AMD Introduces New Phenom Processors

By Geoff Duncan March 27, 2008

AMD Introduces New Phenom Processors

Advanced Micro Devices has rolled out four new AMD Phenom processors for desktop PCs, which the company will give it a boost in its ongoing competition with Intel in the multi-core processor market. Although AMD’s offerings don’t stack up to Intel’s own quad-core processors, the company is hoping the new Phenoms’ combination of performance and price will appeal to the PC enthusiast community as well as OEM manufactures.

“These new AMD Phenom X4 processors unlock even greater visual computing performance to showcase the unparalleled scalability of the AMD enthusiast platform,” said MAD executive VP Mario Rivas, in a statement.

The top of the line is AMD’s new Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition, with a quad-core design and supper for up to four ATI Radeon HD 3800 graphics cards. The X4s are part of AMD’s “Spider” enthusiast platform, aimed at high-end gamers and enthusiast who like to build their own customized dream systems rather than rely on systems builders. The 65nm process CPU CPU consumes 125 Watts and runs at a base clock speed of 2.5 GHz, along with a Clock Multiplier control that lets gamers and other performance computing fans scale up their rigs for even more power.

AMD has also introduced Phenom X4 9550, 9650, and 9750 processors at 2.2, 2.3 , and 2.4 GHz respectively.

AMD is also introducing a triple-core processors, the Phenom X3 8600 and 8400. The triple-core units are designed to be an economical performance boost for consumers looking for more power than a now-standard dual-core rig provides, without all the added cost of a quad-core system. AMD is positioning the X3 series as ideal for high-definition video entertainment and gaming, especially when paired with the company’s AMD 780 chipset for DirectX game compatibility that can offload HD playback to a graphics processor.

The new Phenom X4 are available now for enthusiasts and do-it-yourselfers, while the X3 CPUs are currently available to OEM and system builders.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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