AMD Opteron™ Processors – Redefining the 4P Server Market
Back when we launched the AMD Opteron™ 6100 series processors (code named “Magny Cours”), we talked a lot about removing the “4P tax” and changing the dynamics in the 4P market.
Let’s take a brief tour of the 4P market before we show you how we are really shaking things up.
The 4P server market has traditionally been the place where large databases, consolidated virtualized infrastructures, business applications and large e-commerce engines would live. Customers paid more, a lot more, in proportional terms, to get their hands on these platforms. One could justify the expense based on the high performance and large memory footprint.
Back in 1996, the 4P market was 13.1% of the total x86 market and at the end of 2009 it stood at only 4.2% (IDC Server Tracker, 4Q 2009). But without some serious change in the market, all of my experience tells me that on the current trajectory we would exit 2010 with a “3” at the front of the 4P market mix percentage.
This is why AMD called for the death of the 4P tax.
You see, 4P capable processors were always priced a lot higher than their 2P counterparts, even if the performance (socket to socket) was the same, or even, at times, lower. When we first introduced the AMD Opteron™ processor back in 2003, we shrunk that 4P tax, but it was still there. Entering the market with a smaller premium allowed AMD to gain share in the 4P market. But there was still more work to do.
With the latest generation of processors, you’ll find that our top bin 2P capable processor is priced at $1,386USD*. Our top bin 4P capable processor also is priced at $1,386USD. This is no coincidence, because they are the same processor (6100 series), with the same chipsets, drivers and supporting architecture.
Our competitor has chosen to take a different path. With their previous generation (2P Xeon 5500 /4P Xeon 7400) their top bin comparison was $1,600/$2,729USD (as of 5.26.2010). This represents a 70% premium (or as we sometimes style it, a “tax”) to move from the competition’s 2P capable system to their 4P capable system. With their latest generation, that 4P tax has jumped up dramatically. Today’s Xeon 5600/7500 comparison is now $1,663/$3,692USD (as of 5.26.2010). This represents a 122% “tax” that customers have to pay to go to 4P. And we wonder why the market is shrinking?
Where has this 4P market gone? The 4P market has grown in units, but not at the rate of the overall server market. As the x86 server market has grown over the past few years, the 2P platforms saw all of the growth because customers found the reliability and scalability meeting their needs. The price/performance couldn’t be ignored.
To save that market, something had to fundamentally change, which is why we introduced the concept of the “Value 4P”, a platform designed to bring the performance of 4P with the value more associated with a 2P system.
To give you an idea of how this plays out in real products, I took a look at the new Dell PowerEdge™ R815, a 4P AMD-based platform. This 2U 4P server is a great solution for not only 4P workloads, but also many high end 2P workloads. This raises the question – if you could get 4P performance at 2P prices, why wouldn’t you do that?
I configured a few systems to prove my point
| System | Processors | Total Cores | System Price (as of 5.26.2010) |
| Dell PowerEdge R815 | 4 AMD Opteron™ 6168 processors (12-core, 1.9GHz) | 48 | $8,065 |
| Dell PowerEdge R815 | 4 AMD Opteron™ 6136 processors (8-core, 2.4GHz) | 32 | $8,065 |
| Dell PowerEdge R710 | 2 Intel Xeon X5680 processors (6-core 3.33GHz) | 12 | $8,244 |
| Configurations: 32GB memory, one 146GB SATA hard drive, no OS, base 3-year warranty | |||
We held the configuration constant to help isolate the impact of processor pricing on the overall system price.
A 4P priced UNDER a 2P? Up to 4X the cores for a lower price (12 cores x 4 processors = 48 total cores vs. 6 cores x 2 processors = 12 total cores)? Suddenly there are a lot of places to think about 4P technology where previously 2P was the only realistic option. With 32 total DIMMs sockets, the Dell PowerEdge R815 can support a much larger memory footprint than the typical 2P systems, which commonly feature just 18 total DIMM sockets.
Where does this platform make the most sense?
- HPC clusters. If you are not saturating the fabric interconnect, wouldn’t you rather have a single 4P node instead of two 2P nodes? This would allow you to cut the interconnect card cost and your switch and cabling costs because you’ll have half as many nodes. Plus, you could see lower overall power and management costs by using half the nodes.
- Databases. Microsoft SQL server licenses by the server, up to 4P, so license cost is the same for either a 2P or 4P system. But with 4P, you get the benefit of additional cores to help speed up your multiple simultaneous queries.
- Consolidation. If you are consolidating workloads, wouldn’t 48 cores in only 2U of rack space meet your needs for scalability and performance in a condensed form factor?
- Virtualization. More cores and more available memory sockets make this a great virtualization platform. In addition, having the potential for 2 SD cards to run the hypervisor can make this a great virtualization engine for your business.
As you think about your next 2P server, maybe it is time to consider the new Dell PowerEdge R815, which would mean your next 2P server could actually be a 4P system. And if you can get 48 cores for less than cost of 12, the options for deployment expand vastly.
With choices like this new “Value 4P” platform and the removal of the “4P tax”, we might actually see that 4P market trend turn around. And who can argue with getting more for your money?
For more information, download our 4P white paper.
Configuration 1: Dell PowerEdge R815, 4x AMD Opteron™ 6168, 1.9GHz, 12C, 32GB Memory (16x2GB), 1333MHz, Dual Ranked UDIMMs, 146GB 10K RPM Serial-Attach SCSI 6Gbps 2.5in Hotplug Hard Drive, No Operating System, Sliding Ready Rails With Cable Management Arm, 3Yr Basic Hardware Warranty Repair: 5×10 HW-Only, 5×10 NBD Onsite, 1100 Watt Non-Redundant Power Supply, $8,065.00 as of 5/20/2010 http://www.dell.com
Configuration 2: Dell PowerEdge R815, 4x AMD Opteron™ 6136, 2.4GHz, 8C, 32GB Memory (16x2GB), 1333MHz, Dual Ranked UDIMMs, 146GB 10K RPM Serial-Attach SCSI 6Gbps 2.5in Hotplug Hard Drive, No Operating System, Sliding Ready Rails With Cable Management Arm, 3Yr Basic Hardware Warranty Repair: 5×10 HW-Only, 5×10 NBD Onsite, 1100 Watt Non-Redundant Power Supply, $8,065.00 as of 5/20/2010 http://www.dell.com
Configuration 3: Dell PowerEdge R710, 2x Intel Xeon X5680, 3.33Ghz 6-core, 32GB Memory (8x4GB), 1066MHz Dual Ranked RDIMMs, 146GB 10K RPM Serial-Attach SCSI 6Gbps 2.5in Hotplug Hard Drive, No Operating System, Sliding Ready Rails With Cable Management Arm, 3Yr Basic Hardware Warranty Repair: 5×10 HW-Only, 5×10 NBD Onsite, High Output Power Supply, Non-Redundant, 870W, $8,244.00 as of 5/20/2010 http://www.dell.com
*Based on AMD 1Ku pricing
John Fruehe is the Director of Product Marketing for Server/Workstation products at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
POSTED IN: AMD Opteron
TAGS: 4P tax, AMD Opteron 6100 Series, x86
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COMMENTS: 20
Great blog!!
One typo: 12 cores x 4 processors = 48 cores, not 36.
Thanks for the catch. If you write enough blogs at midnight on airplanes, some of this is bound to happen.
Dang if that isn’t tasty. If only I had grant money burning a hole in my pocket, and if only my overlords weren’t so mac-obsessed.
We can help them with that. I am guessing they have budgets, right?
If you wish. you know where to find me.
If you can talk some sense into him, I’m all for it. 
(It’s not a big purchase; just a box or maybe two)
SQL 2008 and VMware vSphere license by processor. Oracle licenses by core. I’ve calculated some costs after modeling the purchase price of your 3 Dell offerings, and I have my overall TCO as much less after including the cost of HW and SW with that Intel 2S offering. Interested in your thoughts…
Actually SQL licenses 2 different ways: by processor (unlimited users) and by server with CALs (named users). In an environment where large amounts of data are being stored and a handful of admins are querying the data, the second scenario is going to be the right solution and there is no difference between 2P and 4P in licensing costs. In the first case, with unlimited users, customers would probably opt for a site license in many cases, so again SW licensing becomes a non-issue.
Oracle and VMware have different licensing models. Both really drive customers to site/enterprise licensing because the cost of compliance is a lot lower and the administration tasks are a lot lower in the long run for the customer. In these cases, processor/core licensing becomes irrelevant as well.
I have configured 2P systems with Intel processors using VMware Vsphere Enterprise and AMD using VMware Vsphere Enterprise Plus (to compensate for core count differences) and saw little, if any difference in total cost because the SW licensing savings is erased by the higher Intel processor costs. Plus, you lose the Enterprise Plus additional features.
If you are spending roughly the same amount of money, would you rather have the higher priced Intel processors and fewer software features or the lower priced AMD processors and more software features? I am not sure of how many people would limit their application functionality just to give more money to the silicon provider.
tks..from an investor
paarl
For users who don’t need 4P, can you compare AMD 2P systems to Intel 2P systems?
I have done some quick math and AMD-based systems tend to be ~15-20% lower in price relative to intel 2P systems. We are a few points higher in integer performance than the westmere (X5680) parts and ~23% higher in floating point performance. Plus those processors run very hot.
What about Xeon 6500? It is much closer to Magny-Cours than Xeon 5600.
Xeon 6500? Hardly:
x5680 Integer (381)
6174 Integer (387)
x6550 Integer (343)
x5680 Floating Point (257)
6174 Floating point (316)
X6550 Floating Point (260)
Oh, and let’s not forget the prices:
Xeon x5680: $1663
Xeon x6550: $2461
Opteron 6174: $1165
So, essentially, for the 6500 series you can pay either 50% more than the 5600 series OR you can pay 2X the price of Opteron. Either way, you are paying a huge premium for lower performance.
For the life of me I can’t figure out the value proposition of that platform. It is clear that they wanted a 4-channel 2P processor to compete with AMD, but who figured out the pricing? What customer would want to pay 2X for lower performance?
“We are a few points higher in integer performance than the westmere (X5680) parts and ~23% higher in floating point performance. Plus those processors run very hot.”
Do you have a published source for these performance numbers? I would think a 3.33Ghz Intel core would be roughly twice as fast as 2.1GHz AMD core (considering single thread performance). Or were you aggregating integer and floating point performance over 48 cores vs. 12?
One would think that, but there is so much more than clock speed that results in total performance. I was actually comparing 2P AMD to 2P Intel:
x5680 Integer (381):
http://www.spec.org/cpu2006/results/res2010q2/cpu2006-20100329-10277.html
6174 Integer (398):
http://www.spec.org/cpu2006/results/res2010q1/cpu2006-20100315-10002.html
x5680 Floating Point (257):
http://www.spec.org/cpu2006/results/res2010q1/cpu2006-20100301-09735.html
6176 Floating point (318):
http://www.spec.org/cpu2006/results/res2010q1/cpu2006-20100315-10006.html
Comparing 4P AMD to 2P Intel from a performance standpoint would really drive the point home even more.
Is there a technological limitation that 6P and more systems don’t exist.
We support up to 4 processors in a system. That is 48 total cores and 16 channels of memory in a single platform.
As of today Dell is charging an additional $1,739.00 for 4P system. JUne 18, 2010
Dell pricing can be fluid, it all depends on how you configure the options. I don’t believe they have changed pricing, so it is likely that they have changed the configuration.
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