At the event in New York City Advanced Micro Devices today launched its first ever x86-64 processor for servers. Probably everyone in this industry knew about the event long ago, so, the official launch is just a confirmation that AMD’s Opteron (former SledgeHammer) processors are finally ready to go.

As you probably know x86-64 architecture allows customers to run 32- and 64-bit applications on the same platform with high performance and for quite affordable price. You can read more information about Hammer and x86-64 technology in our arcticle titled "A Glance at the Future: AMD Hammer Processors and x86-64 Technology". You can view some performance figures of Athlon 64, Opteron's younger brother intended for desktop PC, in our AMD Athlon 64 Performance Preview.

AMD Opteron processors currently run at 1.80, 1.60 or 1.40GHz, incorporate 1MB of L2 cache, 128KB of L1 cache and up to three Hyper-Transport links for connecting other CPUs or I/O controllers. All Opteron processors integrate dual-channel PC2700 memory controller that can address up to 1TB of memory.

Loads of companies announced their intention to support the new platform from the world’s number two CPU makers. IBM joined AMD at a New York City launch event to announce its plans to offer a server product for high-performance computing based on the AMD Opteron processor. At the same event, Microsoft reiterated its commitment to developing a 64-bit operating system for the processor, with a beta version available in mid-2003. Among individuals and companies supporting the AMD Opteron processor we should mention Fujitsu Siemens Computers, LucasFilm’s JAK Films and Oracle. Do not forget that AMD Opteron is supported by loads of software developers, as we said in a news-story published on the 7^th of April, 2003.

AMD Opteron processor Models 240 (1.40GHz), 242 (1.60GHz) and 244 (1.80GHz) for up to 2-way servers are available now for $283, $690 and $794 respectively. AMD Opteron processors in the 800 series for up to 8-way servers will be available later in this quarter. AMD expects that AMD Opteron processors in the 100 series for 1-way servers will be available in 3Q03.