AMD’s recent Phenom II has been met with varying degrees of praise. It is our general opinion that the Phenom II 920 and 940 Black edition are both superb CPUs.
AMD has done a good job at improving on the disappointing Phenom range, with the Phenom II CPUs offering solid performance, low power consumption, reasonable temperatures, and most importantly, great value for money.
Today, AMD announced five additional CPUs that will expand the Phenom II range.
The five additions include the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition – the first first 45nm triple-core CPU. Like the original Phenom IIs, the new CPUs will fit into either AM2+ or AM3 motherboards. Unlike Intel’s i7, the Phenom II’s can run with DDR2 or DDR3 RAM.
“Whether buying a new desktop PC or upgrading components in an existing system, AMD recognizes consumers are looking for value more than ever before,” said Imi Mosaheb, AMD Country General Manager, South Africa. “With the combination of the infrastructure compatibility and the introduction of the AMD Phenom II triple-core processors, AMD has made two very strategic design decisions that our competitor cannot duplicate at the component or platform level.”
“PC buyers are looking to leverage their technology investments as much as possible in these challenging economic times,” said Bob O’Donnell, IDC vice president, Clients and Displays. “Companies that can provide solutions that help offer strong performance and flexibility at attractive price points are clearly going to be at an advantage.”
Translated: AMD’s chief strategy with the Phenom II is to provide cost effective performance.
Intel’s latest CPU, the i7 has approached the market very differently by requiring a brand new X58 motherboard as well as DDR3 RAM. Phenom II CPUs on the other hand will fit into older AM2+ motherboards and work with a wider range of memory modules.
Triple Core, is it relevant?
All things being equal, it is an established fact that three cores offer more performance than two, but not as much as four. Typically, the cost of cores would scale in a linear fashion. However, AMD’s triple core CPU’s have traditionally competed in price point against Intel dual cores. Therefore, the value proposition in these products is that they cost the same as a dual-core but offer one additional core.
Pricing and Availability
Not much is known about local pricing or availability at this point. The new triple-core and quad-core AMD Phenom IIs have just been released in the USA at the following frequencies:
• AMD Phenom II X4 910 – (2.6GHz)
• AMD Phenom II X4 810 – (2.6GHz) $175
• AMD Phenom II X4 805 – (2.5GHz)
• AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition – (2.8GHz) $145
• AMD Phenom II X3 710 – (2.6GHz)
The triple-core AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition is priced to compete with Intel’s Core 2 Duo E8400 which comes in at $165.
The quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 810 processor (2.6GHz) is priced at $175 compared to the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor (2.33GHz) at $170.
With Intel effectively pricing i7 out of the race, AMD is left to compete with Intel’s aging Core 2 Duo range. Up until now AMD has been doing quite well, and the Phenom II has received praise from the likes of respected Hardware publications such as Tomshardware and Anandtech.
The new Phenom IIs should be able to follow on from the success of the launch models, providing a good price/performance ratio.
More information regarding priceing and availability to follow.
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