SUNNYVALE, Calif. - AMD announced on Monday the immediate launch and availability of its AMD Opteron™ 6200 and 4200 Series processors.

The new products aimed at offering better performances with up to 84 percent higher performance;increased scalability for virtualization with up to 73 percent more memory bandwidth, enabling servers to host more virtual machines and also handle increasing workloads; and more efficient economics for the Cloud with half the power per core, requiring 2/3 less floor space and up to 2/3 lower platform price.

"Our industry is at a new juncture; virtualization has provided a new level of reliable consolidation and businesses are now looking to the cloud for even more agility and efficiency. We designed the new AMD Opteron processor for this precise moment," said Paul Struhsaker, corporate vice president and general manager, Commercial Business, AMD.

"The wait for the most anticipated new product and architecture for servers is over. Leading OEMs are now offering cloud, enterprise and HPC customers a full suite of solutions based on the industry's most comprehensive server processor portfolio, the new AMD Opteron family of processors which deliver an inspired balance of performance, scalability and efficiency."

AMD also announced the expansion of its 2012 roadmap with the addition of the new AMD Opteron 3000 Series platform. The AMD Opteron 3000 Series platform is targeted to the ultra-dense, ultra-low power 1P Web Hosting/Web Serving and Microserver markets.

The first processor will be the 4-8 core CPU code-named "Zurich", expected to ship in the first half of 2012. "Zurich" is based on the "Bulldozer" architecture and leverages the new Socket AM3+. The AMD Opteron 3000 series offering is designed for hosting customers who require dedicated servers for their customers. These cloud and web hosting customers appreciate the cost savings associated with a lower cost infrastructure, yet still want to deploy a server-class product with reliability and security features and server OS certification.

Systems from Acer, Cray, Dell, HP, IBM and many additional channel and motherboard partners are expected on the market in the coming days and weeks.

AMD is also introducing embedded server processors designed for high-end embedded systems such as storage, telecommunications and networking infrastructure. These models are planned to be available to match the embedded market's longevity need.