AMD quad-core chip hits compatibility snag

Update: Circuit board makers using Advanced Micro Devices' high-end quad-core Phenom chips claim that there are compatibility issues with select boards. This comes as the chipmaker struggles to churn out processors that are competitive with Intel's offerings.

AMD quad-core Phenom X4

(Credit: AMD)

This issue was reported Monday at the Web site HKEPC.

AMD confirmed Monday that some motherboard suppliers are mismatching high-end quad-core Phenom processors with a lower-end chipset. (The motherboard is the main circuit board in a PC. The chipset allows the processor to interact with other components, among other functions.)

"What people have done, mistakenly, is paired a 780G (chipset-based) motherboard with the higher frequency Phenom--the 125-watt Phenom," said Jake Whitman, an AMD spokesperson.

Whitman is referring to the fact that the high-end 9750 and 9850 Phenom processors have a Thermal Design Power (TDP or thermal envelope) of 125 watts versus the lower-end 9600 and 9550 models that have a TDP of 95 watts. The higher-watt parts will not work with motherboards that contain the 780G chipset. The lower-end models do not have these TDP issues.

"They've taken an enthusiast-class quad-core part and paired it with a mainstream motherboard," Whitman said. "And not all motherboard manufacturers have tweaked their boards to support a 125-watt TDP." Whitman says that AMD's 790 chipset--not the 780--should be paired with the 9750 and 9850 processors and that a number of motherboard makers are already doing this.

"We've never made claims that 780G motherboards are enthusiast-class motherboards," Whitman said.

The inability to use high-end quad-core AMD processors on some motherboards may be symptomatic of a larger challenge. AMD is finding it difficult to compete head-on with Intel quad-core offerings in the consumer segment. Hewlett-Packard and Gateway, for instance, offer desktops with only the lower-performance Phenom chips, such as the 9100e (1.8GHz) and 9600 (2.3GHz). Neither HP nor Gateway offer desktops with higher-performance 9750 (2.4GHz) or 9850 (2.5GHz) Phenoms.

Meanwhile, Intel-based systems from these companies--though usually more expensive--come with quad-core chips ranging up to a 2.83GHz Q9550.

Whitman says there's a reason for this. First-tier PC makers "are not necessarily interested in building the fastest AMD-based quad-core systems, but are more interested in price." He expects wider adoption of the high-end Phenom chips with system builders and game-enthusiast PC makers.

In related news reported by CNET News.com on Monday, supercomputer maker Cray said it would adopt Intel quad-core processor designs for its supercomputers. Though Cray says it will continue to offer configurations with AMD chips too, the move by Cray is seen as an endorsement of Intel multicore designs. Before this announcement, Cray had been using AMD processors only.

[Mam00th]

Hmmm, this isn't very nice since you do expect you new CPU to work with you mother board since it have the same socket. I know this isn't great logic, but still...

[cschlise]

Give me a break. Matching the right motherboard, socket, memory type, etc, etc has been more of a challenge with Intel parts than AMD for a while. This "issue" is no more of problem than if you buy any Intel parts today.

Where AMD needs to watch out is creating too many of these "unique" configurations, because, let's face it, most people going with AMD are looking to build less expensive systems.

Getting a realitively "cheap" 9750/9850 Phenom and a 780G motherboard would have been a great combo at a great price. Going with the 790 X/FX boards adds about a $30-$50 premium to the price, plus you'll need to add a seperate graphics card since the 790 chipset doesn't come with integrated graphics. This means at a minimum another $40 for an HD 3000 series Radeon or NVidia equivalent.

[W2Kuser]

Death of AMD

Wow, this seemingly small side story could literally be spelling the death of AMD.

Thier new high-end CPU only works in low-end MBs? How retarded is that? This just shows how far out of touch and behind the curve AMD has fallen.

AMD will be out of business by 2010.

[ronch79]

I think Whitman's explanation that AMD never said you can use a 780G with high end Phenoms is so lame. 780G-based boards are supposed to support AM2+ CPUs along with HyperTransport 3.0. It's not the chipset, but rather, board makers not designing their boards to support 125W TDP Phenoms.

When I buy an AM2+ CPU and an AM2+ board, I expect them to work together, unless AMD explicitely warns me that I shouldn't get a 780G-based board for my 125W Phenom. They should clean up their AM2+ spec guidelines instead of coming up with such lame and stupid excuses. Now, I like AMD, but I think Jake should be given the pink slip. It's guys like him who make AMD look bad.

Then again, maybe they just wanna take the blame for it and avoid maddening the board makers by pointing the finger at them because they failed to provide clear AM2+ design guiidelines.