Updated on February 9 at 12:10 a.m. PST with corrected Intel pricing.
Advanced Micro Devices added new Phenom II desktop models on Monday, including triple-core processors, in its continued attempt to outdo Intel desktop price-performance.
The Phenom II "Dragon" line of desktop processors uses AMD's new 45-nanometer technology and comprises both quad-core (X4) and triple-core (X3) parts.
The triple-core Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor is priced at $145, which AMD compares with Intel's Core 2 Duo (dual-core) E8400 processor, priced at $163. The quad-core X4 810 processor (2.6GHz) is priced at $175 versus the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor (2.33GHz), priced at $163.
The Phenom II processors fit in either AM2+ or AM3 sockets and support DDR2 or next generation DDR3 memory technology.
Models include:
- AMD Phenom II X4 910 - (2.6GHz)
- AMD Phenom II X4 810 - (2.6GHz)
- AMD Phenom II X4 805 - (2.5GHz)
- AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - (2.8GHz)
- AMD Phenom II X3 710 - (2.6GHz)
The processors are available immediately, AMD said.
Turtle Beach Ear Force X4 headset
(Credit: Turtle Beach)Turtle Beach has just unveiled its latest surround sound headset for the Xbox 360. The Ear Force X4 offers a wireless connection to the 360 (thanks to a separate base station) and it doubles as an Xbox Live communicator for chatting during multiplayer games (the microphone and headphone-to-controller tether can be removed during solo gameplay). The Ear Force X4 delivers full Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II surround decoding, and the standard optical digital and analog stereo inputs mean that it can be connected to virtually any other audiovisual source beyond the Xbox 360.
While previous Xbox-centric Ear Force models--the Ear Force AXT and Ear Force X2--have suffered from excessive wiring requirements and other design flaws, we're hoping the X4 will be more in line with the Ear Force AK-R8, an excellent surround headset for the PC. The $200 Ear Force X4 is now shipping; look for a full CNET review soon.
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.
Advanced Micro Devices officially announced on Wednesday an updated Phenom chip line amid severe price pressure from Intel.
As expected, AMD has updated its triple-core Phenom X3 processors with the "50" series. The 8450, 8650, and 8750 models will replace and supplement the current 8400 and 8600. The newer models contain a fix for an extremely rare "TLB" bug.
The Phenom X3 8750 (2.4GHz) processor is priced at $195, the 8650 (2.3GHz) at $165, and the 8450 (2.1GHz) at $145.
AMD also announced a low-power quad-core Phenom X4 9100e processor that has a Thermal Design Power (TDP) or thermal envelope of 65 watts, compared with the 95 watts of standard X4 processors.
AMD Phenom processors with the new X3 models in bold.
(Credit: AMD)
AMD is looking to bundle the Phenom X3 chips with its 780 graphics silicon in low-cost gaming PCs. Hewlett-Packard and Gateway are currently using Nvidia graphics in their consumer boxes that use Phenom X3 chips.
According to AMD, the X3 platform offers the best balance of processor and graphics: "On one side, we have Nvidia saying that the only thing that matters is graphics. On the other side, Intel is saying that the only thing that matters is the processor. (AMD offers) a balanced platform that doesn't overemphasize one really expensive component over another really expensive component," said Brent Berry, product marketing manager for AMD.
But things may have just gotten a lot tougher for the No. 2 processor maker in the higher-end quad-core segment. Intel on Sunday cut prices on quad-core processors by up to 50 percent, undermining--or in some cases eliminating--AMD's price advantage.
"This product cycle is already discounted," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at CRT Capital Group. "This puts additional pressure on AMD."
Intel's price cuts brought its quad-core Q6700 (2.66GHz) down from $530 to $266 and its Q6600 (2.4GHz) from $266 to $224. The latter is now priced below AMD's top-line quad-core Phenom 9850 (2.5GHz), which is listed at $235.
"With a 16 percent price cut, the Q6600 is now undoubtedly the processor of preference for a budget quad-core system," review site Hexus said.
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