AMD finally launches Phenom II and Dragon Platform

AMD's 45nm, quad-core Phenom II has finally arrived. It's available in two flavors, the 2.8GHz X4 920 and the 3.0GHz X4 940 Black Edition, going for $235 and $275, respectively. AMD's naturally touting the ostensible cost savings of the chips . The Dragon platform includes a Phenom II proc, 4800-series Radeon HD graphics and a 790-series motherboard, all of which should combine for low power consumption -- up to 40 percent compared to Phenom processors. Where the Phenom II definitely wins is the fact that some AMD folks will be able to drop in the chip to existing motherboards, but otherwise it looks like value hounds and performance junkies aren't being served by this new chip.

AMD finally launches Phenom II

Performance

The Phenom II's integrated memory controller and HyperTransport interface give it a technical edge over competing Core 2 Quad chips, which lack those features. Intel moved to an integrated memory controller and began incorporating its own version of HyperTransport--dubbed QuickPath Interconnect--only with its Core i7 platform. The integrated memory controller and HyperTransport interface allow Phenom II processors to achieve a higher memory bandwidth than Core 2 Quad processors can, by eliminating the bottlenecks created by a frontside bus and an external controller. The arrangement, in theory, improves system performance.

Model / Processor Frequency:	AMD Phenom II Processor Model X4 940 / X4 920 / 3.0GHz, 2.8GHz
L1 Cache Sizes:	64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (512KB total L1 per processor)
L2 Cache Sizes:	512KB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
L3 Cache Size:	6MB (shared)
Memory Controller Type:	Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller, capable of being configured for dual 64-bit channels for simultaneous read/writes
Memory Controller Frequency:	Up to 1.8GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
Types of Memory:	Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2 8500 (DDR2-1066MHz)
HyperTransport 3.0:	One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 3600MHz full duplex
Total Processor Bandwidth:	Up to 31.5 GB/s bandwidth
Packaging:	Socket AM2+ 940-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA) (backward compatible with Socket AM2)
Fab location:	AMD's Fab 36 wafer fabrication facilities in Dresden, Germany
Process Technology:	45nm (.045-micron) DSL Silicon on Insulator (SOI)
Approximate Transistor count:	approx. ~758 million (65nm)
Approximate Die Size:	258 mm2 (45nm)
Nominal Voltage:	.0875-1.5 Volts
Max Ambient Case Temp:	62 degress Celsius
Max TDP:	125 Watts
ACP:	*to be announced after launch
Future Memory Controller Note:	Future 45nm processors versions are planned to include support for DDR3 memory

Availability and Phenom II Processor Pricing

Consumers can expect to see systems featuring Dragon platform technology from leading system builders and OEMs in the first quarter of 2009. In addition to Dragon platform technology-based offerings from AMD’s OEM partners, PC enthusiasts who enjoy building their own systems can search “Dragon” on popular e-tail sites such as newegg.com and tigerdirect.com to find special promotions on this new desktop PC platform.

In addition to Dragon platform technology, individual AMD Phenom II X4 processors will be available from AMD channel e-tailers at launch:

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition processor – (3.0GHz) – $275 MSRP

AMD Phenom II X4 920 processor – (2.8GHz) – $235 MSRP

AMD Quad-Core Phenom X4 9850 Reviewed (Verdict: Owned by Intel Quad Cores)

The Phenom X4 9850 is at the top of AMD's latest heap of quad-core Phenoms. It's free of the performance-sapping bug that plagued the first batch of Phenoms, and AMD hopes it'll claw back some ground from Intel. Maximum PC stacked it up against two quad-cores from Intel—the mid-rangeish Penryn Core 2 Quad Q9300, as well as an older Core 2 Q6600. Ouchies for AMD, the Intel pair blew past it.

The Penryn-based Q9300 "owned the night," with the Q6600 trailing, and Phenom in back of both. It wasn't "so far behind as to be dead in the water" but "it doesn't quite go head-to-head with the Penryn lite." (They call the Q9300 Penryn-lite because it has half the cache of the higher-end Penryn quad-cores.)

The 9850 X4 is the fastest AM2 chip around, however, so if you're sticking with that board "it's a pretty good upgrade." The bigger problem is that AMD still has nothing to touch Intel's top quad cores, and won't for months, at least. [Maximum PC]

Intel cuts price of quad-core Q6700 by 50%

In move that will likely hit AMD’s bottom line, Intel has cut the prices of fourteen processors. The most dramatic cut - the Q6700, the price of which has been slashed by 50%.

The quad-core 2.66GHz Xeon X3230 also has its price slashed by 50% (was $530, now $266).

The 2.66GHz quad-core Q6700 now sells for $266, down from $530. This price point was previously occupied by the entry-level 2.4GHz Q6600. The Q6700 now represents the best bang-for-the-buck quad-core processor available.

Other notable price tweaks:

• Q6600, 2.4GHz quad-core - Now: $244 (was $266)
• E6850, 3.0GHz, dual-core - Now: $183 (was $266)
• E4600, 2.4GHz, dual-core - Now: $113 (was $133)

No changes at the ”Extreme” end of the hardware scale.

Complete list of changes available here (PDF).