April 9, 2008 12:05 AM PDT

Long-delayed AMD 'Barcelona' chip available

by Brooke Crothers

Advanced Micro Devices said the long-delayed quad-core "Barcelona" Opteron processor is available in servers from computer vendors such as Hewlett-Packard.

HP G5 server series

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Barcelona had been delayed repeatedly due to production glitches and bugs. AMD is now shipping a "B3" version that includes the bug fix in silicon.

"Customers can get the quad-core AMD Opteron processor today in systems from HP, as well as other system providers," the chipmaker said in a release Tuesday night. The HP ProLiant G5 servers are the first of many systems that are expected to be available in the coming weeks from global OEMs and system builders, AMD said.

The Opteron 8300 Series is currently available in select HP servers at speeds of 2.2GHz (model 8354) and 2.3GHz (model 8356). Opteron 8300 series processors are targeted at multiprocessor servers that typically use four processors (16 cores).

AMD has updated its pricing with the 8360 (2.5GHz) listed at $2,149, the 8358 (2.4Hz) at $1,865, the 8356 at $1,514, and the 8354 at $1,165.

AMD also lists quad-core Opteron 2300 series processors, starting at $316 for the 2352 (2.1GHz) and ranging up to $1,156 for the 2360 (2.5Ghz). These are used typically in two-processor systems.

The quad-core 1300 series for single-processor systems ranges in price from the 1352 listed at $209 to the 1356 listed at $377.

"We are proud to be the first OEM to market with quad-core AMD Opteron processor-based servers," Paul Gottsegen, vice president of marketing for industry-standard servers at HP, said in a prepared statement.

Systems are also expected from IBM, Dell, and Sun Microsystems. IBM and Sun Microsystems have had systems waiting to take the chips since fall of last year.

Barcelona-based computers are also available from smaller vendors such as Rackable Systems and Supermicro, AMD said.

The chipmaker said Monday that it would reduce its workforce by 10 percent this year and that it expects to post first-quarter revenue of $1.5 billion, about 15 percent lower than the fourth quarter and well below seasonal declines.

Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Follow Brooke on Twitter @mbrookec.