Advanced Micro Devices will release faster versions of its Opteron processors.
The Opteron 150, 250 and 850 chips will run at 2.4GHz, said Ben Williams, vice-president of AMD's server and workstation business.
The fastest Opteron chips were the Opteron 148, 248 and 848 chips, which ran at 2.2GHz.
AMD uses a model number rating system to convey the performance of the Opteron chips.
The first digit in the three-digit model number indicates whether the chip belongs in one-way, two-way, or four-way and eight-way servers. The second digits indicate the performance of the chip relative to the other chips in its series.
Opteron allows IT managers to run 32-bit applications and 64-bit applications on the same server, provided that server uses a 64-bit operating system. The chip uses extensions to the 32-bit x86 instruction set to deliver 64-bit capabilities.
AMD's technology has won the backing of major server vendors such as IBM, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard and led rival Intel to announce plans for a similar chip.
The x50 processors consume 89 watts of power while at maximum power.
AMD has released lower-power versions of slower Opteron processors, and will release other products from its low-power road map later this year, he said.
The Opteron 250 costs $851 in quantities of 1,000 units and is available immediately. The Opteron 150 and 850 will be available within 30 days, and cost $637 and $1,514 respectively.
Tom Krazit writes for IDG News Service
