Athlon FX in SMP?

drasnordrasnor Starship OperatorHawthorne, CA Icrontian
edited November 2003 in Hardware
According to AnandTech <http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1884&p=5>
"Although AMD says that the Athlon 64 FX is for use in single processor environments only, the current version appears to have all three Hyper Transport links - meaning that it can work in multiprocessor environments just like the Opteron. AMD has indicated that future versions of the Athlon 64 FX would only have a single Hyper Transport link, but there's no way of knowing when that will be."
I don't believe them. According to AMD , the only Opterons with all three lanes open are 8xx series Opterons, which retail for around $2000. Of course, the possibilities are interesting for Athlon FX's in multiprocessor configurations, since they support dual-channel DDR400 while the Opteron only does DDR333. Also, aren't the FX's multipliers unlocked by default...?

-drasnor :fold:

Comments

  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    I'd like to know how Anandtech can tell that there are 3 HyperTransport links enabled on the FX. What did they do? Break out the microscope and count? :D
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    i thinkt heir doing this for the enthusiasts...it seems liek a little pybilicity stunt
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Seriously though, with 8xx series Opterons going for $2000 or so per unit, it seems just a little odd that pin-compatible 8-way multiprocessing-ready Athlon FX's would be shipping for $800. As for how they'd test it, the only way I can think of is plugging them into an SMP board and seeing if it would POST. Of course, you'd think they'd mention doing that if it were the case.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    The Opteron supports DDR400. Manufacturers have begun releasing BIOS versions that coincide with the release of ECC/Registered PC3200 modules.

    To answer SimGuy's question:

    I believe there are programs out there that allow you to see the number of operational HT links. Don't quote me directly on that, but that's what I seem to recall.


    Technically speaking, the FX 51 and the Opteron are said to be identical. I don't think there's any real reason beyond a possible "L5 bridge" rehash that anandtech isn't right.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I may have misread what Anand meant:
    From AMD <http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_8796_8806~72984,00.html>
    Q: Do all AMD Opteron processors support HyperTransport™ technology? How many links?

    A: All AMD Opteron processors include 3 HyperTransport links that function either coherently, allowing for shared memory multi-processing configuration, or non-coherently.
    So, Opteron has three HyperTransport links, and the number of coherent HyperTransport links determines the number of processors. So let's say Anand is right about it having three HT links, now how many are coherent? Keep in mind that 1xx Opterons have 0 coherent links and AFAIK don't support multiprocessing at all.

    Can I have a link for your source on the DDR400 Opterons? Thanks.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Read the intro
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Sorry, didn't see that. I normally flip straight to the forums without looking at the front page. :doh:

    -drasnor :fold:
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