AMD announced upgrades to its x86 Opteron processor line this week, while Hewlett-Packard (HP) unveiled Opteron-based systems to power a new enterprise server, blade servers and workstations.AMD said the latest additions to the Opteron line – the 852, 252 and 152 – are processors for one-way to eight-way x86 servers and workstations. Volume server solutions based on the 852 and 252 processors are expected to be available this quarter. The 852 model costs $1,514 in 1,000-unit quantities, and model 252 is priced at $851 in 1,000-unit quantities. The 152 processor for single-processor workstations and entry-level servers, is scheduled to be available April 30 and will be priced at $637 in 1,000-unit quantities. AMD also announced the AMD-8132 HyperTransport PCI-X 2.0 tunnel, scheduled to ship for servers and workstations this month. The latest addition to the AMD-8000 series of chipsets, the AMD-8132 tunnel brings high-performance PCI-X 2.0 connectivity to AMD Opteron processor-based systems with increased throughput, improved RAS capabilities, data management and enhanced HyperTransport technol-ogy connectivity. Features designed to enhance performance of the new models include support for SSE3 software instructions as well as an increase in the HyperTransport performance through an increase in bus frequency, to 1GHz. “These models of the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture bring the newest level of performance to our customers. The platforms our partners launched … feature the world’s highest performing 4P and 2P processors for 32- and 64-bit computing,” Marty Seyer, corporate vice president and general manager of the Microprocessor Business Unit, Computation Products Group, AMD, said in a statement. Server and workstation systems featuring the Opteron processor will soon be enabled with AMD PowerNow!technology with Optimized Power Management. “This technology helps to minimize overall power consumption for enterprise IT and workstation customers by decreasing strain on datacenter cooling and ventilation systems,” said Seyer. “All in all, this represents a modicum of progress,” said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst with Insight64. “(The new processors) show that AMD is staying on its Opteron roadmap, which is a good sign.”The new processors will power new server and workstation platforms from HP, including an enterprise-class HP ProLiant server, the HP ProLiant DL385. Additionally, HP introduced its ProLiant BL25p and BL35p blade servers and the HP xw9300 Workstation, the company’s first AMD Opteron processor-based, dual PCI-Express graphics workstation with support for NVIDIA Quadro SLI (Scalable Link Interface). Technology Industry