AMD launches x220s and x218HEs

AMD IS LAUNCHING a slew of new CPUs today, or one depending on how you count. That one is the 2.8GHz Opteron x220 in 1xxx, 2xxx and 8xxx flavors. There are also a lot of new HE 65W parts up to and including x218s running at 2.6GHz.

Basically what we have on the high end is a 200MHz speed bump for the 90nm parts. There will not be 65nm Opterons until Rev H aka Barcelona barring a manufacturing problem, but there is a 3.0GHz 90nm part on the roadmaps for Q2.

The TDP for the mainstream parts remains at 95W, and the TDP measurements are also being done the same old way. The HE parts at 68W are also bumped up from x216 to x218 aka 2.6GHz, and most importantly, there is now a 12xx line of HE parts.

The single socket HEs signify to me that the yields on 90nm Opterons are way up allowing AMD to put out 65W variants into their volume lines. That more than anything is the most significant non-announcement today.

Moving on to pricing, the new models are the 8220 at $1514, 2220 at $698 and the 1220 at $545. The x220 SEs stay at the same price, IE exactly where the mainstream models are, with the x118 models ratcheting down one price bin. This portends the blindingly obvious x222SE parts coming RSN.

The x218 HEs are $1340, $611 and $432 for the 8-, 2- and 1- series respectively. The 1- series are priced at $168, $209, $247, $291 and the aforementioned $432 for the 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216 and 1218.

All in all, nothing earth shattering, just improvements in manufacturing leading to better parts available for the user. The 1- series HE parts expand the options for low end servers at about a 10% price premium, and so it goes. µ