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Welcome to AMD Opteron™ Solutions, an e-newsletter designed to offer you valuable information on current products, partnerships, promotions and much more from AMD and third-parties* that may help you make well-informed purchasing decisions. Comments, suggestions, or story ideas? Let us hear from you.

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New From Sun: The Sun Ultra 20 Workstation Powered by AMD Opteron™ Processors
Sun is changing the workstation game by offering a complete integrated workstation solution for EDA, MCAD and software development based on AMD64 technology. Pre-loaded with Solaris 10, development tools and a choice of 2-D and 3-D graphics accelerators, the Sun Ultra 20 Workstation is available in market-ready installation configurations that allow you to immediately increase your productivity and start at less than $1000.

For EDA & MCAD, the Sun Ultra 20 Workstation offers enhanced graphics capabilities by utilizing PCI Express™, a third-generation I/O interconnect standard that doubles the bandwidth of AGP 8x, and increases design efficiency by significantly speeding graphics processing. Beyond graphics, the Sun Ultra 20 provides ultimate flexibility in OS choice through support of Solaris, Linux or Microsoft® Windows®.

For developers, the Sun Ultra 20 Workstation is an ISV toolkit that combines Sun's expertise in workstation design with award-winning IDEs for Java, C/C++ and Fortran. Pre-loaded with Solaris 10, Sun Studio Creator, Studio Enterprise and Sun Studio 10, the Sun Ultra 20 Workstation is optimized for your development needs right out of the box. And by supporting both 64- and 32-bit applications, the Sun Ultra 20 workstation offers investment protection and seamless migration for your software applications.

Learn more about how the Sun Ultra 20 Workstation was designed to help increase your productivity>>>

AMD and Acer Bringing Dual-Core Solutions to Small and Medium Sized Businesses
Equipped with the new Dual-Core
AMD Opteron™ processor featuring Direct Connect Architecture and HyperTransport™ technology, the Acer Altos G5350 eliminates the memory bottleneck, I/O bandwidth, reliability, and lifecycle issues that have long impacted small and medium business (SMB) servers.

Acer rigorously tested the Altos G5350 to meet the demands of the SMB environment. In addition to proving the server’s mettle, these tests revealed the unrivaled efficiency with which the Dual-Core
AMD Opteron processor communicates with other components in both single and dual processor environments. The results were particularly glowing in the dual processor tests, allowing the processors to communicate directly with each other while not hindering routine computing tasks.

Among other reasons, Acer chose AMD because of the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor’s designed-in durability. As software providers inevitably migrate from developing 32- to 64-bit programs, the 64-bit processor will be ready for all new demands. This future-oriented philosophy perfectly complements Acer’s goal of building the Altos G5350 to grow with SMB customers' needs, and allow for conversion into a space-saving rack-mounted system.

Learn more about Acer Asia EMEA, the first region to offer the Altos G5350 and stay tuned for more information regarding the availability of this impressive server based on Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors coming soon to a region near you>>>

A Winning Combination: Leadership SPEC CPU2000 Scores for the IBM eServer 326 Server based on Dual-Core
AMD Opteron Processors
IBM eServer 326 server excels within compute-intensive applications used in high-performance computing. The new e326, configured with Dual-Core
AMD Opteron processors, has demonstrated leadership performance with new results on the SPEC CFP2000 and SPEC CINT2000 benchmark suites(1).

The e326 delivered a score of 65.88, the highest SPECfp_rate2000 score achieved by a 2-way dual-core rack server. The e326 also delivered a leadership SPECint_rate2000 score of 63.98. The e326 achieved these results using the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 275 running 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP1.

Learn more about the eServer 326 and check out the array of solutions from IBM powered by single-core and Dual-Core
AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture>>>

AMD Validated Server Program: Choose with Confidence
By collaborating with carefully chosen Validated Server Program (VSP) manufacturing and Solution Provider partners, we’re helping to make your experiences buying a server based on
AMD Opteron processors safer and easier than ever. Every VSP solution is virtually risk-free, because it has been quality tested for compatibility, longevity, and stability.

The AMD VSP covers:

• Single- and Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ processor-based server platforms, featuring AMD64 architecture for seamless 32- to 64-bit migration
  
  
• Proven configurations designed for easy integration, freeing you to concentrate on your core business
  
  
• An extensive list of peripherals, memory, and other components tested and validated for server compatibility
  
  
• Solution Providers backed by world-class manufacturing, service, and support

By taking advantage of the VSP, you can enjoy the familiarity and convenience of working with your favorite Solution Provider, while benefiting from the reliability and quality of AMD’s 64-bit technology.

Learn more about AMD’s Validated Server Program (VSP), a safer and easier way to add servers to your IT infrastructure>>>

Cray and AMD: Exceptional Performance for Scientific and Technical Computing
As the global leader in high performance computing (HPC), Cray provides innovative supercomputing systems that enable scientists and engineers in government, industry and academia to meet both existing and future computational challenges. For customers in manufacturing, oil and gas, scientific research, earth and life sciences, Cray supercomputers offer improved price/performance and deliver exceptional sustained performance on a wide range of applications.

Now, consolidated information regarding Supercomputers from Cray is at your fingertips. Find up-to-date details regarding the Cray XD1 and Cray XT3 systems, including whitepapers, system specifications, datasheets and more and see firsthand how Cray’s years of experience in designing and developing the world's most advanced supercomputers, offers a comprehensive portfolio of HPC systems, starting from under US$100,000.

Learn more about solutions from Cray based on AMD Opteron processors>>>

Take Notice: IBM’s New LS20 Blade Server Delivers Flexibility and Choice
Based on AMD Opteron processors, the new LS20 for IBM BladeCenter is a high-performance blade server delivering performance, density and availability for your high-performance computing applications. This new 2-way blade addition to the IBM BladeCenter family line up supports single- and Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ processors--up to four cores per blade--for a new paradigm in multiprocessor power and additional flexibility in your IT infrastructure.

The LS20 blades are packed with advanced features:

• The Integrated DDR DRAM Memory Controller, inherent in all AMD Opteron processors, scales with the number of processors in the system, reduces latencies during memory access over traditional front-side bus-based memory controllers.
  
  
• BladeCenter supports low-power AMD Opteron processors which provide uncompromised performance.
  
  
• Supporting both 64- and 32-bit applications allows for a smooth transition to 64-bit enabled applications while leveraging the price and performance of existing applications.
  
  
• Up to 84 hot-swappable servers in an industry standard rack or up to 80 into a telco-industry standard 84-inch rack, packing more performance per square foot and saving you valuable central office and/or data center real estate.

When combined with BladeCenter, the LS20 is designed to deliver density without sacrificing processor performance or availability. For applications that are limited by memory performance the LS20 may help you achieve sizeable performance gains.

The LS20, configured with the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 270 with 1MB L2 cache, has demonstrated leadership with 2-way blade performance on SPEC CPU2000(2), which comprises the SPEC CFP2000 and SPEC CINT2000 benchmark suites. The LS20 blade has posted the best SPECfp_rate 2000 performance score for a 2-way blade server. On SPEC CFP2000, the LS20 blade achieved a SPECfp_rate2000 peak score of 63.14. The LS20 blade also delivered the best SPECint_rate2000 performance score for a 2-way blade server. On SPEC CINT2000, the LS20 blade achieved a SPECint_rate2000 peak score of 61.06. The LS20 blade achieved these results using Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 270 (2.0 GHZ) and running 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP1.

Learn more about how the powerful LS20 blade server is delivering new levels of flexibility and choice for high-performance computing applications>>>

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*Certain links within this newsletter will take you to third-party Web sites that are not under the control of AMD. When you access third-party Web sites, you do so at your own risk and acknowledge that AMD is not responsible for any content, advertising, products, or other materials available from such sites. User also agrees that AMD shall not be liable for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of using any third-party Web site. The views and opinions found in third-party Web sites do not necessarily reflect those of AMD. The links are provided for your informational purposes only.

(1)Results, current as of May 18, 2005, have been submitted to SPEC for review and will be posted on their Web site upon successful completion of the review. For all SPEC CPU2000 benchmark results, visit www.spec.org.

(2)Results are current as of June 7, 2005. The LS20 blade’s scores have been submitted to SPEC for review and will be posted on their Web site upon successful completion of the review. View all results at www.spec.org.