Dual core K8's announced

[P4Man]

Saw this over at aces:
<A HREF="http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/06/14/HNamddual_1.html" target="_new"> clicky 1</A>
<A HREF="http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/news/articles.asp?guid={3E807307-581D-4AD3-8547-C39988145D1B}&newsid=815222301&symb=AMD&sid=373" target="_new"> clicky 2 </A>

Dual core opterons available by mid 2005, desktop chips (presumably Athlon FX) second half of next year.

Opterons pin compatible with current boards (just a bios update), and within the same thermal enveloppe, including 30, 55 and 89W versions !! Wow.

Also, if opterons are pin compatible, I assume dual core FX chips should also work on S939

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[HardWareBoss]

We shall see. IF they can bring them out by then.

 

[P4Man]

AMD has been executing a hell of a lot better than intel the last 18 months. Of course there is no guarantee, but AMD is clearly becoming more conservative/realistic in its timetables, hasn't missed a single opteron launch date so far, so its only fair to assume these chips will be there around that time.

And even if it is indeed late, keep in mind intel doesn't even have a dual core chip (let alone a 64 bit one that doesnt require 150W, ie Dothan based) on its roadmaps AFAIK, not even a codename, just a vague announcement they will come..

If intel can somehow make a dual core 64 bit prescott derivative that doesnt require liquid nitrogin cooling, it won't arrive any earlier, and a 64 bit based dual core dothan offering, which could be quite competitive, is not likely to see the light before 2006.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[darko21]

I have read prescots dual core should (at least that is intels road map) be out late 2005. Apperently dual core pentium M is dead intel don't like how the hyperthreading works with the short pipes. With hyperthreading intel expects the dual core prescott to fool the os into thinking there are 4 cpu's. I am not sur how much of a real advantage that would give the adverage end user but I doubt it could hurt much if at all and might be good for marketing.

I have read these dual core prescotts should be 64bit enabled but once 64bit is enabled wattage goes up so intel throttles down the clock. This might be the reason intel has not enabled the 64bit in prescotts to date. Intel said it could be turned on but they do not seem interested in doing it.

If I glanced at a spilt box of tooth picks on the floor, could I tell you how many are in the pile. Not a chance, But then again I don't have to buy my underware at Kmart.

 

[Xeon]

What will be more ammuseing is that there is only one memory controller being used for 2 cores. Since they did promise socket compatability.

Xeon

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[P4Man]

No, its still 2 controllers, but for 2 cores now, instead of 2 controller for 1 core. Look at A64 versus A64FX to see this doesnt make much difference.

in SMP systems it will even make even less difference, and might actually be *faster* than 2 discrete single core chips with 2 controllers/core, since the chances memory is available local and doesnt require a hop to an other cpu get increased by a factor 2. Average latency will drop significantly.

What is even more amusing, is that Xeon and Itaniums typically have only one controller for 4 chips, and in the case of dual core chips this will be 1 controller for 8 cores, and they even need to share a slow FSB to get to it. Very amusing indeed

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[Schmide]

"AMD's dual-core server processors will share a single memory controller, Weber said."

Quoted from the article?!?!

Dichromatic for your viewing plesure...

 

[P4Man]

It depends what you call a "single controller". Currently, Opteron has a single 128/144 bit controller, usually (incorrectly) referred to as a dual channel controller (2x64/77 bits).

Dual core opterons will have the same "single" 128 bit controller , or the same 2x64 bit controllers. AMD is not cutting it in half either, it simply remains as it is currently.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[TheRod]

Another interesting fact about dual core Opteron is the HT bus bus. Theorically, the HT between the 2 core can be as fast as the CORE.

This mean that even if they "share" the same memory controller, those 2 cores will exchange information within each other at amazing speed.

I would like to know, it the actual announcement mean that the have a working dual core in their labs at low speed. This could possible, since they haven't changed much in the core design (based on early pictures). Theorically they only needed to connect 1 HT port between each core and make the memory controller sharign circuitry. On paper it looks not that complicated.

--
It's tricky to use the words <b><font color=green>AMD</font color=green></b> or <b><font color=blue>Intel</font color=blue></b> in a signature some users could think your are biased.

 

[P4Man]

>Another interesting fact about dual core Opteron is the HT
>bus bus. Theorically, the HT between the 2 core can be as
>fast as the CORE.

Not sure what you are saying here, but the two cores are NOT connected through HT. They are both connected to a crossbar and the crossbar is linked to the memory controller and the HT controllers. Obviously intercore communication would be lightening fast (much faster than through HT).

>I would like to know, it the actual announcement mean that
>the have a working dual core in their labs at low speed.

No, I think not. they have completed the design, and tape has begun, I've not read they have working silicon, though its possible of course;

> Theorically they only needed to connect 1 HT port between
>each core and make the memory controller sharign circuitry.
>On paper it looks not that complicated.

Not really, but not like you wrote it. Opteron already had a dual core ready crossbar between the core and the MC/HT links. They needed to connect the second core to the crossbar, that is "all". But according to anand, it seems they also did a complete relayout

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[TheRod]

Thanks for the details you provided in your post, very interesting! So AMD, already prepared their silicon for DUAL-CORE a while ago!

--
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[P4Man]

Yes. K8 was designed from the ground up with multicore in mind. AMD first talked about multicore K8s in 1999. Anyone thinking this is a move to counter intels recent roadmap changes needs to get their head checked.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[TheRod]

I think I will start to call you the "Processor Bible editorialist-in-chief" or something like that.

You are not interested in writing professionnally about CPU and technology? I really think you could write very interesting articles or editorial!

--
It's tricky to use words like <b><font color=green>AMD</font color=green></b> or <b><font color=blue>Intel</font color=blue></b> in a signature some users could think your are biased.

 

[P4Man]

thanks but unless someone makes me an irresistable offer, I think I'll just stick to tossing plastic pearls before swine in forums such as this and elsewhere

Also, to keep with the "boutades" (is there an english word for that ? something like a 'cliché expression'), in the land of the blind, one eye is king. I can barely see from one eye, but there are lots of blinds here, so I'll just leave the soapbox to the Stroglio's and the Omids of this world, and limit myselve to throwing some rotten tomatoes or spouting some satire now and then After all, this field of interest is drying up.. a few years from here, new cpu's and enthousiast computers are probably as exiting as microwave ovens or cordless phones. Pure commodities.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[TheRod]

Also, to keep with the "boutades" (is there an english word for that ? something like a 'cliché expression')

Tu es un francophone? Peu importe, moi, je suis un Québecois. Je vis près de Montréal.

thanks but unless someone makes me an irresistable offer, I think I'll just stick to tossing plastic pearls before swine in forums such as this and elsewhere

Maybe, someday I'll make you this offer!

--
It's tricky to use words like <b><font color=green>AMD</font color=green></b> or <b><font color=blue>Intel</font color=blue></b> in a signature some users could think your are biased.

 

[P4Man]

>Tu es un francophone? Peu importe, moi, je suis un
>Québecois. Je vis près de Montréal.

Non, je suis Flamand (Belge), et neerlandophone mais je me debrouille en francais (surtout en orale plutot qu'en ecrit . Mais en Neerlandais (ou plutot flamand, presque la meme chose) on reprends pas mal de mots francais, comme "boutade".

>Maybe, someday I'll make you this offer!

Oh dear... you're not gong to start yet another hardware site, are you ?

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[TheRod]

je me debrouille en francais (surtout en orale plutot qu'en ecrit .

Tu ecris tres bien en Francais!

Oh dear... you're not gong to start yet another hardware site, are you ?

Not exactly, I want to make a more "local" hardware site targeted to the (French) Canadian market. It will be mostly my personal page with a lot of tech stuff at first. And I will see how it will evolve... This will depends on HITS, etc...

I don't want to write reviews (there is tons on the web). I mostly want to comment the market and new products and redirect users to "outsite" reviewers.

But, it's a mid-term project. I have a 3months old daughter and it's the summer. I wil not waste my time in PHP coding!

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[Xeon]

Link buddy.

Xeon

<font color=orange>Scratch Here To Reveal Prize</font color=orange>
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[P4Man]

http://www.my-esm.com/story/chipwire/OEG19991005S0017
http://www.midrangeserver.com/breaking/bn061404-story02.html

"More importantly, AMD claims that the combination of a small die size and its 0.18-micron process will allow the company to pack more than one 64-bit X86 microprocessor on a single die."

"The company says that the original Opteron announcements in 1999 indicated that the chip design would allow for multiple cores to be glued together on a single piece of silicon"

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