by Anton Shilov
03/23/2011 | 10:02 AM
An unknown server end-user or hardware vendor has apparently attempted to test an engineering sample of sixteen-core AMD Opteron "Interlagos" microprocessors powered by Bulldozer micro-architecture. While the benchmark numbers are unavailable, previously unknown clock-speeds of the novelty transpired.
The unidentified recipient of alleged sixteen-core AMD Opteron "Interlagos" utilized processor marked as AMD Eng[ineering] Sample ZS182045TGG43_28 clocked at 1.80GHz as well as Supermicro H8DGU mainboard, according to a listing at OpenBenchmarking.org web-site. While the benchmark results of the dual-socket 32-core server are unavailable, the list of programs that were run via the Phoronix Test Suite includes a long list of applications and conditions.
It is interesting to note that the unknown hardware vendor or end-user compared to dual-socket 32-core machine against four-socket 48-core AMD Opteron 6168 (12-core, 1900MHz, 6MB L2, 12MB L3, 80W ACP, 115W TDP) server. Potentially, this may indicate efficiency of AMD Bulldozer micro-architecture versus previous-generation microprocessors, but this is not an evidence, though.
While 1.80GHz is hardly a high clock-speed, it does not make a lot of sense to estimate clock-speed potential of Bulldozer in general and Interlagos multi-chip-module (MCM) implementation in particular based on the frequency of the engineering sample. Firstly, thermal design power (TDP) of the new central processing units (CPUs) is unlear; in case the chip belongs to Opteron HE versions (85W TDP), then 1.80GHz for a 16-core chip may not be bad, but for the standard version 1.80GHz does not seem to be very good.
| Comparison of Various AMD Opteron and Phenom Microprocessors | |||||||
| Brand | Opteron | FX | Opteron | Opteron | Opteron | Opteron | Phenom II |
| Model | Interlagos | FX-8130P | 6180 SE | 6176 | 6166 HE | 4184 | 1100T |
| Cores | 16 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| Clock-Speed | 1.80GHz | n/a | 2.50GHz | 2.30GHz | 1.80GHz | 2.80GHz | 3.30GHz |
| L2 Cache | 16MB | 8MB |
6MB |
6MB | 6MB | 6MB | 6MB |
| L3 Cache | Up to 16MB | Up to 8MB | 12MB | 12MB | 12MB | 6MB | 6MB |
| TDP/ACP | n/a | 125W | 140W/105W | 115W/80W | 85W/65W | 95W/75W | 125W |
| Memory | 4-ch, DDR3 | 2-ch, DDR3 | 4-ch, DDR3 | 4-ch, DDR3 | 4-ch, DDR3 | 2-ch, DDR3 | 2-ch, DDR3 |
| Black Edition | - | + | - | - | - | - | + |
| Turbo Core | n/a | + | - | - | - | - | + |
| Packaging | G34 | AM3+ | G34 | G34 | G34 | C32 | AM3 |
| Process Technology | 32nm SOI | 32nm SOI | 45nm SOI | 45nm SOI | 45nm SOI | 45nm SOI | 45nm SOI |
AMD did not comment on the news-story.