|
|
AMD unveils G3MX technology
Author: Tim SmalleyPublished: 26th July 2007
AMD's next server socket after the current Socket F will be Socket G3... expect it, and processors supporting G3MX technology, in 2009.
G3MX will use standard JEDEC certified DDR3 memory modules, meaning that it’s possible to create a cost-effective machine with lots of memory and a reasonable power budget.
I’m sure many of you are wondering why “cost-effective” and “DDR3” are in the same sentence because, right now, DDR3 is exceedingly expensive. Worry not though, as by the time this technology is introduced, DDR3’s pricing will be more sensible – it will be implemented into future Opteron processors released sometime in 2009.
Socket F will be the socket that AMD’s Opteron processors use until after the company’s 45nm Shanghai processor makes its debut in mid-2008. After Shanghai, AMD’s Opteron processors released in 2009 will use socket G3 – this, not surprisingly, is where G3MX gets its name.
G3MX will double the amount of memory channels from two to four, meaning that it’s possible for processors featuring G3MX to address up to 16 DIMMs instead of the current maximum of eight. One thing that AMD hasn’t revealed at the moment is whether G3MX will require registered ECC or standard desktop DDR3 memory modules.
AMD’s intention is for the technology to be an alternative to FBDIMMs, which tend to be power hungry and certainly aren’t cheap – it’s also questionable whether they will ever get “cheap” in the future, too. DDR3, on the other hand, has the potential to get cheaper when volume increases and power consumption is also appreciably lower too.
It’s not clear whether this technology will make its way onto the desktop in a similar time frame, but given that the amount of memory we’re talking about here it’s unlikely to be required for some time.
Discuss in the forums.
Related articles on bit-tech.net
Comments (14)
Stats: 0.076 seconds
Yep, that's Shanghai (at least that's what the server part is codenamed) - mid-08, apparently. :)
Wasn't AM2 released more than a year ago ? which leaves AM2+ and the (forthcoming?) AM3 in the desktop market and aren't they all backwards/forwards compatible anyway ?
I doubt corporations will be too bothered by more slot changes in the server market - they'll just build new servers with whatever is the best setup for them at the time anyway.
Scalability will be a bit of a problem for there will be a remarkably thin array of configuration options with so many sockets. And we already know that many enterprise solution providers always incorporate some form of a proprietary measure in their products, making solutions from other providers incompatible with each other. I'm pretty sure there are at least another three sockets (I think they were just called M- or S-sockets, or whatever) later this year, plus AM2+ and AM3, and then we've got Socket F and the soon-to-be F+.
atleast amd releases new sockets.... intel requires you to buy new mainboards with the same socket....
or do you think you can run a QX6850 in every mainboard with socket 775? with different sockets its far easier for the end user to tell what mainboard is compatible with what cpu.