Advanced Micro Devices has begun sending journalists invitations to its "Barcelona" quad-core launch, which will take place on the evening of Sept. 10.

    According to published statements by the company, the first Opteron cores based on the new technology should be available at launch, which means that the company will likely start accepting preorders the next day.

    The company has stated previously that "Barcelona production is on track for volume shipments at launch." AMD has achieved dual-core-equivalent yields on Barcelona production at Fab 36, AMD has said.

    AMD's quad-core architecture has been months overdue, while rival Intel has already shipped quad-core products into the market. Price cuts, however, have helped AMD's market share rebound.

    The delays in the Barcelona core have hurt AMD significantly, delaying revenue and forcing the company to float financial notes. In a troubling sign, AMD said Thursday that it will offer $1.5 billion in notes to institutional buyers, to pay off a loan AMD took out with Morgan Stanley in conjunction with its acquisition of ATI Technologies a year ago.

    AMD has said that its initial Barcelona chips will be clocked at 2.0 GHz, although future chips will obviously reach higher speeds. a 1.9-GHz low-power "HE" model will also be added, as well as a 2.3-GHz speed grade. The first chips are already being manufactured, AMD said in late July. the architecture will include improved power management, which AMD calls "CoolCore".

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