OPTERON(Advanced Micro Devices)

History of the Opteron• AMD's server & workstation processor

line• 2003: Original Opteron released

o 32 & 64 bit processing (No penalty for 32-bit)o Direct Connect Architecture

Hyper-Transport Technology Integrated Memory Controller

• 2004: Opteron HE/EE releasedo First low-power x86 processor

• 2007: Quad-Core Opteron releasedo First quad-core x86 processoro Virtualization Technology

History (Continued)

• 2009:o Quad-Core AMD Opteron EE (Very energy

efficient)o Six-Core AMD Opteron with AMD chipset

• 2010:o Opteron 4000 series (Focus on cloud

computing)o Opteron 6000 series (First 8-core/12-core x86

processor)• 2011

o Further expanded the Opteron 6100 series

Opteron Progression* Moore's Law in action

• 2003:o 130 nmo 1 Core

• 2007:o 65 nmo 4 Cores

• 2011:o 32 nmo up to 16 Cores

* Image/Chart from Wikipedia

The Opteron Today• In November 2011, AMD released a set of

microprocessors based on a new architecture codenamed “Bulldozer”

• Opteron’s first major redesign since 2003• Architecture is 20-30% faster than its

predecessors• These microprocessors are faster & cheaper than

Intel Xeon equivalents in price/performance ratio• Three new series of “Bulldozer” chips:

o 6200-series “Interlagos” for socket G34o 4200-series “Valencia” for socket C32o 3200-series “Zurich” for socket AM3+ (Released 3-

20-2012)

6200-series Interlagos• 16 processor cores (4-12 core versions are also

available)o Most ever on an x86-based processor

• Clock speeds in the range of 1.6 GHZ to 2.6 GHZ• Prices range from $523 to $1019• Primarily aimed at scalable applications (that

utilize many threads)o databaseso cloud computingo high performance computing (like

supercomputers)o virtualized server environments

6200-series Interlagos cont.

• FEATURES:o Each module (consisting of 2 cores) has two integer

units and a shared floating-point unit more operations executed per clock cycle

o During each clock cycle, each core can process 256 bits of parallel data via two 128-bit instructions, or one 256-bit instruction (64 operations per cycle)

o Turbo Core Technology: Allows processor clock speed to increase by 500 Mhz on all cores, or by 1 GHZ on some cores depending on performance requirements

o System Bus Speed = 6.4 GT/so Supports Quad Channel DDR3 1600MHZ memory, up to

12 DIMMS per socket

6200-series Interlagos cont.

• CACHE INFORMATION:o 32MB total cacheo L1 cache

64KB shared instruction cache per module (x8 per processor)

16KB data cache per coreo L2 cache = 16MB (2MB per module)o L3 cache = 16MB (shared between all cores;

16MB per socket)

Opteron Module

• Each Core:o L1 Data Cacheo Integer Unit

• Each Module:o Two Coreso Floating-point Unito L1 Instruction Cacheo L2 Cache

• Chip Level:o L3 Cacheo Northbridge

* Image From Silicon Mechanics

Bulldozer Instruction Set

* Image from Silicon Graphics International

Opteron 3200/4200/6200-series

Comparison3200-series 4200-series 6200-series

Number of Cores

4 and 8 6 and 8 4, 8, 12 and 16

Clock Speed 2.4 GHz to 2.7 GHz

1.6 GHz to 3.3 GHz

1.6 GHz to 2.6 GHz

Memory Technology

Dual Channel DDR3 up to 1866 MHz

Dual Channel DDR3 up to 1600 MHZ

Quad Channel DD3 up to 1600 MHz

System Bus 5.2 GT/s 6.4 GT/s 6.4 GT/s

L1 Cache 2 x 64 KB Instruction4 x 16 KB Data

4 x 64 KB Instruction8 x 16 KB Data

8 x 64 KB Instruction16 x 16 KB Data

L2 Cache 1 MB per core 1 MB per core 1 MB per core

L3 Cache Up to 8 MB shared

Up to 8 MB shared

Up to 16 MB shared

Price Range $99 to $229 $125 to $377 $523 to $1,019* Chart comprised of information from several AMD sources:AMD 3000 Series Quick Reference Guide: http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/Opteron_3000_QRG.pdfAMD 4000 Series Quick Reference Guide: http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/Opteron_4000_QRG.pdfAMD 6000 Series Quick Reference Guide: http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/Opteron_6000_QRG.pdf

Opteron 3200/4200/6200-series Comparison cont.

3200 4200 6200Cloud Computing X X X

Virtualization X X X

Email/Collaboration

X

Databases X

High Performance Computing (Supercomputing)

X

Chart of Primary Applications:

Summary• Was made for servers• Has been following Moore's Law

o Smaller, faster, more memory• Has been following what the people

want• Innovating processors.

o Coordinating multiple coreso Cores sharing caches

Works CitedAdvanced Micro Devices. "AMD Opteron 6000 Series Platform Quick Reference Guide." AMD.com. Advanced Micro Devices,

2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/Opteron_6000_QRG.pdf>.

Advanced Micro Devices. "AMD Opteron 4000 Series Platform Quick Reference Guide." AMD.com. Advanced Micro Devices, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/Opteron_4000_QRG.pdf>.

Advanced Micro Devices. "AMD Opteron 3000 Series Platform Quick Reference Guide." AMD.com. Advanced Micro Devices, 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/Opteron_3000_QRG.pdf>.

"Opteron." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2012.

Shah, Agam. "AMD's 16-core Opteron Chips Arrive after Wait." Computerworld.com. International Data Group, 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221776/AMD_s_16_core_Opteron_chips_arrive_after_wait?taxonomyId=162&pageNumber=2>.

Silicon Graphics International. "AMD “Bulldozer” Core Technology." SGI.com. Silicon Graphics International Corp., 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2012.

Silicon Mechanics. "Guide to the AMD Opteron 6200 Series Processor." Siliconmechanics.com. Nov. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://www.siliconmechanics.com/files/BulldozerInterlagosInfo.pdf>.

AMD Releases Opteron 4200 "Valencia" and 6200 "Interlagos" Series 11/14/2011. Web 8 Apr. 2012. <http://www.anandtech.com/show/5096/amd-releases-opteron-4200-valencia-and-6200-interlagos-series>.