Servers, 64bit, dual core, AMD, and Dell

Not too far removed from the Apple switch to Intel from IBM/PowerPC, Intel really seems to be trailing AMD in the server market. The 64 bit Opteron is selling far better than Itanium. AMD has beaten Intel to market by months with dual core server CPUs. It's gotten to the point where Dell is selling the desktop dual core chip, the Pentium D, in its server models, since the Xeon dual core doesn't seem to exist yet. Even more telling, server software vendors are advertising Opteron 64 bit compatibility.

The most entertaining thing about dual core is how it effects the licensing of software products that are licensed per processor. IBM has started to relent, probably because they want to sell the dual core AMD machines while Dell waits for Intel. Oracle on the other hand, still wants double the cash for letting you use an upgraded processor capability that required no changes to their code.

So, I've got to buy a new server this weekend. Dual Core 64...
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