AMD updates Opteron line with faster server processors

Models will offer faster clock speeds without boosting power consumption

AMD has updated its Opteron line with five new models for its server platform.

The company said that the the two new 6200 series and three new 4200 series chips would all inlcude an extra 100MHz of clock speed while maintaining the power consumption of the previous chips in their respective lines.

"The idea is that we are releasing new products that sit within a range of customer needs, from low power up to the highest performing," said AMD product marketing manager Michael Detwiler.

"Depending on what a customers application workload is, we are going to have the processors to hit those needs."

On the high end of the server space, the company is offering its 6200 series processors. Designed for more demanding tasks such as database systems and high performance computing nodes, the 16-core 6200 series chips will be offered as both standard and high performance power band options.

For low-power servers, AMD is offering its 4200 series chips. The company will be adding three new models to the line which will also sport a higher frequency while maintaining previous power bands.

Detwiler told V3 that the 4200 series was proving popular with emerging fields such as cloud computing platforms.

"If you look at the low-power chips those are typically customers that we see with certain cloud applications," he explained.

"They are people that are looking for density and power that they can fit into a rack."

AMD said that the first servers based on the new chips will be offered by Dell and HP. The two companies will be rolling out 15 models based on the 4200 and 6200 series processors.