest one was the 6276, a 16-core, 2.3 GHz (2.8 GHz on Turbo) with 16MB of L2 cache. Clearly, clock speeds aren’t what you expect and there have been worries that the slower core speeds might have adverse effects on the performance of the new processors. AMD’s share in the server market has been steadily falling and Intel’s has been sky rocketing. If all goes well with the Interlagos, AMD should be able reel back some of that lead.