AMD has demoed its upcoming six-core server processor, code-named Istanbul [1], claiming that it remains on track for release in the second half of this year.

The demo came hot on the heels of Intel's confirmation [2] that its four-core Nehalem-EP will be released by the end of this quarter, along with that company's recent detailing [3] of its plans for the eight-core Nehalem-EX, scheduled for release late this year.

Intel's own six-core offering, formerly known as Dunnington [4], shipped last September [5].

According to AMD's director of business development for server/workstation products, John Fruehe, the demo showed [6] that Istanbul "is everything we had hoped for – and more."

Istanbul will fit in the same socket 1207 that houses AMD's Shanghai Opteron processor, released last November [7] and will match that processor's power and thermal ranges, according to AMD. In the demo, in fact, AMD upgraded a system from Shanghai to Istanbul and "stressed" a four-socket server with all 24 cores running.

The release of Istanbul will be good news for Opteron-server users and OEMs. Just swap out the Chinese city for the Turkish one, and you increase your core count by 50 per cent. ®

Links

1. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/07/amd_server_roadmap_may_2008/
2. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/10/intel_confirms_nehalem_imminent/
3. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/10/nehalem_ex/
4. http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?codeName=25006
5. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/15/intel_dunnington_xeon/
6. http://blogs.amd.com/work/archive/2009/02/24/istanbul-not-constantinople.aspx
7. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/13/amd_launches_shanghai/

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