Barcelona promises to be as much as 70% faster than its predecessors when running some database applications, yet will consume the same amount of power, according to AMD. With some floating-point operations, which often are used to crunch complex scientific data, the chip is expected to run 40% faster.
Initially, Barcelona will be released in two versions, standard and low-powered. Neither will exceed clock speeds of 2.0GHz. This is slower than some of Intel’s quad-core Xeon 5300 chips, codenamed ‘Clovertown,’ which were released last year. Xeon X5355, for example, is currently shipping and runs at 2.66GHz.
AMD said another higher-frequency version of Barcelona would ship in the fourth quarter sometime.
AMD has prioritized production of our low-power and standard-power products because our customers and ecosystem demand it, and we firmly believe that the introduction of our native quad-core AMD Opteron processor will deliver on the promise of the highest levels of performance-per-watt the industry has ever seen, said AMD server and workstation VP Randy Allen, in a statement.
Barcelona is being touted by AMD as the first native quad-core chip because all four cores are on a single silicon die, compared to Intel’s quad-core devices, which essentially are two dual-core chips packaged side by side.
AMD contends that having a processor built from the ground up to have four cores will enable higher performance.
Intel has said its two-by-dual-core design enabled it to keep costs low while it works on a single-chip quad-core using the next-generation 45-nanometer manufacturing process, which promises to help keep power dissipation low. Intel’s forthcoming 45-nm quad-core processor, codenamed ‘Harpertown,’ is expected to launch this year.
Barcelona, at least initially, will be manufactured in the larger 65-nm node. And this doesn’t seem be a factor, at this point in time, given Barcelona’s thermal profile so far also seems low.
But it is worth noting AMD has only recently moved to the 65-nm node. The general rule is that the smaller the manufacturing node, the lower the manufacturing cost and the higher the performance.
AMD did not release Barclelona pricing.
Our View
AMD’s announcement serves, in part, to scuttle rumors in recent weeks that the chipmaker was struggling with defects and bugs in Barcelona, which would push back its ship date to October or November.
AMD needs to keep the promise of Barcelona alive, as Intel forges ahead with its new portfolio of dual- and quad-core processors. However, Friday’s announcement that initial versions of Barcelona won’t run faster than 2.0GHz was somewhat of a disappointment.
Barcelona is important to AMD because the server market is where AMD’s 64-bit Opterons have had a technological advantage over Intel’s Xeons. Last year, Intel clawed back some of its server market share, with the release of Clovertown and its dual-core Xeon 5100, codenamed ‘Woodcrest.’
Whether AMD’s contention Barcelona’s native quad-core design will, indeed, translate to more sales remains to be seen. Perhaps Intel chief Paul Otellini had a point when he said, last year, I think you’d be misreading the market if you think people care about the packaging.
At the end of the day, pricing and performance – not packaging – will likely be the determining factor.
