AMD Phenom II

The latest processor from AMD, in a PC near you soon




AMD's original 65nm Phenom CPU and Spider platform launches were a bit of a damp squib, neither really performing as well as they should. Much better things are expected from the desktop version of the new 45nm Shanghai server processor.

The new desktop part — codenamed Deneb — has a the size of 258mm containing approximately 758 million transistors, comprising four cores and will be better known as the Phenom II X4. It offers far better overclocking potential than the original Phenom. At launch in early 2009 there will be two speeds of processor, with many more set to come later in the year, forming part of AMD's new Dragon enthusiast's platform for 2009, which replaces the older Spider.

The faster of the two new processors is the Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, which has a clock speed of 3GHz, while the slower Phenom II X4 920 runs at 2 8GHz. Both will fit in existing AM2+ motherboards with a Bios upgrade.

The new processors come with 512KB of L2 cache per core, for a total of 2MB. and there is a 6MB L3 cache shared between the four cores. The integrated 128-bit memory controller can be configured to read/write simultaneously for dual 64-bit channels and can run at speeds of up to 1.8GHz, supporting DDR2 memory up to PC2 8,500 (DDR2 1,066MHz).



Both the new processors have a voltage range of between 0.875 and 1.5V, and a quoted TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 125W. For a platform to earn the Dragon label it must contain an AMD Phenom II processor, an AMD 790 series chipset and ATI H04800 series graphics. Simon Crisp

Price Phenom II X4 940 £257.31, Phenom II X4 920,£220.89
Contact AMD
Specifications 2MB L2 cache • quad core • 128Mbits/sec memory controlled • 3GHz or 2.8GHz clock speed • TDP 125W • 45nrn process • Socket AM2+

Personal Computer World February 2009

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