SCIENCE

1/3 of the Top 100 HPC Systems Are Based on the AMD Opteron Processor AMD, the First x86 Provider to Break the Petaflop Barrier, Now Powers 4 Petaflops-Capable Top 10 Systems

AMD is prominently featured in the newest bi-annual TOP500 Supercomputers list, announced today at the International Supercomputing Conference 2011. AMD's leadership in High Performance Computing (HPC) is demonstrated by double digit growth in the total number of systems on the TOP500 list that are based on AMD platforms. More than half of the 68 supercomputers based on AMD technology now feature the 8- and 12-core AMD Opteron 6100 Series processor. These systems demonstrate massive performance capability as measured by the LINPACK benchmark, while driving commerce and helping researchers investigate complex science problems.

"The introduction of the AMD Opteron processor coincided with the HPC industry's shift to x86 and cluster-based architecture, away from expensive proprietary or RISC-based systems," said Leslie Sobon, corporate vice president, product marketing, AMD. "AMD provided the server technology that helped drive the democratization of supercomputing and has shown steadfast leadership in helping HPC break performance boundaries. Our new 16-core processor codenamed 'Interlagos' will add features specifically for HPC and offer the world's highest core count for x86. In addition to CPUs, we are also now seeing adoption of our GPU technologies in HPC and believe this will be a significant area for further development."

The Upcoming 16-Core "Interlagos" Processor

Based on the eagerly anticipated new "Bulldozer" core, AMD's 16-core "Interlagos" processor, planned for launch in Q3 of 2011, will feature multiple new advancements for High Performance Computing, including new instructions for HPC applications, significant memory enhancements, and the new Flex FP for 256-bit floating point processing, an innovation that allows for significant overall processor power savings when the Flex FP is not fully utilized.

Key Aspects of the TOP500 List

• 14 global OEMs have achieved placements based on AMD technology including Acer, Appro, Clustervision/Supermicro, Cray, Dawning, Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Koi Computers, Megware, Oracle, and Penguin
• Commercial customers deploying AMD-based TOP500 systems include IT service providers, web content providers, and companies in financial services, technology distribution and consulting, and consumer electronics distribution
• Major global research organizations on the TOP500 are using AMD Opteron processor technology to study complex problems in the areas of weather prediction and climate change, computer science, biology and other life sciences, astronomy, physics, nuclear and alternative energy, among many others
• AMD's TOP500 Supercomputing reach extends to 14 countries: Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States
• Government installations heavily rely on AMD technology with TOP500 systems in use at the US Air Force Research Laboratory, Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Center, Department of Energy, National Energy Research Scientific Computing, National Institute of Computational Science, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Naval Oceanographic Office, and the US Army Research Laboratory