seriously... this seems like a waste of money and resources.

Price of the Tri-core must be in the mid $100.

Have had the Qx6600 for a months now. I guess these are good for school computer labs or something. Why would a serious end user look at this? unless they want to do a science experiment and see how far they can overclock it before the 11 metal layers cry.

As if the 6400 "black edition" wasn't bad enough...now they are releasing this? Henri Richards is gone - who the heck is in charge of marketing these days?

Unlocked multipliers are for enthusiasts no? Aren't these the same enthusisasts that they'll want to buy the Phenom in a couple of months?

Is this what AMD made all of the fuss about at http://amd-member.com/campaigns/black/ and then "Dared" to release just this CPU?

I max out my q6600 all the time while multitasking, using emule, xnews, dvd shrink and watching 1080p video's at the same time, I would love to have even more power, and there are many more programs I could add to my list that are running simultaneously.... Power users take advantage of there multiple cores.

The unlocked multipler on the black edition is a nice feature and I am sure AMD fans will still take advantage of them, not everyone is going to buy the Phenom. 99.99% of the worlds computer owners don't even know whats in there computer, these tech articles are only for us nerds.

release the "Totally Dark" version. It needs no power to operate and it consist of 4 dead cores. "Now there's power/performance Intel can't touch."

Lame lame lame

Did I say lame?

It is way more hip than a Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz which is its current price competition. Real cheap fun for a mainstream proc, and user experience is more important than shear benchies.

The box is to cool to throw away also....

AMD people should check out the prices of the new Intel processors. The prices looks crazy to me even. I think Intel is going all out to take AMD out. Jan 2008, I will wait

No Matter what we did we couldn't get these chips to run smooth & stable at 3.3GHZ, but if you pay us a premium we will let you give it a whirl. If it sells, f'ing genius.

I think you miss understand "yawns" (frags) comment, the processor isnt amds fastest. we arent looking at a 'fast' cpu. we are looking at what is aimed at overclockers, but it misses this market, or at least misses hyping the market.

If you wanted more raw processing, like you suggest, you would get something like the 6400 .

There isnt much in this 'tech article' other then the 5000 for an extra 10USD can have an unlocked multiplier and black boxing. Its pretty dull, hence 'yawn'.

Boo Hoo Amd.. Intel taking your lunch much?
Cut low end chips.. Intel cuts the chips just a notch above into the same range cutting the legs off of a price cut. Try making more powerful chips..
Why did you stop at 6400? why does it take 125 watts? You've got to do MUCH, MUCH BETTER.. 32nm 60-80w chips @ 7200 multicore must be your next breakthrough in q1, 2008 or your a gonner.

Wow, it's like AMD sad, "we can't do anything more with our technology... certainly not in a stable, reliable way,... so we'll let users give it a try".

So they're opening up their clock multipliers on a $100 chip... that's so desperate. They also opened up their video cards for open source video drivers... another desperate move.

They're breaking the rules of the game trying to get a little more time, but I see desperation. Intel and Nvidia who are kicking their ass so hard are scratching their heads, "I though we had a way of doing things". If Intel decides to play hardball, which AMD is daring them to, AMD is gonna go down. Already without unlocking multipliers, Intel is from what I understand basically underclocking their cheap parts as they have to dumb down their tech to be around AMD level.

I really like Jin's idea of a "Totally Dark" edition, but I think it should be a single core processor with an unlocked multiplier and a really cool box. Probably a Socket A processor.

That would so pursuade me against buying a Q6600 which is my bare-minimum upgrade at this point. I am maxing out my 2.4Ghz dual core AMD left and right with Vista and Media Center (while multitasking and watching a little tele, HD tele but still). The Q6600 is high priced but at least it would seem like something worth slapping 4GB right now and up that to 8GB in a bit (or just get the 8GB and have a screamer which I've never really done before).

Overclocking is how we salt our steak, this isn't steak.

With an Intel Quad core Q6600 @ only $283, I can't see how AMD can compete. The last time I used an Intel CPU was 1988. I never thought I'd be buying an Intel CPU but it looks like I will.

I for one appreciate this release. Yes, the hole black campaine had me expecting more but this is a good thing. Imagine if AMD starting giving all it's processors unlocked multipliers. Thats good for you and me. If you want $1,000 dollar cpus then continue w/ intel, I don't. I like amd, I like the selection, I like the prices. Really now, what is a marginal 5% increase going to really do for you, Nothing. Amd, you have me sold.

I will always buy / prefer AMD. Without AMD, Intel would have no reason to improve their product. Intel would be to CPU's what Microsoft is to operating systems. MS has no real competition in the OS market; therefore, there is no real reason to truly improve Windows. This would be true of Intel if AMD goes away.

Since I have had problems with my motherboard lately I'm considering buying a new one.
Frankly, I don't know: AMD OR INTEL.
I was (am) a supporter of AMD but I am thinking of buyng Intel this time. I was hoping that AMD could catch up with Intel but "they have failed me". I would like to buy their products but at this time I don't see the reason why.
Anyway, let' hope thet they manage to keep up.
WE NEED THE COMPETITION

Seriously, where is all this hate coming from. K8 is AMD's old tech. Everyone here knows that. If it isn't a Phenom processor it isn't going to compete with Intel's high end which, let's me honest, only matters to us. AMD doesn't have the resources or the FABS, lay off. They got one over Intel during P4 because Intel was slacking. Let's just enjoy good tech in shorter cycles.

Why would anyone appreciate this release?

I think what is going over your head is that these are processors that couldn't be stable as black box 6400.

So basically AMD took the cream of the crop that can OC to 6400. And the ones that were stable at slightly less they decided to get some chump change selling those. Tricking 'DUMB' enthusiast into thinking they have top chips they may be able to exceed past 6400 LOL

So yes you are happy that they released a processor that wont be stable at even 6400. And you suckers wont have any where to complain when you can't hit the OC speed you dreamed about.

LOL it would be like buying a defective dodge viper motor that will never be able to hit the top speed no matter what you do. Do you really say 'hurray' for that?

Much thanks, Tom - while you will "always/buy prefer AMD", the folks who will buy the best product at the time would like to thank you for "fighting the good fight" while the rest of us "buy the good product".

@Lou: "what is a mraginal 5% increase going to do for you?" Then why would you buy an unlocked 5000 for ~10% MORE COST than a locked version? If it is to overclock - why not buy a CHEAP (< C2D 6300) Intel chip and OC it well beyond a X2 5000? Or better yet buy a CHEAPER AMD chip (if you only buy AMD) and OC it? Your logic is not logical!

This whole black marketing campaign is a black (w)hole. Henri Richards must be having a real good laugh right now.

"Overclocking is how we salt our steak, this isn't steak"

Awesome quote :)

"Overclocking is how we salt our steak, this isn't steak"

You could think of it this way. Intel sells the 3.2GHz E6300 under clocked at 1.86GHz so they can sell it at a nice low price. AMD sells their CPUs are the rated clock speeds and charges you the same price as the under clocked Intels. Does anyone remember when the FX processors were nearly $1,000 and now because of Intel they are cheaper than the CPU fans. I hope the AMD fanboys keep buying AMD CPUs. One man's garbage is another man's treasure.

I'm don't think that AMD misses the target.. there are a lot of ppl who bought AM2 socket platforms and I'm sure they will be willing to buy this processor, specially because of the price. If i wouldn't be stuck with 939 and live in a country where computer hardware is so expensive id go for it. On the other hand, it is certainly true that ppl who are changing rigs at the moment will go for intel. no question about that.

It's a good upgrade option for someone like me that has a relatively new AM2 machine, but just want to upgrade for better performance. If I can go from a 3800 single core to 5000X2 for only $136, why not? Sebastian makes the same point.

AMD had lost the battle quite sometime ago. They rested on their architecture not counting on Intel re-thinking the P4 and dumping it in favor of faster overall architectures.

I keep buying AMD ONLY as a favor to them and to keep alive the only competition INTEL has. If AMD dies, we are stuck with a monopoly. Not good.

So I buy AMD. I buy WORSE products. I can't have the best of the best (Intel) as a sacrifice for greater good.

AMD should know that a lot of people keep buying the stuff out of "pity" and should know that what we are waiting for is the "more for less" curve to lean HEAVILY to the AMD side again. No more marketing. No more crap. I'll take a 1% performance increase (for the same price) over anything else, be power, pretty box or whatever.

So concentrate. More for less. More for less.

The only people who are going to look at this seriously are those that have an AM2 M/B and an older/slower processor.

If you are in the market for a new setup, I think you would have to be a total AMD fanboy to not consider Intel's chips right now.

I'm not an overclocker, just a IT guy who likes to have a fast PC. I don't get any pleasure out of tweaking M/B settings or strapping on aftermarket hardware to a CPU to get it to go faster. I want to get a fast reliable machine right out of the box.

Had I been in the market to put a new machine together a few years ago, I would have bought into AMD's products. Now, no way. I went with an Intel E6700, 800mhz DDR2, Nvidia 680i M/B, and Nvidia GPU.

It's great that AMD is supplying a wider array of products to it's customer base. I also feel that without AMD, Intel would be sitting on their proverbial P4 laurels and not striving like they are today.

This new black box lineup from AMD is not going to do much for them in terms of increasing sales and eroding Intel's market share. Until AMD can come up with out-of-the-box processors that can compete with Intel, they're going to lose customers and come closer and closer to oblivion.

ok, first line of attack here, the black box crap is just as bad as intels 1.3ghz p4's 5/6 years back they were touting as kings of the hills but were crap... but, devils advocate here, anyone remember good ol' intel extreme edition chips about 1 year ago that were worse than their out of the box cheapies?

next, yes, amd has always been a 'more for less' company.. but you cannot always do that.. stop demanding a processor that for 100 $$ can compete with a Q66/700 and be willing to the pay the higher prices and AMD just might come up with something better or be willing to introduce something better, who knows..

Clock it to 3.1 at stock voltage. If you cant get this processor to run stable you dont belong over clocking. So back to the point. It is faster for the money than an overpriced pos known as intel. Thats it. Price to performance ratio. What do you people get about that. Not to mention that this processor is stable at 3.3 to so whoever cant get this thing stable, is like i said a noob.

I had been clocked 5000 to 3.2GHZ and it was stable...
I'm using KATANA 2 cooler.
With only multiplier on 15x and core 200 he was going stable on 3.0GHz - testet with SuperPI on 16M -cca.11min.
Great value for money you are givin' !!!

This has no point for any user with the excpetions of the ones with the older MOBO. If you are going for a new rig, just go intel its cheaper, more reliable, and more powerful. Not to mention the Core2Duos are overclocking beasts. I bought an intel C2D E4500 for 115 dollars. I overclocked it a little (to 2,9GHz) and ran superPi to 32M places in 19 minutes. The best part is that I havnt even pushed my processor as far as I can yet. Not bad for 115 dollars. Not bad at all. new (budget especcially) rig = intel for now.