Despite the fact that its been widely claimed that the Opteron's integrated memory controller and multiple Hypertransport interconnects help it outperform Intel's Xeon processor, Dell currently has no plans to offer dual-core AMD Opteron in its systems. HP, IBM and Sun have all announced systems that incorporate the new chip, but Dell just does not seem really that interested (but just try to get them to concretely admit that!)
But as usual, Dell refused to completely rule out the prospect of releasing a product based on AMD's Opteron server processor or its Athlon 64 desktop chip. Although the company's ongoing flirtation with AMD does generate headlines, it is designed mainly to wring additional concessions from Intel, according to analysts and industry insiders.