Sun Tuesday unveiled its first server based on the 32-/64-bit Opteron chip, the first product to come out of a partnership Sun announced with AMD less than three months ago. Sun also took the wraps of five new Unix servers, all leveraging the multi-threading technology in the new UltraSPARC IV processor.

“The biggest sweeping theme is that after a couple of years of getting beaten up by Wall Street and others for spending so much on R&D, we’re opening 2004 with probably the most expansive upgrade to our product line from top to bottom that we’ve had in a decade,” says Larry Singer, Sun’s senior vice president of global market strategy.

The Opteron-based v20z is one of more than a half dozen new servers introduced Tuesday as part of Sun’s quarterly news announcement. The 1U dual processor box, which will be generally available next month, starts at $2,795 for a single processor configuration. A two-processor configuration starts at just under $4,000.

By contrast, IBM’s Opteron-based eServer 325 starts at about $2,900 for a one-processor configuration. Pricing for a two-processor model begins around $6,000.

Sun is banking on Opteron to help lift its standing in the fast-growing x86 market, where the server maker has yet to break into the top ten. HP, which reportedly is also considering rolling out Opteron systems, leads in x86 shipments, according to the latest ranking by Gartner.

“[Opteron] provides an opportunity for Sun to take a leadership role in x86, which in the past we have not had a chance to do,” says Souheil Saliba, vice President of marketing for volume systems products at Sun.

Sun made its first entry into the x86 market two years ago and just this past spring rolled out two servers based on Intel’s Xeon processor. Currently, Sun only plans to ship one and two processor Xeon systems. As for Opteron, Saliba says Sun will roll out a four-processor box next quarter, with an eight-processor box also on the roadmap. “Blades and other products” are being planned, as well, Saliba says.

The Opteron servers will run 32- and 64-bit Red Hat and SuSE Linux, as well as 32-bit Solaris. A 64-bit version of Solaris is planned for the Opteron chip later this year. In addition, the systems will be Windows certified, Saliba says.