AMD Releases 6-Core Istanbul Ahead of Schedule
Istanbul is here.
AMD’s ‘Istanbul’ Opteron CPUs are now shipping ahead of schedule. AMD claims the processor will produce 34 percent more performance than the existing "Shanghai" quad-core processor at the same power requirements.
Originally, the 45-nm Istanbul had been scheduled to ship later in the year, but AMD president and CEO Dirk Meyer said that the company decided to "pull in" the timetable.
The six-core server processor integrates with two-, four- and eight-socket servers using AMD’s Direct Connect Architecture
AMD said that systems based on the six-core Opteron processors are expected to be available beginning this month from Cray, Dell, HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems. HE, SE and EE versions are planned for the second half of 2009.
AMD listed the following as key features of its latest Opteron:
- Six true cores
- HyperTransport Technology Assist (HT Assist)
- Increased HT3 bandwidth
- AMD-P power management technologies
- AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology
- Same power/thermal ranges as Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors
So, what’s next for the Opteron? Look out for 12 cores in 2010 and an even more impressive 16 cores by 2011.

i wonder if you did some extensive search on their claims or you just pulled your comment out of your ass ?
Adding 33.3% more cores increases the performance by 34%? WOW!
I'm seriously wondering if they didn't just pull that number out of their asses based on the number of cores, or if they did any extensive testing.
i wonder if you did some extensive search on their claims or you just pulled your comment out of your ass ?
Very good point. Both are 45nm, so how can they add 2 cores and keep the same TDP while adding more than the theoretical possible of 33.3% performance?
What research? No one has their hands on this processor yet, other than AMD. And AMD hasn't gone into detail on how it achieved those numbers.
I said "I wonder" because I have no idea, simply the fact that they got that percentage is what I find curious. The scaling in performance is rarely that large when adding cores.
How about we all learn some math before we post. 2 more cores mean 50% more cores right?(50% * 4 =2) So the theoretical maximum performance gain is 50%.
It's 34% because not all applications use 6 threads.
4 cores out of 6 means 66.6% so the 6 core CPU has 33.4% more power
Crap, your right. Thanks for making us feel dumb.
Gave me my morning laugh early today!
4 out of 6 cores is 66.7% represented as a fraction. Going from (keyword being increase) 4 to 6 cores is a 50% increase. We are comparing the gains of increasing core quantity from 4 to 6 cores here.
Dyslexia of the mind maybe?
These are also server chips, so they are geared for low power and maximum throughput when implemented within a network of similar hardware. The 34% is believable given what they run is capable of using these chips' full potential.
I think this is great news for AMD, I hope the processor does have a 33.4% increase.
i know but it`s funny how a simple thing can fuk up your mind and at some poing you don`t know which one is wich
6 was the number of main characters on the show Friends.
Friends had Matthew Perry as one of the characters.
Matthew Perry starred alongside Bruce Willis in 'The Whole Nine Yards'.
Bruce Willis starred in '12 Monkeys' with Brad Pitt.
Brad Pitt starred in 'Sleepers' with Kevin Bacon.
6 degrees to Kevin Bacon! HOOWAH!
....
OWNED!
I still want an i7. ;-;
You said 4 cores out of 6. This means the reference is the 6 cores.
So the 6 core has, according to your calculations 0% more power (the reference is itself).
I can't believe we are discussing this on THG.
100% agreed. Software is still lagging behind.