AMD's six-core Phenom II X6 1055T CPU now shipping, 1090T up for pre-order

We'd been assured that AMD's days of missing ship dates ad naseum were over, but there's nothing like a little action to prove that your words mean business. Just a month after unearthing clock speeds and proposed release quarters for AMD's gaggle of six-core Phenom II X6 processors, two of 'em have already popped up on Amazon. The 2.8GHz Phenom II X6 1055T is actually shipping as we speak for $222.29, while the 3.2GHz Phenom II X6 1090T is up for pre-order at $324.65. The lower-end 2.6GHz 1035T and 3.0GHz 1075T are both nowhere to be found (yet, anyway), and the mysterious 1095T isn't even supposed to pop up anywhere until Q4. So, who's getting themselves a new slab of silicon? Don't be bashful.

[Thanks, Brian]

[RainbowVomit Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:19AM]

I may be crazy, but can anyone explain to me why this cpu is so cheap? a 3.2GHz 6-core processor for $325?

[midnightprince7 Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:20AM]

cause amd is better than intel and intel is overpriced

[Shokz Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:25AM]

@RainbowVomit Well, it'll be interesting to see if it's over 1.5x as fast as the Core i5 750, but TBH I don't really see it happening... Will be interesting if it is.

[messcaline Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:28AM]

pointy one, I just hope that Apple somehow will switch to amd (which I hoped from very beginning when they told they leave ppc platform).

[Itami Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:29AM]

@RainbowVomit

To better appeal to the budget gamers who want the most bang for the buck.

[gerrrg Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:11AM]

@midnightprince7

Hold back comments until the benchmarks, I say. So far, the only AMD CPU to beat an Intel setup, was an 8-way 6-core Opteron, which is not common. Single-CPU benchmarks heavily favor Intel's Xeon and Core series.

The positive thing, is that Intel will likely lower prices, so everyone wins.

[Sammy3 Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:36AM]

@gerrrg

Anyone know if these processors will be backwards compatible with the am2 and am2+ sockets like the current Phenom II x4 processors.

ie. will it have a ddr2 memory controller as well as ddr3?

Thanks

[SSD Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:32AM]

@Sammy3 here is some info on the new X6's:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3641/amd-divulges-phenom-ii-x6-secrets-turbo-core-enabled

[Sammy3 Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:43AM]

@SSD

Thanks for the link

"The great news? All Socket-AM3 and AM2+ motherboards will work with these new Phenom II X6 CPUs with nothing more than a BIOS update. The boards do have to support the TDPs the chips are rated for of course."

Hopefully I wont have to upgrade my mobo and ram then :)
(Since ram is so expensive now days)

[sep332 Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:44AM]

@Itami Budget gamers are not a very large market. This is a spinoff of the supercheap AMD server procs - servers are where the real money is at!

[Sammy3 Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:53AM]

Asus has announced a full range of motherboards that are ready to support the upcoming six-core AMD® Phenom:

http://event.asus.com/mb/2010/m4_6cores/

Also - check out this preview of the upcoming ROG asus crosshair IV

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/29767-asus-crosshair-iv-formula-am3-890fx-motherboard-sneak-peak-3.html

[jalexoid Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:51PM]

@Shokz "Well, it'll be interesting to see if it's over 1.5x as fast as the Core i5 750, but TBH I don't really see it happening... Will be interesting if it is." Really? I don't see that happening either, because it's not how pricing works. i7-980X is not 5 times faster than i5-750, but the price difference is 5x.

[looselycoupled Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:43PM]

@RainbowVomit


Because it is not any faster than the four-core Core i7-860 (

[midnightprince7 Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:19AM]

Amd, ftw

[mnhthebest Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:23AM]

Holy Crap are those processors cheap (for reference Intel Core i7 980 costs $999 !?!?)

[balls Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:18AM]

@mnhthebest Thats the Extreme Edition Intel Chip, which is they ultra high end desktop processor for "enthusiasts."

Intel's regular line of hex cores isn't yet available, so it's hard to price compare.

That said, you're right, dems some dirt cheap procs.

[furquanatique Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:25AM]

I have an Intel mobo. :'(

[pyehac Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:27AM]

Good timing, because I'm looking to build a new rig when I get my tax return.

I've stayed with AMD for a few years, and it looks like they won't disappoint.

[Nimer55 Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:33AM]

I'd be very interested in seeing some benchmarks.. It will probably preform worse then the i5 on single core stuf, but do better when all 6 cores are used. This is based off nothing but speculation, don't quote me.

[DaHarder Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:34AM]

Bravo AMD... Well Done!

[artstate Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:34AM]

That's less than what it cost me to upgrade my RAM... wtf!!!

[FAP FAP FAP Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:26AM]

@artstate
Yeah, ram prices are crazy at the moment.

[OddManOut Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:06PM]

@FAP FAP FAP Back in December I got some end-of-life parts from my company, so I did a tear down and rebuild of my 2 machines at home and looked into upgrading some of the other parts. I couldn't believe the price of RAM....it's like it doubled since I built my machiens in the first place. I remember buying 4GB of PC2-6400 for $24 after rebate in December of '08. No chance of that now, event though DDR2 is on it's way out...

Fortunately I had enough on hand to speed match 4GB in one system and 6GB in another, with both in dual channel mode, but yeah...what happened?!?!?

[Johanu Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:46PM]

@OddManOut Manufacturers are turning to DDR3, so DDR3 prices are on the way down, while the demand for DDR2 still holds steady.. This causes a shortage in availability, which brings the price up..

So, the way to go is DDR3 from now on..

[TareG Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:35AM]

How to they compare to their Intel counterparts? That's all what I really care about.

[ViperVin Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:04PM]

@TareG Agreed. I am in the market to buy a new CPU. Was leaning towards the i7 until I saw this. Any official reviews?

[KingFaisal94 Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:38AM]

AM3?

[Warzone Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:57AM]

@KingFaisal94

Yep, it is AM3

[Schmich Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:35PM]

@KingFaisal94 Will work on most AM2+ boards though with a bios update.

[KupoCheer Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:43AM]

And all at a lower TDP than the closest Intel counterpart! Color me impressed, AMD. Can't wait to read a review.

[dhgroove Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:57AM]

Yes, but does it beat the i7 920 which is going for $179 at Microcenter is the question. Also going to be interesting to see more OC results. Can't wait for the 95W TDP ones to ship out.

[chrnochime Posted Apr 26th 2010 2:00PM]

@dhgroove

i7 920 is NOT sold at Microcenter anymore. It's been completely gone for at least two weeks. In its place is the i7 930 for 200 USD. Not that 200 USD is bad, but your comment is no longer relevant.

[Aerilus Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:01AM]

I'm just thinking back a couple of years to when they were lagging behind intel to even come out with a quad and couldent come close to competing with nvidia on the 7000-8000 series now the Ati 5000 series and the phenom II will smoke anything that doesn't cost 10 times as much I wonder if there stock price is reflecting their market dominace

[Madmax333 Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:11AM]

I'm a intel fanboy, but this is very interesting. Damn underdogs

[fast Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:13AM]

If this thing oc's well and maybe there are 2 socket versions of it...would be nice.

[bebop Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:33AM]

So a quick check at Newegg shows that the price-comparable Intel CPU is the Core 2 Quad Q9505, a 2.8 GHz, 95 W part.

[juanvaldez Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:37AM]

@bebop The i5 750 is 95W, cheaper and a better chip, it doesn't even make sense to bring up the 9550 or any other intel chip that isn't current generation. It's better to say, for price comparison you can save $20 bucks getting a 750, let's see if it's worth the premium...(if you want to "tilt" things, and partially fairly so, to AMD at all then you bring up the fact that the board that AMDs uses will probably be better utilized for future processors).

[felipedeeznuts Posted Apr 26th 2010 2:15PM]

@juanvaldez Yeah....My $90 unlocked Phenom x2 555 BE @ 4 cores and overclocked to 3.8 GHz smokes the i5. And my $75 Mobo is nothing to scoff at, which I will bring up because it's stupid not to. Intel needs to quit gouging customers at the upper end when AMD is willing to hook up a 6 core part for $220 - simple as that. BTW, Tom's Hardware does a bang for buck CPU segment every month. Guess which brand wins at almost every price point? If you are an enthusiast, buy AMD and use the money you saved to put your OS on an SSD. If you like getting ripped off, buy Intel.

[bebop Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:36PM]

@juanvaldez

I set the search filter at $200-300, so I missed the i5-750 Lynnfield (2.66GHz 8MB) at $199. Sorry.

Alright, we are looking at Intel having a cheaper chip, perhaps a 10-20% speed advantage on single core, but AMD having 50% more cores and a cheaper, better value mobo. Similar power envelopes.

However you want to spin it, it would seem that the AMD chip is competitive.

[ahhduy Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:34AM]

man i hope my i7 920 can stand up to this, if not damn you amd for not coming out with this 7 months ago

[hmmwv Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:24AM]

@ahhduy Don't worry, it will, especially when you take 920's excellent native OC capability into consideration. Think native voltage air cooled @4Ghz.

[Krispy Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:00AM]

damn those prices are really nice, amd is doing their thing. who gives a shit about a bench mark, with a 6 core cpu theres nothing that benchmark numbers are gonna tell you thats practical. with gaming and such these will perform great for 99% of the people using them

[DougieBear Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:01AM]

Cheap as hell and I can just slot this in and im ready to go, thanks AMD!

[pika2000 Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:15AM]

Well, I just hope the performance doesn't reflect the cheap price, ie just comparable to the similarly priced intel chips. I mean, outside video encoding an some games, how many apps are going to benefit from the 6 cores? There are plenty of everyday scenarios where a dual core CPU still performs as well as a quad+ core.

[fast Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:02AM]

@pika2000 3d creation and 3d farm rendering, big console 5.1 and 7.1 sdds theme park audio mixing with env simulation, fluid simulators, structural simulators, realtime multi motion tracking, uncompressed 2K+ video editing, audiovisual post-production, etc, etc. Trust me on this, a dual core gets dwarfed by any of these sorts softwares, no comparison possible to the quads.

[slccsoccer28 Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:58PM]

@fast the keyword was everyday use. yes some people will use this chip for that but 99% of america will never have a need for 6 cores in there daily life. e.g. web browsing, youtube, word processing, and basic web gaming. so until i open my business specializing in one of those im quick happy with my good old pentium 4 and intel atom.

[pika2000 Posted Apr 26th 2010 2:00PM]

@fast All those scenarios that you put out are for professionals, where they are probably already using Xeon workstations, not some consumer-grade AMD chips.

[xtian63 Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:17AM]

wooohoooo got myself a Phenom 2 X4 955 with MSI 890GX-M G65 motherboard and it only cost me $169+tax, the x4 955 itself cost $160 so i practically got a free AM3 X6 ready motherboard and im gona try to sell the 955 and get a bump to the 1055t

this from a cheap ass used who used a Pentium 4 socket 478 from 2002 until last week and only went to amd for a free motherboard

[Werner7 Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:22AM]

AMD, I'm proud of you. It has been a hard time for AMD I guess, but ever since they brought out the 4870, and later on the Phenom II series and also the Athlon II X4 they earned back my total respect for them.
But I'll confess I'm in love with their 5870 and 5970 and all its brothers and sisters. Now let us see the Benches or this X6!!! WOOOP!

[ChaosMaestro Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:27AM]

AMD have a 12-core (dodecacore?) server CPU already out it seems, I'm hopefully going to Uni next year and this kind of news just makes me edgier about the kind of system I'll be able to build for when I start in the latter half of next year.
I'll be doing 3D graphics and animation so the more cores = the better.