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Forrester View
AMD introduces dual-core Opterons
 Major
jump in capabilities for users; major challenge for Intel. AMD combines dual-core
performance with x86 economics. By Richard Fichera (above) with Laura
Koetzle and Thomas Powell
IBM was the first to introduce dual-core processors—processors
that contain two processing units which share a single physical socket and interface
with the rest of the system—with its POWER4 architecture more than two
years ago. Sun followed with the UltraSPARC IV in 2004. In both the cases, users
achieved performance improvements ranging from 30 to 100 percent, depending
on the workload, with minimal increases in price and no overall change in system
power or size. Dual-core technology has now moved into the commodity x86 server
realm, and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) has beaten Intel to market with its
dual-core versions of its 64-bit Opteron processors. The first products, available
now and probably shipping from partners by May-end, are the 800 series, intended
for 4-socket and larger systems (the specific models available now are 865,
870 and 875). The 200 series, for dual-socket systems, will ship at the end
of May and probably to end-users by June.
AMD has also made these new dual-core processors easy for
partners and enterprising end-users to adopt; they’re socket-compatible
with all 90nm Opterons. Thus, most OEMs can simply upgrade the BIOS, qualify
the systems and begin shipping. End-users can buy upgrade kits—these will
include CPU and BIOS—from their system vendors, and simply install them
into their current systems.
Users get more bang for the buck and the box
While performance will vary, most workloads run faster by
about 30 to 70 percent on 4-socket servers with dual-core processors, even when
compared with the same workloads on servers with AMD’s best single-core
processors which have a higher clock rate (2.6 GHz versus 2.2 GHz) than the
dual-core chips. On the standard TPC-C benchmark, for example, the dual-core
processor in current 4-socket designs even beats Itanium-based systems.
Dual-core processors provide higher performance with no changes
to software. At about the same price, these processors should increase application
throughput by 30 to 70 percent without imposing any additional heating, ventilation
and air conditioning (HVAC), or rack reconfiguration requirements.
Dual-core processors don’t affect the terms for software
licenced on a per-socket or per-node basis, or for enterprise wide licences.
However, Oracle has indicated that it will continue with per-core pricing—which
means that dual-core Opteron buyers will have to pay more. Oracle has indicated
that it will continue to calculate list prices on a per-core basis. Negotiated
discounts, however, are another matter. Thus, users who aren’t wedded to
Oracle but need screaming database performance should look closely at open source
options such as MySQL or PostgreSQL, or consider Microsoft’s SQL Server.
Microsoft has already publicly committed to staying with a per-socket pricing
scheme for its products, giving users the enhanced performance without requiring
them to upgrade to a higher-priced category of OS because of the additional
cores.
| It’s difficult to come up with a reason for users not to evaluate
AMD’s dual-core Opteron systems if they’re running up against
performance constraints. These new processors will provide improved performance
for Citrix farms, virtual OS partitions, databases and other performance-hungry
applications with no disruption to current data centre facilities.
What it means
Competition in commodity servers just ratcheted up a notch. Intel will
get no breathing room from AMD, and the entire industry will benefit from
the battle between the companies. Users can look forward to aggressive
roll-outs of virtualisation, multi-core, security, remote access services
and other enhancements to both the vendors’ products over the next
several years.
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Intel will trail AMD in performance until dual-core Itaniums
hit
This announcement gives AMD the advantage over Intel at least
until 2005-end, which is the earliest by when Intel’s partners can begin
shipping dual-core Xeon processors. While Intel has made incremental enhancements
in performance, chip-set design, power management and virtualisation support,
it will be difficult for Intel’s customers to ignore the dual-core Opteron,
which offers substantially better performance, lower power consumption, and
as-good-or-better pricing.
Dual-core Opterons will make low-end Itanium systems a tough
sell for Intel and HP. Bull, HP, NEC, Unisys and others pose no immediate threat
to the high-end Itanium servers.
However, AMD’s 4-socket x86 systems will have absolute
performance advantages—not just price/performance—over equivalent
Itanium systems at least until the end of 2005. Intel and HP’s aggressive
efforts to promote low-end Itanium systems won’t get far this year. Matters
will be further complicated by Intel’s need to aggressively promote its
own dual-core Xeons in the face of AMD’s Opterons, making them more competitive
with Itanium, and dual-core Itaniums won’t neutralise AMD. By the end of
2005 or early 2006, dual-core Itaniums will again leapfrog AMD’s performance,
with a performance edge that will probably be at least 20 to 30 percent. However,
by then, 8-socket Opteron-based systems will offer an interesting intermediate
price and performance point between Intel and HP’s 4- and 8-socket Itanium
systems.
| On the second anniversary of its introduction of the Opteron—the
first 64-bit x86 CPU—AMD announced its dual-core Opteron processors.
These new Opterons offer dual cores in single sockets, and perform 30 to
100 percent better than single-core processors. The announcement puts AMD
ahead of Intel in the server space; users won’t see servers with dual-core
Itanium processors until later this year or early 2006, and Intel’s
bread-and-butter Xeon processors probably won’t appear in dual-core
servers until late 2005 or early 2006.
Research Catalyst
On April 21, 2005, Forrester attended AMD’s dual-core Opteron launch
in New York.
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For more information, contact Forrester India Country Manager
Sudin Apte on sapte@forrester.com or phone 020 25674390 / 91.
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