The AMD Opteron 6180 SE was a server/workstation processor with 12 cores, launched in February 2011, at an MSRP of $1514. It is part of the Opteron lineup, using the Magny-Cours architecture with Socket G34. To further increase overall system performance, up to four Opteron 6180 SE CPUs can link up in a multi-processor (SMP) configuration. Opteron 6180 SE has 12 MB of L3 cache and operates at 2.5 GHz. AMD is building the Opteron 6180 SE on a 45 nm production process using 1,800 million transistors. The silicon die of the chip is not fabricated at AMD, but at the foundry of GlobalFoundries. The multiplier is locked on Opteron 6180 SE, which limits its overclocking capabilities.
With a TDP of 140 W, the Opteron 6180 SE consumes a lot of power, so good cooling is definitely needed. AMD's processor supports DDR3 memory with a quad-channel interface. The highest officially supported memory speed is 1333 MT/s, but with overclocking (and the right memory modules) you can go even higher. ECC memory is supported, too, which is an important capability for mission-critical systems, to avoid data corruption. For communication with other components in the computer, Opteron 6180 SE uses a PCI-Express Gen 2 connection. This processor lacks integrated graphics, you might need a graphics card.
Hardware virtualization is available on the Opteron 6180 SE, which greatly improves virtual machine performance.