A processor called Istanbul

Mavi Boncuk |
To mark the sixth anniversary of its first Opteron processor, Advanced Micro Devices today officially announced its new server processor, code-named "Istanbul." AMD says this will be the first such processor with both six cores and a direct connect architecture. AMD is preparing to ship the new six-core processor by the second half of 2009, as the chip maker look to capture a higher share of the two- and four-socket server market. While AMD announced only a few specifics of Istanbul, the company issued a brief statement that said it had finished some early demonstrations of the six-core processor and that it would begin to ship in the second half of 2009.