New AMD
Athlon(tm) MP Processors
|
| On October 15th in Sunnyvale,
California AMD introduced its processors for
multiprocessing servers and workstations, the AMD
Athlon(tm) MP processors 1800+, 1600+ and 1500+. |
| The model numbers are aligned
with AMD's recently announced True Performance
Initiative, or TPI, which seeks to assist users
in understanding the benefits of processor
performance. TPI is intended to define a more
accurate measure of processor performance. Some
people might think that labelling a 1.53GHz
processor as an 1800+ smells a little of
fraudulent practise - but as long as they state
the power held by their processors then no-one
should lose out. |
| Benchmarks for single and dual
processor-based platforms powered by the AMD
Athlon MP processors 1800+, 1600+ and 1500+ do
show performance advantages over similarly
configured single and dual processor-based
platforms powered by competitive processors
operating at certain higher frequencies. For
example, a workstation based on a dual 1.53GHz
AMD Athlon MP processor 1800+ outperforms a
similarly-configured workstation based on a dual
1.7GHz Intel Xeon processor by up to 23 percent
on various application benchmarks, in particular
the Alias Wavefront/Maya. |
| David Barrington-Holt, Creative
Director for Jim Henson's Creature Shop was
quoted as stating, "The AMD Athlon MP
processor 1800+ provides the extreme performance
we need for our real-time digital puppeteering
system. We require the most advanced technology,
and that's what we get - performance, efficiency
and reliability." |
| AMD is working to ensure that
the Athlon MP processor, based on AMD's Socket A
infrastructure, is compatible with
industry-leading hardware and software, and that
it integrates seamlessly into existing
infrastructures. |
| Systems featuring the AMD Athlon MP will soon
be available from computer manufacturers in the
United States, Europe, Japan and greater
Asia-Pacific. The first AMD recommended
motherboard is the Tyan Thunder K7 S2462. |
| |
| Pricing |
| The AMD Athlon MP processors 1800+, 1600+ and
1500+ are priced respectively at $302, $210 and
$180, respectively, in 1,000-unit quantities. |
| |
| Architecture |
| The AMD Athlon MP processor is a
seventh-generation x86 processor designed for
high-performance multiprocessing servers and
workstations. |
| A key advantage of AMD's multiprocessing
platform is Smart MP technology, which enhances
overall platform performance by increasing data
movement between the two CPUs, chipset and memory
system. Smart MP technology features dual
point-to-point, high-speed 266MHz system buses
with Error Correcting Code (ECC) support designed
to provide up to 2.1GB per second per CPU of bus
bandwidth in a dual-processor system. Smart MP
technology also has an optimized Modified Owner
Exclusive Shared Invalid (MOESI) cache coherency
protocol that manages data and memory traffic in
a multiprocessing environment. |
| The AMD Athlon MP processor supports DDR
memory technology and features the patented
QuantiSpeed(tm) architecture. Quantispeed
includes a high performance full-speed cache with
hardware data pre-fetch, a fully pipelined
superscalar floating point engine, and an
exclusive L2 Translation Look-aside Buffer (TLB).
The processor also incorporates 3DNow!
Professional technology, This has 52 new
instructions that enable smoother, richer and
more lifelike images and more precise digital
audio. |
| |
| About the AMD-760(tm) MP Chipset |
| The AMD-760 MP chipset is AMD's a two-way
multiprocessor core logic solution for the Athlon
MP processor. It consists of two chips. These are
the AMD-762(tm) system controller (northbridge),
and the AMD-766(tm) peripheral bus controller
(southbridge). The AMD-760 MP chipset uses the
power of DDR memory and combines with other core
logic in data, memory and I/O control as well as
system and power management to provide a powerful
solution for server and workstation platforms.
The AMD-760 MP chipset supports one or two AMD
Athlon MP processors with independent 266MHz
front side buses, as well as PC2100 DDR memory
and AGP 4x graphics. |
| |
| AMD on the Web |
| For more information on this multiprocessor
announcement, please visit the AMD websites at www.amd.com/news/spotlight and www.amd.com/news/news.html |
| |
| Colin O'Keefe |
| November 19th , 2001 |