ROADMAPS SEEN by the INQUIRER recently show that AMD is making a serious bid to shred holes in the X86 workstation market, with system prices likely to ratch an extra notch because of the introductions. When AMD pitches its 2GHz Sledgehammer (Opteron) in the second quarter of next year, systems will be offered at both the entry level – below $3,000, and in the mid range performance level – over $3,000.
By the third quarter of next year, AMD wants to introduce 2.2GHz Sledgehammer uniprocessor ships into the "performance" sector of that market. And by the fourth quarter next year, if its roadmaps are still on target, it will have 2.6GHz, 2.4GHz, and 2.2GHz Opterons in the performance $3,000 plus sector, while the entry value workstation market will include 2.2GHz and 2GHz processors.
These Opterons will include 1MB of level two cache. One of the advantages AMD will claim is that it is using common industry components and motherboards to put in its workstations.
By that time, as Intel roadmaps reveal, it wil have introduced its "Prescott" CPUs, using 90 nanometer technology. These, currently, are shown as being 3.40GHz plus, but we wouldn"t be at all surprised if Intel"s clocking 4GHz by then.