Going just by the specs, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 1.33%) might have a winner in its newest Opteron server processors. Presuming, that is, the company can find enough buyers -- a dicey proposition, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
The new 6300 series chips, unveiled last month, offer anywhere from 12 to 16 cores of processing horsepower. Each is also optimized for to deliver extra power-per-watt for high performance in environments where server resources are virtualized.
All good signs, Tim says, but it's also hard to envision many customers rushing out to buy when so many of the largest consumers of servers build their own from the ground up. Notably, Amazon.com, Facebook, and Google.
And yet there's at least one reason to be hopeful. AMD, to its credit, is an active participant in the Open Compute Project that's reimaging the very nature of servers. Facebook is leading the effort. In creating server chips that abide by the platform -- the new Opterons are fully compliant with AMD's Open Compute 3.0 specs -- there's a decent chance that even those who build their own will build with AMD.
That said, Tim cautions betting big on AMD in the short term. The company suffers from tightening gross margin and an inconsistent track record for growth.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. What do you think of the new Opterons? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know whether you would buy, sell, or short AMD stock at current prices.
