Sunnyvale (CA) – AMD confirmed the brand name for its next generation dual- and quad-core desktop processors: Non disclosure agreements, which prevented us from mentioning the brand of the CPUs until today have expired and we can begin using the real name: Phenom.

 

---

Systems and Boards: AMD Phenom X2 and X4 processors

---

 

AMD has not released much information today, but at least we can put a little more meat on the bare bones. AMD will call its new desktop processors, based on the “Stars” core, “Phenom.” Ever since the demise of the K6 processors, AMD has relied on brand names with implicit connotations – and Phenom is no exception: Our first guess was that the name was derived from “phenomenon”. Well, we were wrong: AMD representatives told us that the word “phenomenal” is the source of the new processor’s brand.

With the introduction of the new brand, AMD will drop the “64” add-on to all of its processors. Phenom processors will immediately be positioned on the high-end and mainstream of AMD’s desktop processor portfolio and push down the Athlon X2 into the lower-end mainstream. The (single-core) Athlon brand is gone; the Sempron (single-core) will stay for a while and continue to compete with Intel’s Celeron. New Semprons scheduled for Q3 include 35 watt versions of the 3800+, 3600+, 3500+ and 3400+, all of which will be based on the 65 nm shrink (“Sparta”) of the current 90 nm “Manila” core.

Phenom processors will arrive in three flavors – as dual-core Phenom X2 previously code-named “Kuma”), as quad-core Phenom X4 and as enthusiast model Phenom FX. AMD did not reveal any specifications besides the information that the architecture of Phenom is based on the “Barcelona” quad-core server CPU, however, sources indicated that the quad-core CPUs will run at clock speeds between 2.7 and 2.9 GHz and the dual-cores between 2.0 and 2.9 GHz. Power consumption should remain in the familiar range between 89 watts for the X2 versions and 125 watts for the quad-cores. AMD product manager Ian McNaughton told TG Daily that the platform will support DDR2-1066 memory and that AMD does not intend to switch to DDR3 “until OEMs are asking for it.”

The main task of Phenom is to put AMD back on the board for upper mainstream and enthusiast processors – a market the company has completely lost over the last six to nine months to Intel. The most expensive Athlon X2 processor (6000+) currently sells for a tray price of $229, less than one fourth of what the company charged for its fastest X2 processor at the family’s introduction almost exactly two years ago.

AMD declined to comment when Phenom will launch. However, we know that Barcelona will lead the charge with an early Q3 introduction. We expect the company to stay with its previous product introduction strategy and introduce the desktop part with 60 to 90 days of the server CPU launch. Assumed that Barcelona will surface early in Q3, Phenom series could become available in volume sometime in August or September – which should give the CPU ample opportunity to have a substantial presence during the Christmas shopping season.

 

 

Click through the Phenom image gallery here

 

 

Barc launch is "July/Aug" per Rivet

May 14, 2007 00:18     

And Hector said first shipments "toward the end of summer", Aug/Sep. Phenom should be: Oct if 60 says Nov if 90 days
zzzzat report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Semprons....??

May 14, 2007 10:14     

"the Sempron (single-core) will stay for a while and continue to compete with Intel’s Celeron" too bad the Celerons are already gone off the Intel roadmap. the Semprons are still kicking around, while the Celerons have already kicked the bucket.
Waethorn report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Core and K10

May 14, 2007 12:50     

actually, celerons are still on the roadmap. the Celeron 400 series is single core, 200mhz base, 35W tdp, 800mhz (quad-pumped) FSB, 512KB L2 cache. LGA775. now, about the phenoms... it's an interesting line, but... not impressive. pretty high tdp, only ddr2. if they would have put a ddr3 controller in it would have been far more better. imagine buying a phenom, put ddr2 with it, then, when you want ddr3 you need to change the cpu and motherboard too. the main problem that AMD has right now is the production capacity. hope for the best, prepare for intel.

ti report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

What did they change besides the name?

May 14, 2007 14:53     

Maybe yet again another socket? Please AMD, quit integrating the memory controller and obsoleting the motherboard and memory every 18 months.
David Orzoff report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Quit integrating the memory controller?

May 14, 2007 16:01     

I thought the integrated logic was one of AMD's greatest advantages with the Athlon line over P4 and Pentium D. Hasn't Intel mentioned copying this approach? I do agree that socket changes are getting tiresome.
Scott report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

A little later than I hpoed...

May 14, 2007 16:52     

but at least its coming. Hopefully a better showing than the delayed video cards turned out. As far as DDR3 goes, I am glad they are sticking to DDR2. Seeing as DDR2 had terrible performance compared to DDR for the first year or so I expect more of the same form DDR3. So far I've heard latencies are even higher than DDR2 so odds are the performance will be slightly down to flat with past tehcnologies. We'll see I guess... but the recent ATI performance doesn't ahve me holding my breath.

Kamel5547 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

So... they are changing the socket... AGAIN?

May 14, 2007 18:51     

Seems like AMD doesn't want to understand it's current situation. Everyone is SICK AND TIRED of having to change the motherboard every six months. More fuel for the Core Duo engine...
Lysander report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

no socket change!

May 14, 2007 20:24     

there won't be a socket change, for 2 cpus they will use the server socket and for single cpu they will use am2...
rammedstein report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

where does it say they are changing the socket?

May 14, 2007 20:28     

I dont see anywhere that AMD is changing their sockets... All I see is that they are going to go to DDR3 when OEMs are asking for it. However, it is not necessary to change sockets when using a new memory standard as has been shown with just about all sockets from socket 7. Besides, you will probobly buy a new board with your chip anyhow which makes your arguement null anyways. Besides due to the fact that these processors have an integrated memory controller, it will make the board cheaper too.

michael report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Now everytime I see a Sempron, I'll think of 300.

May 14, 2007 22:11     

What is this? Sempron, no this is Spartaaaaa!!!!
Eugene report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Better late than never

May 15, 2007 02:32     

They had a mountain of stuff going on and a scrapped fbdimm project which is where they boned the phenom. Any one know if tome forums are closed for remodelling? I cant seem to get in. To my knowledge I didnt do anything ,and I dont know how to hack or program. its wierd.
verndewd report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ati mobility is doing rounds at chlie hardware

May 15, 2007 02:36     

So great news coming out for AMD , with note books recieving alot more attention these days ,this is pretty significant to the outlook of the year.
verndewd report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

agreement with mobo makers?

May 15, 2007 04:18     

i could be wrong, but im guessing that they may have some sort of agreement with mobo makers that they have to change their socket e'ry once in a while.. i mean, think about it, if they stick with the same socket for years, mobo makers will run out of business. in intel's case, they just change the socket so that mobo makers cant catch up with them. Normally, new chips come with new Intel mobos. Thus they make money first for a crappy mobos, then only others can have their bites.. lol..

Yusuf report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Read the Press Release

May 15, 2007 06:48     

If you read the press release, you'll see that AMD intend to produce Multi-core AM2 versions too: " This design is also highlighted by a unique shared L3 cache for quicker data access and Socket AM2 and Socket AM2 infrastructure compatibility to enable a seamless upgrade path." This means (assuming the Motherboard company upgrades their BIOS) you can hang onto you're old board and RAM and still gain from the new architecture.

Ian report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Finally

May 15, 2007 11:52     

I have seriuosly no problem with the new socket change. I think its actually a smart idea. I mean ya it gives the mobo compainies more business. Also these newer sockets have the same design as the intel ones which are working better than the old pin ones. I really don't care if we have 2 processers on one board, i just care if its faster, but cost effective. I think they are buying time to develope more cores in one chip but still have a product thats faster than intels

Flabb report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

They're not changing the socket!

May 15, 2007 15:12     

From everything I've read on multiple sites, they are NOT changing the socket for the new processors. Everyone who's whining about buying a new mobo, SHUT up, you don't have to as long as you have AM2 which has been out for awhile now.
Remy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

No Socket Change! Or is there....

May 16, 2007 03:35     

Yes, Phenom will be on AM2; good news for most of you I'm sure. However, let's not forget that AMD are introducing a new socket, AM2 , which you'll need in order to take advantage of some of the new features of the Phenom. So basically, feel free to use AM2 - but you'll be a fool for believing that you'll see huge performance and feature improvements. I'm talking about Phenom X4 and X2 by the way, not the FX (has that even recovered from the bashing press gave it yet?) Furthermore, this is just rebranding - there doesn't seem to be any magnificant new technology going into the Chip, which is what I'd really like to see. Seems AMDs ten figure debt is eating at their R&D - this stuff, as well as 45nm, should have been on the Market months ago. We'll have to wait and see if Phenom really can deliver on its promise of better performance, as that's all end-users ''really'' care about.

Mekta report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

No new technology?This the 1st you've read on this

May 16, 2007 12:41     

These comments are just painful to read. First off, yes they are introducing a new AM2 socket, which is being reffered to as AM3. AM3 will have backwards compatibility with existing AM2 chips, but the current AM2 socket will not support the newer "AM3" socket chips. As for the technology... first some nice specs in this article http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...spx?i=2986 Second...the Phenom will be THE first true quad-core out. 4 cores on a single die, not the crap that intel threw together, 2 dual-cores in a single package and memory controller in the northbridge. The new chips, the quads particuarly were designed with 64bit Vista in mind. Something AMD worked quite closely with Microsoft on as to fully take advantage of the OS. Functions like having each of the four cores being designated a specific task. Such as one core handles the networking and virus protection, one handles hard disk activity, one handles the Main application, and one for the rest of the OS and backround software. These chips will allow for the cpu load of everything on the system to be split somewhat evenly. Vista is designed to max your cpu out, no matter how many cores or how much memory you have, the fact that this will split the burden and not waste any cpu power is a huge gain. Yes, the FX70-74 chips were prety much slaughtered in the media...but the thing is Those chips were kinda thrown together quickly as a response to intels "quad"core. The main reason for the release was the fact that anyone that happened to buy the board would be set up in advance for an 8 core system when AMD released their true quad core chips. Also, what everyone seems to overlook, that despite 64bit chips being around for near 4 years now, almost no one has written strong drivers, let alone software to actually use 64bit proccessing. It doesn't matter how well a cpu, or video card's design is if there isn't a strong OS and drivers to take advantage of it.

EyeMeMine report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

No new tech? part 2

May 16, 2007 12:43     

The core 2 and core 2 duo are focused more on 32bit applications. The performance drops drastically when doing anything in a 64bit app on a 64bit OS. The new Ati HD 2000 line of cards are the first designed from scratch to be used with 64bit vista. Somehow the HD2900 have like an increase of 250-300% the shader processes as the 8800gtx but since the drivers are still a little bugged it's not performing at top notch. The 45nm chips should have been out by now? Why's that? Intel is still at least a year and a a half away from being ready to produce 45nm chips. They also won't be doing a true quad core until the 45nm chips, and possibly the on-die memory controller, though that isn't likely until the 32nm chips. people need to start actually using 64bit operating systems...so there is increased pressure to have the drivers smoothed out, and more software released and supported. All people seem to be doing now is spending thousands of dollars on the latest and greatest hardware to go home and get more un-needed performance gains with Xp Pro. Yay

EyeMeMine report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: 'agreement with mobo makers?'

May 16, 2007 13:22     

That is the silliest logic I have heard yet today. Sockets have nothing to do with some agreement with motherboard makers NOR is it ever designed to hold some perverse monopoly over the industry. I hope you were joking.
Austin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

AMD vs Intel

May 16, 2007 21:29     

I'll buy Amd , if it was'nt for them Intel would still be shipping P3's, keep the core 2, new am2 for me soon as my 939 seems slow! Remember , Intel don't want to retool too much, they were forced too. Bill Gates "Who needs more then 640k?"
Ed report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I'll wait until this thing becomes reality before d...

May 17, 2007 01:09     

I'll wait until this thing becomes reality before doing any buying. I got stung by the Socket 939 fiasco and don't have a AM2 system yet.
Kien Tai report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RE: No new technology?

May 17, 2007 09:29     

Some really good comments, nice to see someone clued in at last! I hadn't thought much about 64bit actually, and it's certainly a good problem you highlight - software just isn't up to the task. That's the real problem both Intel and AMD need to address, and work closely with multiple Software Vendors in order to get around this problem. I think Multithreading is probably the most painful point for software vendors at the moment - not enough software is around to take enough advantage of either AMD or Intel's multi-core products. As for "true quadcore", customers don't care if it's native or not, they care if the performance is improved. We'll see that with the release of Phenom - for now it's just FUD as far as I'm concerned. Also, you're incorrect about the Intel production of 45nm - it's slated to start production 2H 2007, you might be getting confused about the Fab in Israel which will indeed be 2H 2008 (http://www.intel.com/technology/silicon/45nm_technology.htm) Anyway, thanks for the reply, it's given me food for thought!

Mekta report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

according to wikipedia

May 24, 2007 20:10     

AMD will introduce new "sockets" which is am2 & am3 basically, you'll be able to use am2 & am3 cpu's on am2 boards but it wont be able to use the hyper transport tech. 3.0 you'll also be able to put am2 processors on am2 boards, but not on am3 boards to me, it seems like am2 & am3 are the same, cept for the type of memory it will use I'm mostly glad that AMD decided to add compatibility between all 3 instead of throwing them out like s754 & s939

Jaimz report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Who won't buy Intel?

May 26, 2007 14:42     

Intel learned their lessons. They're retooling like mad! I saw a brand new factory build where I live in AZ. I think that's three that have here. I also read about other expansions around the world. Sounds like the 800lb gorilla started working out and is coming out swinging.
Dave report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

90% of all Users Won't Use 3rd or 4th Cores

May 29, 2007 10:27     

Most software is not written to use a second CPU core, let alone 4. Most users will never the third or fourth core on this CPU. CPU's are so fast, most people will only use the first core. Most advanced users, like myself, won't need more than their second core. How many tasks can you handle simultaneously? Perhaps you are playing a game which is written to use 2 cores and you want to encode MP3's. Then, perhaps you would use 3 cores. ;^D

Cypherdude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Yup 2 is more then enough

Jun 05, 2007 06:41     

For me a dual core cpu is enough as still very few application can use dual core.do u need to encode mp3, with rendering some 2 hours movies from video cam, play a cpu hunger game ....and ?? still got one more core to be used..u see the irony?? Technology advance over our capability of using it.
Trance Kuja report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Maybe 2 isnt' just enough

Jun 08, 2007 04:19     

I'm just an average user still using P4 2.6ghz.I was planning on getting quad core from intel. But now i'm gonna wait for phenom. I have a tv card in my system and i record a lot of stuff. But most of the time my cpu utilization is 90 %.While recording, sometimes i recode my dvd to mp4, watch movie,browse the net,play games, etc.But often i can only do one stuff at a time because my system starts to lag.I hope they come out soon with the shipment of new chips, cos i believe this will be a boon to many like me.

shan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

huh

Jun 08, 2007 07:48     

did you not listen, why don't people read before posting
lee report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RE: No new technology? May 17, 2007 09:29

Jul 16, 2007 06:04     

i will bother about 64 bit hardware when all my software is nativ 64 bit. we are years away from that situation! who cares today if amd has (if it´s true, what i doubt) the better 64 bit performance!! as example adobe sees no reason to code a 64 bit version of there programs. gamers will stay away from 64 bit because of the performance drop and driver problems. and and and..... 64 bit is NO reason today to buy AMD and will not help them gaining back market shares......

peter report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Its about time 2

Sep 01, 2007 10:44     

I am asking myself is it worth the wait or do I become a traitor and jump the fence and go to Intel I have been waiting for a long time for the quad core from AMD. Let’s hope the new power and efficiency hype is all its cracked up to be. Not just another AMD Turning into Doing an Intel Market Stunt. Don’t get me wrong I love AMD would prefer to have nothing else but it’s a long time coming from the company that threw out the quad core challenge to Intel over 2 years ago. Let’s just see if desktop enthusiasts and users alike get a good deal when they finally hit the market. I hope the Power is really back I hope AMD Rules the power game once again.

Grant report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Maybe you CAN use all 4

Sep 12, 2007 13:51     

I see some crying how "you will never use 4 cores" bla bla BUT how many here record audio on the daily??? your NOT gonna get 100 percent cpu running notepad and even your best game...........I am sick of long export times for audio mixes .......... I PROMISE you I will hit 3 cores @ least
james report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

im pretty sure quad core is the future...

Nov 01, 2007 13:08     

i reckon quad core is definitely the way to go, i will most definitely be upgrading to a phenom CPU when they become available, as im running a dual core atm, and i am still finding slowdowns when im recording lots of tracks with cubase,, another 2 cores would resolve this problem im sure,,
DankBuddZ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

will the phenom which is a AM2 socket work on a AM2...

Dec 10, 2007 04:18     

will the phenom which is a AM2 socket work on a AM2 board now? or will an upgrade to a AM2 quad board? =o
0lzi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0