AMD Phenom II X4 hits 4.4GHz

AMDs Phenom II processors are truly mean overclockers under extreme cold, but with more conventional cooling the processors are yet to really impress. They are still much better than the last series of Phenoms, but compared to Intels Core architecture they are still several MHz short. AMD overclockers have started looking for The Golden One among Phenom II processors and we now hear about a Phenom II X4 processor that does 4.4GHz with air cooling and "only" 1.55V.

The overclock was with all four cores, but and the air was a bit colder than normal (processor temperature was about 25°C) and the memories downclocked to reach 4.4GHz. The system was just stable enough for a CPU-Z screendump but it still shows that the Phenom II architecture can reach respectable frequencies with regular air cooling.

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AMD 3.1 GHz Phenom II for Q2

AMD will have a busy year, following the release of two 45nm desktop CPUs, the Phenom II X4 940 BE and X4 920, it will also introduce the first DDR3-supporting Phenoms - six starting February. Following the initial AM3 roll-out, in Q2 AMD is expected to up the ante and put more pressure on Intel's Core 2 Quads with the release of the Phenom II X4 950, an AM3 CPU that will be clocked at 3.1 GHz, 100 MHz more than the X4 940 and 945.

Likely to be priced close around the $300 mark, the Phenom II X4 950 will have a dual-channel DDR3-1333 integrated memory controller, 6MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 125W. The 950 certainly won't get AMD much closer to the performance crown but it should give us an alternative to Intel's Q9650.

New Info of Phenom II X4 940 Unveiled

AMD Phenom II X4 is ready to debut this Thursday, though it still looks quite mysterious. The latest information indicates Phenom II X4 940 performs as well as Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450/Q9550 while costs a little bit lower.

The power consumption of Phenom II X4 940 ranges from 60 to 70 Watt under load.With the help of a normal air-cooling cooler, the processor can be overclocked between 3.2 to 3.6GHz without increasing voltage.

Phenom II X4 prices surface

Phenom II X4 is slated to appear in early January and the processor that will be the first consumer processor from AMD made at the 45nm node has been showing a lot of promise so far. The pricing has been anything but official though, but as stores are starting to list the new models, we are starting to get a feel for where it will start. Two models should launch on January 8th, Phenom II X4 920 (2.8GHz) and Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition (3.0GHz).

Will cost around 220€ for the Phenom II X4 920 and 250€ for the Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, while the dollar prices will be slightly higher, around $230 and $280 respectively. Right now this puts them around the same price range as the cheapest Core i7 processor, the Intel Core i7 920, but then the overall platform cost is much lower on the AMD side.

Retailers Beat AMD to Phenom II Launch

Online retailers are taking orders for Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming Phenom II processors, leaking chip details ahead of the company's processor announcement plans for early January.Two new quad-core Phenom II processors, aimed at high-end desktops, will start shipping on Dec. 27, according to retail Web sites. AMD plans to announce the chips next month at the International Consumer Electronics Show to be held in Las Vegas between January 8 and 11.

The quad-core Phenom II chips run at speeds from 2.8GHz to 3GHz and include 8MB of cache. The chips are capable of achieving higher speeds under certain circumstances though. AMD overclocked Phenom II processors to run at up to 4GHz on air-cooled systems, and up to 5GHz on liquid-nitrogen cooling earlier this year.

AMD's 45nm desktop CPUs to be named Phenom II?

Announcing its 45nm Opteron CPUs, AMD said a few things about the upcoming 45nm desktop offer too. First of all, the company has revealed that the CPUs will be part of the successor of the Spider platform which will be known as "Dragon" which will debut in Q1 2009.

The second thing mentioned by AMD was that Dragon will make use of the "new 45nm AMD Phenom II X4 quad-core processors" which, if no typo comes into play, means the Phenom line-up is ready to step up in number and generation. It's yet unknown if both the AM2+ and AM3 45nm parts will bear the "Phenom II" name. We're guessing yes?