Report: More competitive processors due from AMD

Advanced Micro Devices will bring out processors early next year--at the latest--that appear to be much more competitive with Intel offerings, according to a report.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker has struggled of late competing with a crush of new 45-nanometer desktop processors from Intel. Typically, as geometries get smaller, processors become faster and more power efficient. AMD is currently shipping 65-nanometer processors.

AMD 45-nanometer quad-core die

(Credit: AMD)

AMD will meet this challenge with the first desktop processors based on its own 45-nanometer process technology. Initial models are due go into production in the fourth quarter, according to Chinese-language Web Site HKEPC, which lists 10 new AMD processors expected to be released during the next three quarters.

The Web site cites motherboard manufacturers as its source.

Processor code names include Deneb and Propus. Two versions of the former will go into production in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the Web site. Deneb processors running from 2.6GHz to 3.0GHz will have a thermal envelope of 125 watts.

Other Deneb processors, with a thermal envelope of 95 watts, are due in the first quarter of 2009. These will have core clock speeds between 2.4GHz and 2.8GHz, according to HKEPC.

All Deneb processors will have prodigious amounts of cache memory to speed performance. Some are listed with 6MB of level-3 cache memory and 2MB of level-2 cache.

Processors dubbed Propus will have smaller amounts of cache memory: typically 2MB of level-2 cache only. The Propus EE processors will have thermal envelopes as low as 45 watts and 2MB level-3 cache memory, according to HKEPC. These will go into production in the first and second quarters, the Web site reported.

[pithenumber]

Finally AMD has a 45nm chip.

[The1egend]

45nm and a thermal envelope of 125watts? I may be wrong on this, but a quick look on Newegg has the E8600 at 65w, and the Q9650 at 95w. To me 125w seems high. I do understand that (also from the quick look on newegg) the Phenom 9950 currently has a TDP of 140w. So this would be an improvement of TDP and clock speed. Now, I like AMD because they forced change in the market, but if this is what they call 'competitive' they have missed the mark by a few months. In the first quarter of 2009, Intel will have the first i7's coming out, forcing Duo and Quad prices down, meaning that these new chips better be cheap.

[limefan913]

Hopefully AMD can keep momentum after these chips. After the Athlon X2 they just sort of stopped. Phenom was a botched launch at best and rather disappointing.

All that being said, I'm still putting AMD CPUs into just about every computer I build. Intel would have to offer something truly spectacular before I switched back to them as my CPU of choice.