AMD Ships Bulldozer for Servers, Desktops to Follow in Q4
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 8, 2011 10:50 AM ESTYesterday AMD announced that it had begun revenue shipments of the first Bulldozer processors for servers. More specifically AMD is referring to its Interlagos CPU which features two Bulldozer die on a single multi-chip-module package. A single Interlagos CPU features 16 integer cores (8 FP cores) and will work in existing AMD Opteron 6100 series platforms. AMD mentioned that the production version of Interlagos was ready in August, the past weeks have simply been used for testing and validation.
What about the Socket-AM3+ version of Bulldozer? AMD mentioned that it will be shipping Zambezi processors before the end of September and is "tracking to an expected Q4 launch and availability for those parts". Why the lag between server and desktop parts? A look at Bulldozer's architecture reveals that it's clearly aimed at servers - addressing that market first makes the most sense. Secondly, AMD's Opteron parts have traditionally run at much lower frequencies than their desktop counterparts. It's always easier to push out a lower clocked part than to push the envelope of the design and process. Finally, it looks like the desktop part went through one more stepping (perhaps related to clock speed?) than Interlagos which pushed back its launch.
With AMD saying that Zambezi will ship in September but launch in Q4 it's safe to say that rumors of a September launch date aren't true. Q4 encompasses October, November and December. My money is on an early-to-mid Q4 launch.
Source: AMD
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Casper42 - Saturday, September 10, 2011 - link
So AMD had a small delay in getting Interlagos out, but Intel just slipped SB-E Server chips (Xeon 5600 replacement) from a Nov launch to more like Feb/March due to some errata they didn't feel comfortable releasing as well as issues with PCIe 3.0. On the flip side, Intel still seemed to think they could get SB-E desktops (X79 compatible chips) out before the holidays but only time will tell. Either way it looks like AMD might have a few month advantage on both fronts for a little while.Some AMD sources also said that Terramar will not be the next gen chip after Interlagos. Terramar was to be 20 cores and G44 socket but now there will be another G34 compatible chip after Interlagos (probably around the same time as Ivy Bridge server chips) and then G44 and a future design will come out later. So I expect AMD and Intel to kinda line up on the server chips for the next year at least
Sandy Bridge a few months after Interlagos,
Ivy Bridge and Bulldozer.Next around the same time towards the end of 2012.
And then Haswell and AMD's G44 compatible CPUs sometime in 2013
DominoFX - Sunday, September 11, 2011 - link
Don't care what the field of expertise may be, if you're rushing it out, chances are, you're bound to make a mistake. In the case of this CPU, I'm glad they're holding back til they feel comfortable enough to get it on the market. The Bulldozer is a pretty big deal for AMD. And they seem ready to put their money where their mouth is. I'll trust their judgement on this matter more than some boy wonder desk jockey, with a hidden agenda backed by a "I told you so." hanging by a thread of failure.