AMD adds power saving at the high end

Future Opteron processors will have power management technology from AMD's laptop and desktop systems, the company has announced.

AMD is building its PowerNow technology into the 32/64-bit chips to cut running costs for Opteron powered servers and blades.

The technology is designed to modulate the amount of power the chip needs to suit the procession demands of individual applications.

Paul Miller, vice president of marketing for servers at HP, said: "Power efficiency is one of a set of emerging components that is redefining the total cost of ownership for data centre solutions.

"Opteron-based HP ProLiant servers, coupled with the power management advantages of AMD PowerNow technology, will enable our customers to manage their data centers, offering the greatest rack density while reducing IT operating costs. That combination is tough to beat."

PowerNow was originally developed for laptops to extend battery life, but has now spread throughout AMD's processor range.

Intel has made a similar move with its SpeedStep power management tools, reflecting the increasing focus on reducing fixed overheads in computing.