AMD launches low-power six-core Opterons

AMD has introduced three new six-core processors — the first six-core chips in the Opteron line-up to fall into the low-powered HE range.

The 55W Opteron HE processors were announced on Monday, and are already available in new HP systems. More manufacturers are expected to start using the chips in the third quarter of this year. According to AMD, the processors are particularly suited to web servers and machines handling cloud-computing workloads.

The six-core Opteron HE processors featured "the highest performance-per-watt that [AMD has] brought to market," Patrick Patla, AMD's server business chief, said in a statement on Monday.

The new processors use 18 percent less platform-level power than is used by the standard six-core Opterons, which were released just a month-and-a-half ago, according to AMD. They also provide 18 percent more performance-per-watt than the chipmaker's quad-core HE processors.

As with the original six-core Opterons, the HE models are available for two-, four- and eight-socket servers.