AMD announces Thuban six-core CPUs
AMD's Thuban - likely to be shipped as the Phenom II X6 at retail - is based on the company's server-oriented Opteron chips.
The guys over at MaximumPC have confirmed with AMD that the six-core technology which has gone into its Opteron server processors is due to hit the mainstream early next year with a consumer-grade chip codenamed Thuban. Interestingly, the processor will be fully backwards compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ motherboards - although not ones based around the older AM2 standard.
Thuban processors will feature an on-chip DDR2/DDR3 memory controller, and will be fabricated using AMDs current 45nm technology. While official branding for the product has yet to be confirmed, it's thought that Thuban chips will be sold as Phenom II X6 at retail.
While clock speeds are thought to take a hit compared to quad-core parts in order to keep down the TDP, the Thuban chips will have a decent stack of cache memory with 3MB of level 2 in total and 6MB of level 3 unified cache on-board.
While it's good to see server-side technologies trickling down to the desktop, AMD might have misjudged this release: rival Intel's own Gulftown technology - which is a six-core processor using HyperThreading to present twelve logical processors to the operating system - is also backwards compatible to the company's LGA1366 motherboards and is expected to hit the market first.
Will you be rushing to upgrade to AMD - or Intel's - six-core desktop processors, or are you struggling to make the most of a four-core system? Is the future of computing simple raw power or a greater number of slower processing cores? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyHmmm... multi-threaded.
Quite. Unless AMD prices these astronomically high, for those running AM2+ in particular this could be a worthy upgrade without breaking the bank on a platform shift.
As already mentioned, waiting on reviews.
When i run my Phenom 550 as a 3 core the performance jump is significant over 2 cores, but the jump from 3 to 4 cores only results in a much smaller gain, even in games like GTAIV and ARMAII, which supposedly need 4 cores.....im lucky if i see 3-5fps extra...
Until they properly utilise 4 cores, 6 will only be impressive in highly multithreaded synthetic benchmarks....
Still, im sure 6 cores and more will one day be needed...
Yes but so is a KFC 12 piece bargain bucket but that doesn't make it better than LGA1366. I'm staggered at times with some posts on here.
This topic is really good news as the CPU manufacturers are still pushing their developemenst onto desktops. Since most OS being used today hardly even recognise Quad Core or fully utilise it. Six Core or more may not make a huge difference until the software takes into consideration the extra cores.
Isn't there something in Windows 7 about quad or higher cores being utilised better? I know the Server OS are getting to grips with it better now.
If you have a 6000 in there, Its quite likely you can drop a Phenom in no bother thats what I did on my old board even though it said it was only compatible with upto 125w chips I dropped a 140w 9950 in and had no bother even though it didn't know what it was.
Every board is different though so best to look to the manufacturer or google you're board and see what people are running in there but even that doesn't necessarily help as my Asrock board has no support for quads CPU Support list let alone 140w varients, still I used it until I could get a replacement for my SLI board that had died.
If anyone ever looks in this thread again.
When the time is right, I'll probably upgrade to one of these monsters.
Seem to recall most 590 boards based on the reference design wouldn't work, something to do with bios chip size.
can't see anyone saying that they've done it.
Intel Core series stuff seems expensive, but I use After Effects and Premiere a lot, and in contrast to games, they love multi cores.
how about you MIT geniuses design software that utilizes the four core cpus more efficiently before you go making processors with 48000 cores.
anyway i really don't want a 6 core processor, I rather run 2 dual core or four cores in parallel you know like i do my car stereo amps.
Just imagine two phenom II 955 or two Core I7 on the same motherboard working together to maximize frame rates on Crysis 4 or working independently to multi task.
I can see it now parallel cpus!!!! working together on a chocolate covered motherboard with sprinkles and whip cream.