AMD Opteron 4284 socket: Socket C32

What the Opteron 4284 is

AMD Opteron 4284 is an 8 core Valencia server part that AMD released in November 2011 for two socket servers. It uses the Bulldozer core design on a 32 nm process, running at 3.0 GHz base with Turbo Core to 3.7 GHz through a 3.3 GHz all core step. The chip holds four Bulldozer modules with eight threads, 8 MB of L2 with 2 MB per module, and 8 MB of shared L3. Power is 95 W. Benchmark listings that show 3.3 GHz describe the all core tier, not the 3.7 GHz maximum used here.

The cores have no Hyper-Threading, so threads equal cores at 8. High base clocks with eight threads suit virtualization hosts with mixed guests. The package integrates two HyperTransport 3.1 links and a dual channel ECC memory controller on die.

At 95 W the Opteron 4284 belongs to the standard power group. The clocks suit scale out racks with directed airflow. Boards are vendor qualified designs with ECC RDIMM slots. The How to find your CPU socket type guide shows how to confirm the socket before ordering parts.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Opteron 4284 fits Socket C32 in LGA form with 1,207 contacts. Valencia parts boot on C32 boards that list them, after a BIOS update. Check ECC RDIMM support per board. Boards are single and dual socket server designs from system vendors, qualified per model.

Power delivery at 95 W suits 1U and 2U chassis with directed airflow and vendor heatsinks. The CPU cooler compatibility by socket guide notes server sockets use board specific heatsinks.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory support is DDR3 up to 1600 MT/s, two channels, ECC. ECC RDIMMs are the server choice for long running guests. Balance DIMMs across channels and sockets for NUMA fairness.

PCI Express comes from the chipset, not from the Opteron die. HyperTransport links tie the sockets together and feed the chipset.

Cooling uses dense server heatsinks with directed airflow. The 95 W envelope sizes the heatsink and fan wall.

Upgrade paths

Within Socket C32 the Opteron 4284 sits near the top of the eight core Valencia group. A same socket move to Seoul Piledriver parts adds efficiency where the board BIOS lists the target.

A real upgrade means a new platform. AMD moved servers to EPYC on SP3 and beyond with DDR4 memory and many more cores. That move needs a new board, new memory and often a new chassis. Keep the node for secondary duty or retire it whole.