[Beowulf] AMD launched new Opterons for 2 socket server market

[Vincent Diepeveen]

AMD launched new cpu's lately.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/server/processors/4000-series-platform/ 
4300/Pages/4300-series-processors.aspx#4

The topmodel seems to be: 4386 having  4 modules @ 8 minicores and  
3.1 Ghz default clock and a TDP given of 95 watt.

It's unclear yet how much piledriver has been improved over bulldozer  
generation, if anything.

http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2012/2012111901_Pre- 
order_prices_of_Opteron_4300_series_CPUs.html

CPU world cites price for the 4386 opteron as $370

Now that seems low when compared to intels introduction price of  
Xeons, yet the CPU we can compare this one to
is probably the Xeon X5570, from 2 generations ago.

By now it's on ebay for $170-$180 and you can get probably get quite  
some off those bids as they offer them by the hundreds
for that price.

Though released Q1 2009, the intel X5570 also has a TDP of 95 watt  
like this model and it turboboosts, whereas we know
from tests so far from AMD that they just do not boost under full  
load, unlike intels Xeon series.

Random memory accesses intel was a whopping 2.5x faster than AMD's  
bulldozer under full load, so it will be interesting to
see whether AMD managed to shave a few percent off that, yet we can  
safely assume it'll be still at least factor 2.0+ slower
in random lookups to the RAM than this same X5570.

Honestely i don't know what AMD is thinking charging $370 for this CPU.

AMD did do real well at introduction of opteron after april 2003, i  
would argue BECAUSE of a faster latency to the RAM under full load,
with the introduction of the i7, intel won back that latency crown  
and therefore sold better.

Why they introduced bulldozer architecture then which is nearly 2x  
slower in latency than their own Phenom 6-core opterons, that's a  
total mystery to me.