AMD says it will release its first 6 core chip in May, while Intel is already selling servers based on its 6 core Dunningtons like hotscakes.
These six core Istanbul chips are not equivalent to your average Intel Dunnington, however.
Here’s a cartoon


One is a real six core architecture, the other is 3 dual cores stapled together.
Which is company would you say is behind?
AMD to ship dual-core Neo, Istanbul this quarter
AMD will ship the six-core Opteron processor code-named Istanbul in May, a month earlier than expected, with servers based on the chip appearing in June. The processor will be an upgrade from AMD’s current quad-core Opteron chips code-named Shanghai. Further details about the Istanbul chip are expected at an AMD event on Wednesday.
The chips offer better performance while drawing the same amount of power as quad-core Shanghai server chips, AMD officials have said. Servers with eight Istanbul chips could offer the processing power of up to 48 cores.