Earlier this week, AMD launched its line-up of single-slot Opteron 3200 server processors, targeted at low-end web servers.
The idea behind the Opteron 3000 series is to offer server reliability benefits such as support for ECC and high-quality silicon certified for high-load 24x7 usage, at a much lower price-point, with the chips supporting the more affordable workstation AM3+ socket, as opposed to AMD's previous entry-level C32 socket.
Essentially, the Opteron 3200 series is a bunch of re-branded desktop FX Bulldozer processors, with support for unregistered-ECC DIMMs and ran through the standard Opteron testing regime to ensure reliability over a consistent load. AMD will be launching with three models:
| Processor | Clock Speed | Cores | L2 Cache Per Core | L3 Cache | TDP (Watts) | 1k Tray Unit Price |
| 3280 EE | 2.4GHz | 8 | 1MB | 8MB | 65 | $229 |
| 3260 EE | 2.7GHz | 4 | 1MB | 4MB | 45 | $125 |
| 3250 EE | 2.5GHz | 4 | 1MB | 4MB | 45 | $99 |
Each processor will also feature Turbo Boost, with the 3250 and 3260 receiving a whopping 1GHz boost to 3.5GHz and 3.7GHz respectively, whilst the 8-core 3280 can boost by 200MHz to 2.7GHz with all cores active or by a gigantic 1.1GHz to 3.5GHz with only a few cores active.
AMD is claiming that the 3200 series enables 11 per cent lower server cost, with a 48 per cent lower processor cost, resulting in 38 per cent better price performance when compared to competing Intel Xeon E3 processors. The firm also claims 19 per cent less power draw per core, making the 3200 line-up an energy efficient one.
With pre-order prices typically 15 per cent above the 1k tray unit price, costs remain competitive with the desktop FX line-up, trading-off around 1GHz for half the power consumption and ECC support, creating a great entry point for small businesses and even home users that require a reliable server.
