AMD Opteron 146

The AMD Opteron 146 is a single-core, single-thread server/workstation processor built on AMD’s K8 architecture with the SledgeHammer core, using the AMD Socket 940 platform. The database record shows a release date of September 8, 2003, and lists the production status as end-of-life. No benchmark entries are present, and the nearest-rival list is empty, so this record is specification-driven rather than measurement-driven.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmarks array in the fact pack is empty. As a result, there are no submitted scores to break down, no percentile deltas to calculate, and no workload-specific results to compare. The only performance indexes provided are the average benchmark score of 0 and a percentileVsAllCpus value of 50. That percentile would normally place this CPU at the exact middle of the database’s entire processor population. In this case, however, the zero average benchmark score indicates that no measured performance data has been collected, so the 50th-percentile value should be read as a neutral/default position rather than as evidence that the Opteron 146 is statistically average in speed.

The nearestRivals field is also empty. No rival names, no rival scores, and no deltaPct values are present in the record. Therefore, no percentage leads or deficits can be stated. The performance discussion can only draw from the specification side of the data: one core, one thread, a base clock of 2000.00 MHz, and no boost clock. These are the execution parameters that would drive any benchmark result, but the fact pack does not supply a verified result for this processor. In short, the numerical performance story is defined by absence: a 0 score, an empty benchmark list, and an empty rival list.

Single-Thread vs Multi-Thread Behavior

The Opteron 146 is a strictly single-threaded design. It has one core and one thread, meaning only one software thread can be executed at a time. The distinction between single-thread and multi-thread behavior is therefore asymmetric: there is a single execution path, and that path runs at a fixed 2000.00 MHz base clock. The boost clock field is null, so the processor does not have a higher-frequency state to invoke when a single thread needs additional responsiveness.

On the single-thread side, the relevant resources are the 128 KB L1 cache, the 1 MB L2 cache, and the 2000.00 MHz clock. No L3 cache is listed, so the cache hierarchy ends at the 1 MB L2. For workloads that depend on one thread, the processor’s behavior will be shaped by how well that thread fits within the cache hierarchy and by the fixed clock speed. On the multi-thread side, there are no additional cores and no additional threads to absorb parallel work. A multi-threaded application still only has a one-wide target, and scaling across multiple threads is not possible on this processor.

This split has real workload implications. Single-thread-heavy tasks have the full cache and the full 2.00 GHz clock available to a single path. Multi-threaded workloads, by contrast, cannot spread execution across further logical processors. The database provides no benchmark results to quantify how this behavior plays out in practice, so the analysis must remain structural: the Opteron 146 is a one-thread processor in a world where multi-thread scaling is decided by the absence of additional cores and threads.

Platform and Compatibility

The physical platform is AMD Socket 940, and the processor belongs to the K8 architecture generation. The codename is SledgeHammer, and the generation field is recorded as Opteron (SledgeHammer (C0)). The process node is 130 nm, with 106 million transistors on a 193 mm² die. No series grouping is listed in the fact pack.

Memory support is only partially documented. The memory bus is stated as dual-channel, but the memorySupport field is null, so no memory type, module class, or capacity details are available. The memory bandwidth field is also null, meaning the throughput of that dual-channel bus cannot be quantified. The data additionally lists ECC memory support as false. For a processor aimed at the Server/Workstation market segment, that is a notable specification point, although the fact pack contains no further explanation.

The recorded PCIe interface is Gen 2, but no lane count is listed. There is no integrated graphics in the data, which aligns with the processor’s server/workstation positioning. The multiplier is not unlocked, so the clock multiplier cannot be changed according to the record. The part number is OSA146CEP5AK, serving as the SKU-level identifier. Production status is end-of-life, and the database provides no linked processor entries in the nearestRivals field, so an upgrade path cannot be derived from this data. The platform story is therefore one of defined physical compatibility — Socket 940, K8, dual-channel memory, Gen 2 PCIe — with several details left unspecified.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals array in the fact pack is empty. There are no named competitor processors, no rival benchmark scores, and no deltaPct values. Consequently, the Opteron 146 cannot be positioned against any specific rival in percentage terms. The instruction to compare against nearest rivals has no data to work with, because the database record simply does not contain that information.

The only database-wide comparison point is the percentileVsAllCpus value of 50. That places the CPU at the midpoint of the full CPU list in the database. However, because the average benchmark score is 0 and the benchmark list is empty, that midpoint is not a measured competitive position. It does not mean the processor outperforms half of the database or underperforms the other half in actual tests. It is simply the ordinal location assigned when no benchmark scores are present.

Since no rival paragraphs can be written from named data, the comparison section is defined by the empty nearestRivals field. There are no scores to put side by side, no deltas to report, and no competitive ranking to establish. The Opteron 146 exists in the database as a standalone record rather than as a processor with a measured position against any peer.

Power and Thermals

The Opteron 146 is rated at 89 W TDP. That figure is the only power-related number in the fact pack; idle power, load power, and efficiency figures are not provided. The physical construction is recorded as a 130 nm process with 106 million transistors and a 193 mm² die. These parameters give context to the thermal envelope, though no measured temperatures or cooler results are included in the data.

An 89 W TDP class places this processor in a moderate thermal range. For a server/workstation chassis, the implication is that a capable air cooler is sufficient to handle the heat output; the database does not list a bundled cooler, and no liquid-cooling requirement appears in the record. The absence of a boost clock means the processor does not have a higher-frequency boost state that would increase power draw above the base operating point. The 2000.00 MHz base clock is the only frequency reference, so sustained load behavior is tied to that fixed clock.

The locked multiplier also keeps the user from raising the frequency through a multiplier adjustment, which simplifies the thermal profile relative to an unlocked part. No thermal test data exists in the fact pack, so the cooling recommendation can only be inferred from the 89 W TDP and the server/workstation context: an 89 W processor with a fixed 2.00 GHz clock and no boost should fit within the capabilities of a capable air-cooled platform, with the exact cooler capacity left unspecified by the data.