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AMD to Phase Out Several Phenom II X4 CPUs, Readies Six-Core Chip

Paul Lilly — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:59:26 -0600

According to AMD's updated CPU release schedule, the chip maker plans to put several Phenom II X4 900 series chips on the chopping block. The company has already stopped taking orders for the Phenom II X4 910 (2.6Ghz) and 945 (3.0GHz) and will stop shipments in the second quarter of 2010.

Starting in the first quarter of 2010, AMD will no longer take orders for its Phenom II X4 965 (3.4GHz) and 925 (2.8Ghz) processors, while orders for the Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz) are scheduled to end in the second quarter.

In addition to the above named parts, AMD will start phasing out its Phenom II X4 800, X3 700, and X2 500 series, and Athlon II X4 600 and X3 400 series sometime next year.

To replenish its CPU lineup, AMD plans to launch a 95W Phenom II X4 955 processor in Q2 2010, as well as its six-core desktop chip codenamed Thuban. The 2.8Ghz Thuban part will be built around a 45nm manufacturing process and come with 512KB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache.

Image Credit: AMD

AMD Launches Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, Fastest Phenom Yet

Paul Lilly — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:00:00 -0500

(Image Credit: AMD)

AMD faithful and bargain hunters alike have a pair of new toys to play with starting today, as AMD launches two new processors for its socket AM3 platform, the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition and 945. Both parts boast compatibility with AM2+ (DDR2) and AM3 (DDR3) motherboards, while the Phenom II X4 955 BE supplants the AM2-based 940 as AMD's new flagship entry in its Phenom line.

Coinciding with the launch, AMD has also overhauled its Dragon Platform Technology, saying "every aspect of the platform has been improved and the overall value is impressive." And we'd have to agree, considering both new chips are being priced below $250. Let's take a closer look at the whole kit-and-kaboodle.

Phenom II X4 945

Starting with the lower model number, AMD's Phenom II X4 945 might conjure up a sense of déjà vu when glancing at the spec sheet, and that's because it's essentially the same chip as AMD's Phenom II X4 940, only in AM3 trim. What this means is that the 945 also comes clocked at 3.0GHz and packed with 8MB of L2+L3 cache (4x512KB L2 cache per core + 6MB L3 cache), but unlike its predecessor, the 945 supports DDR3 memory when used with an AM3-based motherboard. For those not yet ready to upgrade their existing board and buy new RAM, the 945 also works with AM2+ mobos.

(Image Credit: AMD)

Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition

Ranking as the more exciting release, at 3.2GHz AMD's Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition comes clocked faster than any other Phenom processor to date. And like the 945, the 955BE works with both AM2+ and AM3 motherboards, the latter of which brings support for DDR3-1333MHz memory. When paired with DDR3, AMD says to expect up to 37.3GB/s of total processor-to-system bandwidth, or up to 33.1GB/s when paired with DDR2-1066 memory and an AM2+ board.

No changes in cache separate the 955BE from the 945 or 940BE, but like all of AMD's Black Edition processors, the 955BE sports an unlocked multiplier, and AMD tells us its new chip "should demonstrate substancial overclocking headroom."

In part keeping with the company's aggressive pricing strategy, and out of necessity given the pressure being applied by Intel, the 955BE should see street pricing set to around $245. According to AMD, this makes the new chip a better buy than Intel's $270 Core 2 Quad Q9550, not only in price, but performance too, where a suddenly spunky AMD tells us the 955BE "definitively bests quad-cores within its price range."

(Image Credit: AMD)

Dragon Platform Receives New Wings

New processors aren't the only thing on tap over at AMD. The chip maker has given its Dragon Platform a face lift of sorts, which consists of the following combination of parts and technologies:

Radeon HD 4890 graphics card
AMD 700-series chipset-based motherboards
AMD OverDrive 3.0 (new)
Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition processor (new)

(Image Credit: AMD)

AMD's 955BE requires an updated BIOS to run properly, and so far, the company says a handful of motherboards are prepared for the release. These include:

AM3 / 790FX

Asus M4A79T Deluxe
MSI 790FX-GD70
Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-UD5P

AM3 / 790GX

Asus M4A78T-E
MSI 790GX-G65
Foxconn A7DA 3.0

AM2+ / 790FX

Asus M3A79-T Deluxe
DFI Lanparty DK 790FXB-M2RSH

AM2+ / 790GX

Asus M3A78-T
Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4H

Kick into High Gear with AMD OverDrive 3.0 Software

Continuing its marketing blitz, AMD appears to be flying high over its new OverDrive 3.0 software. New to version 3.0 are AMD Smart Profiles, which gives end-users fine-tune control over the processor's individual cores on a per appliation basis. So say you fire up a game optimized for dual-core processors - with OverDrive, you can ramp up the clockspeed on the two cores that will be utilized, while clocking down the other two cores.

(Image Credit: AMD)

Also new to version 3.0 are Black Edition Memory Profiles (B.E.M.P.). Similar to Nvidia's EPP profiles and Intel's XMP profiles, expect to see memory makers release modules desiged specifically for AM3-based systems. When enabled, B.E.M.P. will set more aggressive frequency and latency settings based on pre-tuned memory profiles.

Other enhancements to include a customizable autoclock, better hardware monitoring support, and Windows 7 compatibility.

What Does it all Mean?

No doubt it's been a rocky couple of years for AMD, who fell from atop its perch as the performance leader to now struggling just to keep pace with Intel's last-gen silicon. The good news is AMD seems to finally be in a groove with its Phenom line, and this latest launch provides AMD with a DDR3 foundation to build upon, while also offering AM2+ motherboard owners a drop-in replacement without the need for new RAM. And at less than $250 for the CPU and several sub-$200 AM3 motherboards to choose from, the 955BE offers a compelling alternative to that Core i7 rig you may have been considering, at least on paper.

When Will We See a 3.6GHz Phenom II X4?

Paul Lilly — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:30:05 -0600

AMD can use any help it can get, and for awhile, the chip maker looked like it was going to get it from a 3.6GHz Phenom II X4 quad-core processor. Not only would that represent the fastest-clocked quad-core by either AMD or Intel, but it would also be the fastest-clocked processor regardless of cores.

German website News-AMD recently said AMD would release the speedy 45nm chip in Q2 2009, but it appears the site was mistaken. According to TomsHardware, the site went offline due to "incorrect interpretation," and is now back online with an updated release schedule. Rather than Q2 2009, the site says a 3.6GHz Phenom II X4 is likely by the end of the decade, which means potentially waiting until 2010.

In the meantime, AMD's Phenom II X4 950 (3.1GHz) is still expected to debut in Q2 2009 with support for socket AM3. The new chip will support DDR3-1333 memory, come with a 4GHz HyperTransport interface speed, boast 8MB of cache, and have a 125W thermal envelope.

Image Credit: AMD

Rumor: AMD Plans to Release Six 45nm CPUs in February

Paul Lilly — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:15:08 -0600

Forget about chocolate, flowers, or diamonds, because the real buying decision come Valentine's Day will be what processor to indulge in. It's no stretch to say the entire tech world will remain infatuated with Intel's Core i7 platform by the time February rolls around, but Intel won't be the only one trying to woo consumers. According to DigiTimes, motherboard manufacturers are busy preparing for a sextuplet of 45nm quad-core AM3-based CPUs from AMD in February.

Phenom II X4 710 (2.6GHz, 6MB L3 cache)
Phenom II X4 720 (2.8GHz, 6MB L3 cache)
Phenom II X4 805 (2.5GHz, 4MB L3 cache)
Phenom II X4 810 (2.6GHz, 4MB L3 cache)
Phenom II X4 910 (2.6GHz, 6MB L3 cache)
Phenom II X4 925 (2.8GHz, 6MB L3 cache)

The same sources that have been whispering sweet-somethings to DigiTimes also say that AMD will follow up it's busy February release schedule with more 45nm CPUs in April, but they won't be Phenom parts. Instead, look for Athlon-branded chips without the shared L3 cache. Additionally, the chip maker plans to release the quad-core Athlon X4 600 family and tri-core Athlon X3 family at the same time. And if you can wait until June, sources say AMD will introduce it's 45nm dual-core Athlon X2 200 series.

Image Credit: AMD