Phenom
Latest
AMD Phenom CPU and ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT finally official
Looks like AMD and its graphics division ATI have a couple of new bits to announce today. First up: the Phenom X2 and X4 CPUs, AMD's latest dual and quad-core chips destined for their new FASN8 (get it?) enthusiast platform, which also features DDR2 SDRAM, HyperTransport, 128-bit FPUs, shared L3 cache, and the Socket AM2 and AM2+ interface with Dual Socket Direct Connect. We're not done yet, though, since the other half of the FASN8 platform is ATI's Radeon HD 2000 series graphics adapters, including the new R600, erm, Radeon HD 2900 XT ($400), 65nm DirectX 10 devices with Avivo Blu-ray and HD DVD acceleration. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for other versions, like the HD 2600, HD 2400, Mobility Radeon HD 2300, and the like. Watch out, we're sure to be flooded with new machines and accompanying benchmarks in short order.
AMD Phenom FX, X4, X2 Stars to shine in Q3 / Q4
When it's been nearly six months since we've seen an elusive PowerPoint slide pointing to future AMD processors, it's been far too long, but it looks like the forecasting can begin again thanks to information about AMD's star-packed Q3. According to a roadmap slide charting out the future of AMD's "Stars" family of processors, a number of dual- and quad-core processor options will be headed to the desktop market sometime in the third and fourth quarters, and while the firm's "value" Athlon 64 X2 and Sempron chips will also see minor overhauls headed into Q1 of 2008, the focus seems to be on the Phenoms in the crew. The flagship quad-core Phenom FX (dubbed Agena FX) will clock in from 2.2GHz to 2.6GHz, sport 4 x 512KB of L2 cache, 2MB of L3 cache, and sport bus speeds of 3,200MHz or 3,600MHz. The X4 chips ratchet down in speed a bit, and only handle the AM2+ socket while the top-end FX plays nice with the 1207+. The X2 CPUs go the dual-core route, top out at 2.8GHz, but won't be ready for ordering until Q4 of this year. Be sure to hit the read link for a (larger) peek at the chart -- unless you just completed an order for a current-generation chip, that is.[Via RegHardware]
