Server platforms Toolkit

AMD's Barcelona: benchmarks

Kai Schmerer ZDNet Germany

Published: 08 Oct 2007

On 10 September 2007, AMD launched its first quad-core Opteron server processors. Codenamed Barcelona, these chips are initially destined for 2-way and 4-way servers that will hit the market in November. Later, we'll see quad-core processors for desktop systems too — the first PCs powered by the AMD Phenom are due in December.

Opteron models from the 2300 series are designed for 2-way systems, while 4-way servers will be built around the 8300 series. Meanwhile, Intel has had quad-core server processors available since November 2006, in the shape of the Xeon 5300 series. And just before AMD's Barcelona launch, Intel introduced a new 4-way server platform, codenamed Caneland, based on the Xeon 7300 'Tigerton' chips and 7300 'Clarksboro' chipset.

Both of the new quad-core Opteron series use 4 x 512KB of Level 2 cache and a large 2MB Level 3 cache. The clock frequencies of the new chips are disappointing at first sight, AMD's current production processes only allowing speeds up to 2GHz. However, the manufacturer hopes to be able to offer quad-core Opterons with higher clock speeds (up to 3GHz) soon. But even with their relatively low clock speeds, AMD's first quad-core server processors deliver convincing performance levels, as the benchmark results presented in the next section show.

Opteron (Barcelona) processors for 2-way servers

Model	2350	2347	2347HE	2346HE	2344HE
Clock speed	2GHz	1.9GHz	1.9GHz	1.8GHz	1.7GHz
Level 2 cache	4 x 512KB	4 x 512KB	4 x 512KB	4 x 512KB	4 x 512KB
Level 3 cache	2MB	2MB	2MB	2MB	2MB
Power consumption (TDP)	95W	95W	68W	68W	68W
Price (in 1,000-unit quantities)	$389	$316	$377	$255	$209

Opteron (Barcelona) processors for 4-way servers

Model	8350	8347	8347HE	8346HE
Clock speed	2GHz	1.9GHz	1.9GHz	1.8GHz
Level 2 cache	4 x 512KB	4 x 512KB	4 x 512KB	4 x 512KB
Level 3 cache	2MB	2MB	2MB	2MB
Power consumption (TDP)	95W	95W	68W	68W
Price (in 1,000-unit quantities)	$1019	$786	$873	$698

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