Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) 
(AMD) is extending its PowerNow technology into the
server and workstation realms, building it into Opteron processors, the
company announced today.
PowerNow, already available in laptops and desktop computers, helps keep chips cooler by cutting back on the power supplied to them when they are not in use. The technology, called Cool'n'Quiet in the Athlon XP processors, adjusts the clock speed of chips to make them more efficient.
Rival Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) had already announced it would incorporate SpeedStep, designed to do the
same thing, in its next-generation Montecito Itanium 2 chips, due out next
year.
Available in 2005
PowerNow has been included in all Opteron chips that have been on the market since mid May, but the feature cannot be used until instructions are built into the operating system. Owners machines using the Opteron chips can activate PowerNow using a BIOS (basic input output system) upgrade, which AMD will make available on its Web site in the first half of 2005.
Cooler chips allow data centers to pack servers more tightly. This is a major issue with blade systems, in which many servers are fitted into a single box.
Power use, including the cost of running both the equipment itself and air conditioning systems, is a big expense for data centers, so any reduction can have a big impact on the bottom line.
AMD also said that cooler chips mean less fan operation, which reduces the noise level in the centers as well.
Pieces Missing
While reducing power consumption makes for more efficient systems and is a
desirable goal, Gordon Haff, senior analyst at Illuminata, told TechNewsWorld,
the support 
necessary is not up to speed.
"Power management may have come from the notebook world, but it's increasingly important in servers as well. However, it's not widely supported by management software yet, and that's where the management dials and knobs need to be," Haff said.
"AMD and Intel can only provide the base-level capabilities and instrumentation. Most of the control needs to take place at a higher level, and it's not there yet for the most part."
AMD said the PowerNow system can be turned on an off using management
software. A company might want to shut off the power-saving device during
peak compute times.
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