Table 3. Thermal Design Power versus Average CPU Power
Thermal Design Power (watts) Average CPU Power (watts)
137 105
115 75
75 55
Independent and combined memory channel modes
The Q
uad-Core AMD Opteron processor includes two DRAM controllers that support DDR2 DIMMs.
Each DRAM controller controls one 64-bit DDR DIMM channel that connects to a series of DIMMs.
The DRAM controllers can be configured to behave as a single channel (called ganged, or
combined, mode) or as two channels (called unganged, or independent, mode). Configuring the
DRAM controllers in unganged mode creates two 64-bit logical DIMMs, each equivalent to one 64-
bit physical DIMM. Configuring the DRAM controllers in ganged mode creates one 128-bit logical
DIMM. Each physical DIMM of a 128-bit logical DIMM must be identical (same size and same
timing parameters).
The configuration requirements for the DRAM controllers and DIMMs are as follows:
• Both DRAM controllers must be programmed to the same frequency. All DIMMs must operate at
the same memory clock frequency, regardless of the channel on which they are connected.
• The DRAM controllers do not support mixing unbuffered and registered DIMMs on the same
channel or between channels.
• The DRAM controllers do not support mixing ECC and non-ECC DIMMs on the same channel
or between channels.
Six-Core AMD Opteron processors
AMD introduced the six-core Opteron processor, formerly code-named "Istanbul," in June 2009.
According to AMD, the six-core Opteron processor (Figure 6) operates within the same power and
thermal envelope as the Quad-Core Opteron processor. However, it provides a 20% to 50%
performance increase, specifically for virtualization, database, and high-performance computing
applications. The six-core processor includes several innovations:
• A dedicated 64-KB L1 cache and 512-KB L2 cache for each core
• A 6-MB L3 cache shared among all cores
• 45 nm silicon process technology
• Support for DDR2 memory
• HyperTransport™ 3 technology
• HyperTransport (HT) Assist technology
• AMD Smart Fetch Technology
• Enhanced AMD PowerNow! with Independent Dynamic Core Technology and Dual Dynamic
Power Management
• AMD-V™ with Rapid Virtualization Indexing
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