DEVELOPER TOOLS

AMD plans to announce faster new models of its dual-core Opteron processor today as it continues its mission to beat up Intel on the server front. The members of the x80 line, the 280 and the 880, are both 2.4GHz 1MB chips. The 180, a 939 based one will be launched in 30 days, but the ones announced today are available now. They come in 95W, 68W and 55W, but unless you are a large OEM making blades don't expect to see the 68W ones. The product mix will be heavily 95W oriented, but more than enough 68W parts are in the mix to make it more than boutique item. Sun has used the Opteron dual-core "special edition" (SE) models at 2.4GHz in its new Opteron-based Galaxy server line. The 280 will be priced at $1299, 880 comes in at $2649, and the 180 at $799 for 1,000 of the processors at a time. The prices for the 865 and 265 now equal that of the 852 and 252 respectively, and the 870 and 270 overlap the 854 and 254 respectively. This means that AMD wants to move to dual core as fast as it can. AMD has gained market share against Intel with Opteron. Intel has numerous dual-core and multicore processor designs under way and will fight back with pricing.