64-Bit CPU Targets Eight-Way And Low-Power Environments

Oct. 27, 2003

The 64-bit Opteron CPU line from Advanced Micro Devices is growing quickly, even as a host of chips rolls off the fab lines. In the lead are four- and eight-way chips for the high-end and low-power versions for embedded applications. Even gamers are...

William G. Wong

The 846 ($3199) and 146 ($669) take advantage of multiple, high-speed HyperTransport links. The 846 is designed for four- and eight-way high-end servers using three links. The 146 targets high-performance workstations with one processor. It joins the Model 200 series, which supports one or two processors.

All Opteron models incorporate their own memory controller. Multiprocessing systems employ a cache-coherent HyperTransport implementation that enables processors to access data managed by other processors. Multiple links allow processors to be connected in a mesh without additional interface chips.

The HyperTransport links are used to access peripherals. HyperTransport-based peripherals can be accessed directly. The AMD-8111 HyperTransport I/O Hub handles workstation peripherals, while the AMD-8131 Hyper-Transport PCI-X chip provides an interface to PCI- and PCI-X-based peripherals. Even video devices operate over the HyperTransport links.

AMD has also announced mid-power and low-power versions of the Opteron. There will be 55- and 30-W chips available in 1Q 2004 that will be ideal for embedded applications, including blade servers.

The Athlon 64 is based on the same 32-bit and 64-bit architecture as the Opteron line. The single-processor Athlon line targets embedded devices and workstations. The new $733 FX-51 model suits high-performance multimedia and gaming workstations. It has a 1-Mbyte L1 cache, a wider 128-bit DDR SDRAM memory controller, and three HyperTransport links instead of one. The FX-51 can dedicate a link to video instead of sharing one link for all peripherals.

The ability to run 32- and 64-bit applications simultaneously over a wide range of system architectures from laptops to eight-way servers makes AMD's architecture and product line very compelling for PC and embedded developers.

Advanced Micro Deviceswww.amd.com

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About the Author

William G. Wong | Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF

I am Editor of Electronic Design focusing on embedded, software, and systems. As Senior Content Director, I also manage Microwaves & RF and I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, programmers, developers and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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I earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Computer Science from Rutgers University. I still do a bit of programming using everything from C and C++ to Rust and Ada/SPARK. I do a bit of PHP programming for Drupal websites. I have posted a few Drupal modules.

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