AMD is set to ship its six-core CPUs next month in a bid to boost its profits in the server market. This is mainly due to AMD's report of a Q1 $416 million loss to shareholders earlier this month. The 45nm six-core 'Istanbul' series of Opteron processors include 6MB of L3 cache, an integrated dual-channel DDR2 controller and new HyperTransport Assist feature to reduce inter-CPU traffic. The new CPUs are backwards compatible with the current 1207 pin Socket F, making it easier for companies to transition between the new and old CPUs. AMD has been offering discounts on its Istanbul CPUs with a campaign announced earlier this month, allowing consumers to receive up to 35% off when upgrading their current Opteron chips to the new generation. This is an interesting, competitive move from AMD, as Intel is due to release its 32nm six-core 'Gulftown' CPUs next year. AMD have been releasing many new products recently such as the new Callisto dual-core CPUs, and we can only hope that it can once again rise up to be a real competitor against Intel's market dominance.