AMD launches AM3 Phenom II CPUs

Posted at: 11:26am 9th February 2009 by Ben Hardwidge

New CPUs can support both DDR2 and DDR3 memory and aim to take on Intel’s Core 2 chips

You might think that launching a new processor socket in the current economic climate would be a decision bordering on the suicidal, but AMD is trying to make the transition to AM3 as upgrade-friendly as possible.

As you probably already know from the AM3 motherboards that have already been announced, AM3 is AMD's first foray into DDR3 memory support. As Phenom CPUs have integrated memory controllers, it's more accurate to say that it's the new range of Phenom II CPUs (see below) that are DDR3-compatible. However, the new DDR3-compatible Phenom II range is also compatible with DDR2 memory.

As the new CPUs and the new AM3 socket are pin-compatible with the current AM2+ socket, you can put a new AM3-compatible CPU into an existing AM2+ motherboard. This means that you can upgrade your CPU now without needing to change your motherboard or buy pricey new DDR3 memory.

AMD has today announced six new 45nm Phenom II CPUs that use the AM3 socket, and they all have a quoted maximum TDP of 95W, as well as the usual 512KB of L2 cache per core. Each core also gets 64KB of L1 data cache and 64KB of L1 instruction cache, although the amount of shared Level 3 cache varies between the range, with some chips getting 4MB and others getting 6MB.

Of particular note is the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition, which has an unlocked multiplier and is aimed at taking on Intel’s Core 2 Duo E8400 with the advantage of an extra core under its belt. Overclockers currently has these CPUs available for pre-order for £126.49 inc VAT. Meanwhile, the quad-core Phenom II X4 810 is available for pre-order for £156.39 inc VAT. This chip has less cache than the 720, which has helped AMD to get the price down, and AMD is hoping that it will rival Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q8200.

Look out for our first test of AMD’s new Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition and Phenom II X4 810 in the next issue of Custom PC, which goes on sale on 19 February.