Three AMD Opteron 3200 series CPUs are in the works

Original AMD Opteron family, launched 8 years ago, was aimed at three different parts of the server market. Opteron 1xx series was destined for uniprocessor workstations, 2xx series was designed for dual-processor systems, and 8xx series for multi-processor servers. Second and Third-generation Opterons followed Opteron's footsteps, and also targeted low-, mid- and high-ends of the market segments. Things changed with the introduction of six-core Opterons in 2009, when single-processor models were eliminated. Current Opteron 4100 and 6100 families also don't have dedicated processors for one-way workstations. Based on limited information at hand, it seems that AMD may again release uniprocessor server chips, this time branded as Opteron 3200. Currently we have details on three members of this family, Opteron 3250 EE, 3260 EE, and 3280 HE. New Opterons will be based on Bulldozer micro-architecture, and they will work in socket AM3+ motherboards.

AMD Opteron 3250 and 3260 are low-power microprocessors with 45 Watt TDP. They have 4 CPU cores, and run at 2.5 GHz and 2.7 GHz. The size of L3 cache on these microprocessors is different from consumer AMD FX parts, but we don't know exact number.

The third processor from 3200 series, AMD Opteron 3280, has 8 cores, and operates at 2.4 GHz. This model has 65 Watt maximum power consumption.

It's encouraging to see low-power Bulldozer server processors, and we hope that eventually AMD will follow with Energy Efficient FX models. If not, then there is a good chance that all 3000 series Opterons will work in consumer socket AM3+ boards.

The table below contains the summary of features of Opteron 3000 CPUs:

Model	Cores	Frequency	L3 cache	TDP
Opteron 3250 EE	4	2.5 GHz	Unknown	45 Watt
Opteron 3260 EE	4	2.7 GHz	Unknown	45 Watt
Opteron 3280 HE	8	2.4 GHz	8 MB	65 Watt