14 DAY TRIAL // Sometimes it makes me wonder why would Intel go to so much trouble to take out a company such as AMD, which, after all, doesn't have the same market share or influence as the power hog. Maybe it's just the way it's got to be between giants, like McDonalds and KFC, or Mercedes and Audi. And if by any chance when or if AMD will flood the market with superior quality products, the way it has done in the past, there is no stopping to the freight train, it will run them over, it has done so before.
But AMD is MAD and still won't give up the fight, and by doing so, it has begun the shipping of two new Opteron processors. Full volume shipments of the products are prepared for early May. The models are an AMD Opteron 2222 SE for two-processor servers and the AMD Opteron 8222 SE for eight-processor servers. The chips are similar to the dual-core versions, but have a higher frequency at which they run, 3GHz instead of 2.8GHz. AMD's processors are going to be included into ready-made computer configurations, but even though official names of the vendors who are going to integrate the processors into their systems haven't been released, Dell, Gateway, HP and Rackable Systems are among the presumed clients.
The company's plans include a 3.2GHz dual core Opteron processor to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2007, before the entry of the new line of Barcelona-based processors hits the markets in the middle of this year. But the Opteron line of processors will continue to be produced for several years to come, due to the price difference that will set in when the new, more expensive line of processors kicks in. It is also safe to say that for compatibility issues and service, it's good to have them on the market for at least three years, figuring that users buy them now, and taking into account AMD's warranty for processors.