AMD Ships 40W Six-core 'Istanbul' Opterons

This one runs in a 40W power band.

Earlier this summer AMD shipped its six-core "Istanbul" Opteron server chip, which ran with 75W power envelopes.

Today AMD announced the immediate availability of a new six core Opteron 2419 EE processor that'll run with 40W ACP, which the chip maker says is "tailored to meet the demands of customers who need strong performance, but must trim out every watt possible in a server system and reduce the datacenter’s power draw."

The Opteron 2419 uses the same core as other more power hungry chips but finds its savings by dialing back the clock speed to 1.8 GHz.

"It's important for our industry to look at how technology is being used and where customers have emerging needs," said Patrick Patla, vice president and general manager, Server and Workstation Division. "The AMD Opteron EE processor enables OEMs to deliver energy-sipping servers that don't compromise on power management, virtualization or performance features. It is specifically designed to help address the challenges that are generating a great deal of discussion these days - building and running very dense data centers for Web services, while doing more with less."

AMD did point out that this processor is now available for $989, but might not be available off the shelf from larger system builders, meaning that those who want this power-conscious chip will have to make special custom orders.