Advanced Micro Devices has kept the momentum going for its Opteron processor, growing its share of the x86 server processor market to nearly 26% in the second quarter.

AMD's x86 server market share in the second quarter was 25.9%, up from 22.1% in the first quarter, allowing the company to further temper Intel's dominance in the x86 market.

Intel's recent introduction of its Core architecture-based Woodcrest, platform for servers is expected to bring it into performance parity or perhaps in a leadership position against AMD, and help stem the tide of AMD's advance. AMD's gains in the server market.

How quickly Intel can use Woodcrest to slow down or reverse the AMD gains is debatable, says Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight 64. Intel will need some time to transition its production over to the new processors and get significant volumes into the market.

"There aren't that many Woodcrest-based servers out there yet," Brookwood says. "You can't turn off the old products overnight and turn on the next generation processors. These things take a while to work through the factories."