Competition Refuses to Step into the Ring; Industry Benchmarks Validate Victory
SUNNYVALE, Calif., - Dec. 13, 2005 - AMD has been validated as the
victor in its dual-core duel challenge issued in August. Thanks to the
true dual-core technology from AMD available today, the Dual-Core AMD
Opteron(tm) processor leads in key published industry-standard
benchmarks as well as holding a significant lead in overall
performance-per-watt versus its competitor's products. Details about
the challenge and results are viewable at http://www.amd.com/duel
"Based on our growing market share and momentum among Global 2000
companies, it is evident that enterprises are demanding the performance
and performance-per-watt that can be delivered by the innovative
Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture," said
Marty Seyer, senior vice president, commercial and performance
computing, AMD. "The performance benchmarks are in and our competitor's
lack of response to our challenge is further validation of AMD's
multi-core leadership."
AMD has stayed consistent and true to its roadmap since 1999 and has not
confused the market with disruptive architectures. The Dual-Core AMD
Opteron processor provides IT Managers with the technology to decrease
costs, while increasing performance and not increasing thermal output.
Added Seyer, "It is clear AMD has delivered the most stable,
non-disruptive, enterprise-class x86 multi-core solution to market and
we plan to continue to be the safe choice for enterprises in 2006. In
fact, no other x86 dual-core server solution allows you to upgrade from
single- to dual-core in the same power envelope. This is critical for
companies that require stability in addition to the industry's best
performance-per-watt. AMD will remain laser-focused on
performance-per-watt heading into 2006 as more and more customers
continue to base their server purchasing decisions on this critical
factor."
In addition to the customer-centric features that clearly position AMD
as the multi-core leader, published SPEC benchmarks validate that AMD
has a multi-core performance lead over its competitor. Those benchmarks
include:
* SPECint(r) rate2000 - the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model
280 outperforms the dual-core Xeon 2.8GHz processor by 28 percent
* SPECfp(r) rate2000 - The Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model
280 outperforms the dual-core Xeon 2.8GHz processor by 76 percent
* SPECjbb(r) 2005 - The Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 280
outperforms the dual-core Xeon 2.8GHz by 13 percent.
As part of the original challenge issued to Intel by AMD, power
consumption was also a consideration. Mainstream Dual-Core AMD Opteron
processors at 95 watts, consume far less than the competition's
dual-core x86 servers processors which according to their published
data, have a thermal design power of 135 watts and a max power draw of
150 watts. This can result in 200 percent better performance-per-watt
than the competition. Even greater performance-per-watt can be achieved
with lower-power Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors that are available in
55 watt offerings.
AMD64 multi-core technology leadership extends beyond the server
to client systems with the AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 dual-core processor,
which continues to outperform competitive dual-core products by up to 20
percent and sweep head to head competitions.
Other published industry-standard server benchmarks include:
* MMB3 - The Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 280 outperforms
the dual-core Xeon, 2.8GHz, by 16 percent
* TPC-C - Four processor system based on the Dual-Core AMD Opteron
processor Model 880 achieved a TPC-C throughput of 236,054 tpmC and a
price/performance of $2.02/tpmC. Both overall number one scores for four
processor systems.
AMD's victory in the dual-core duel was first announced today by Pat
Patla, director of Server/Workstation Business, AMD, in the latest
installment of AMD's enterprise online series. The online event also
featured Sun's Executive Vice President for Network Systems, John Fowler
issuing a new challenge directly to Dell that would pit Sun's Dual-Core
AMD Opteron processor-based Sun Fire x4100 server against a dual-core
processor-based server from Dell. The latest enterprise online event can
be seen here at http://www.amd.com/enterpriseevent
Starting today, advertisements declaring Dual-Core duel victory by AMD
began running online. Full page ads were featured today in the San
Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and Austin
American-Statesman. A version of both the print and online ad is
viewable at http://www.amd.com/duel
About AMD
AMD (NYSE:AMD) designs and produces innovative microprocessors, Flash
memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer,
communications and consumer electronics industries. AMD is dedicated to
delivering standards-based, customer-focused solutions for technology
users, ranging from enterprises and governments to individual consumers.
For more information visit http://www.amd.com