AMD said its Opteron processor will be bolstered by power management technology that will decrease overall power consumption and optimize performance in enterprise server systems.AMD’s PowerNow and Optimized Power Management technology is already in notebook servers. In the first half of 2005, server and workstation OEMs currently offering AMD Opteron processor-based platforms will support this enhancement to the 32- and 64-bit, x86 Opteron, AMD said.The technology combines microprocessor instructions and operating system software that increases or reduces the amount of power supplied to the chip depending on how much it is being used, IDG News Service said. Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst with Insight 64, said the announcement promises to solve the long-standing need in server environments to save electricity and costs associated with cooling. “Anything you can do here helps,” he said.“It’s the coming thing in server processors,” Brookwood said. “It used to be that power management was just in laptops.Intel is doing similar things with its Nocona processor, he added. Intel discussed the feature, called “demand-based switching,” at the Intel Developer Forum, in September. Technology Industry