Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will release dual-core Opteron processors for servers and workstations in 2005, the same time frame that Intel Corp. plans for its first dual-core products, an AMD executive said Monday. The Direct Connect architecture used to build the Opteron processor makes it easy for AMD"s designers to place two processor cores on the same silicon die, said Ben Williams, vice president of AMD"s server and workstation business. Opteron features an integrated memory controller and Hypertransport interconnects that can connect the processor to the I/O port or directly to another processor, he said.
AMD will release more details about its dual-core processors as it approaches their release in 2005, Williams said. Several chip makers are looking to dual-core designs as a way to increase the performance of next-generation processors without the constraints imposed by rising levels of power consumption in single-core processors. Two common methods of improving the performance of a single-core chip are increasing clock speed or adding cache memory, both of which require more power.