Chicago (IL) - Today, AMD released the first of its Phenom II X3 CPUs, along with a new Phenom II X4 810 model at 2.6 GHz and 95 watts with a slightly reduced L3 cache at 4MB instead of the normal 6MB. The CPU sells for $175, while the X3 720 lists for $145 and the X3 710 can be found for $125 - which are compatible upgrades for Socket AM2+ motherboards.





The new CPUs are:

1) Phenom II X4 810: 2.6 GHz, 95 watts, 2MB L2 cache, 4MB L3 cache, 4000 MHz HT bus, socket AM3, compatible with Socket AM2+.

2) Phenom II X3 720: 2.8 GHz, 95 watts, 1.5MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache, 4000 MHz HT bus, socket AM3, compatible with Socket AM2+.

3) Phenom II X3 710: 2.6 GHz, 95 watts, 1.5MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache, 4000 MHz HT bus, socket AM3, compatible with Socket AM2+.

These CPUs are a continuation of AMD's 45nm Deneb core. The faster HyperTransport (HT) bus and socket AM3 platform means a new motherboard and DDR3 memory which is still expensive, but potentially provides greater performance. The CPUs are compatible with Socket AM2+. The lower TDP power footprint is also interesting, a full 30 watts lower for the CPU alone, and is less than Intel's 125 watt TDP.



The DDR3 memory has shown better throughput. DDR2-1067 5-5-5-15, for example on Xbit Labs page 7, shows 12.37 GB/s in Sandra 2009. DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20 shows 12.94 GB/s, an improvement of 4.6%. Latency in Everest 5.0 for DDR2-1067 is 54.4 ns, while DDR3-1600 is 49 ns, an improvement of 9.9%. Sandra 2009's latency shows DDR2-1067 at 84 ns and DDR3-1600 at 78 ns, an improvements of 7.1%.



SYSMark 2007 shows a mild increase in score from 146 with DDR2-1067 to 150 with DDR3-1600, up 2.7%. Xbit's Gaming numbers on page 9 also show a slight improvement. Crysis WARHEAD is up 1.7%, Far Cry 2 up 4.2%, Unreal Tournament 3 up 2.8%, World in Conflict up 3.0%, Left 4 Dead up 2.5%.



In terms of raw compute performance, Xbit Labs page 12 shows a SYSMark score for X4 810 of 146, which is 5.2% lower than AMD's X4 920. For overclocking on page 16, the CPUs were able to hit 3.46 GHz by raising the base clock frequency since, unlike the Black Edition CPUs, the multiplier is locked. On a 280 MHz FSB (up from 200 MHz) the CPU clocked at 3.64 GHz on air cooling alone, which is a 40% overclock.



See AMD's pricing page, and a review on Xbit Labs.

---

UPDATED: February 10, 2009 - 10:24am CST
AMD did not release their press release yesterday until much later in the day. In reviewing their press release specs, we've noted they differ from those reported early on by pretty much every other source. For example, the X3 720 is listed on their new press release as a Black Edition, which Xbit Labs said was not the case, and which AMD's pricing page does not indicate. In addition, the 910 and 805 are listed on the press release but are not to be found on the pricing page (updated as of February 9, 2009).

From AMD's press release, five new Phenom II X4 and X3 CPUs (the ones not previously shown are highlighted in bold):

1) Phenom II X4 910: 2.6 GHz. No additional specs given.

2) Phenom II X4 810: 2.6 GHz, 95 watts, 2MB L2 cache, 4MB L3 cache, 4000 MHz HT bus, socket AM3, compatible with Socket AM2+.

3) Phenom II X4 805: 2.5 GHz. No additional specs given.

4) Phenom II X3 720: 2.8 GHz, 95 watts, 1.5MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache, 4000 MHz HT bus, socket AM3, compatible with Socket AM2+.

5) Phenom II X3 710: 2.6 GHz, 95 watts, 1.5MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache, 4000 MHz HT bus, socket AM3, compatible with Socket AM2+.

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion right now at AMD regarding their chip capabilities. At the very least, the groups responsible for issuing press releases, creating processor pricing tables and listing each chip's capabilities are not getting together to present a solid, outwardly-synced message. The message at AMD today is one of confusion, head scratching and wondering what exactly is going on.