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Specifications for AMDs Phenom 9600 Black Edition hit the Internet

AMD has been trailing Intel in the performance wars that rage between the two chipmakers for the most powerful processors. AMDs latest entry into the battle is its Phenom processors.

ChileHardware has scored some specs for the AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition and posted them. The Phenom 9600 Black Edition is a quad-core Agena processor with an 89W TDP. The processor is built on AMDs 65nm process just like the other Phenom processors. The operating voltage is 0.97va to 1.15v.

The HyperTransport bus runs at 1800MHz and the operating frequency is 2.3GHz. The processor covered here is B2 stepping and features several extensions including MMX, 3DNow Extended!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a, AMD64, Cool’n’Quiet, and NX-bit AMD-V. The best feature of the processor for computer users who overclock is that the Phenom 9600 Black Edition is multiplier unlocked.

The price is pegged at 220 Euros, which equates to about $315 USD. Like all the other Phenom processors, the Black Edition 9600 does suffer from the well-publicized TLB processor bug DailyTech reported on early in December 2007.

This isn’t the first Black Edition processor from AMD, though it is the first Black Edition Phenom part. AMD introduced a Black Edition Athlon 64 X2 5000+ in September of 2007. According to the AMD Phenom roadmap that DailyTech broke in December of 2007, Phenom processors are expected to show up in 2008 running at 2.4GHz, 2.6GHz and beyond.

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Not bad
By FITCamaro on 12/21/2007 2:11:34 PM , Rating: 2
$315 for a quad core CPU with an unlocked multiplier isn't bad.




RE: Not bad
By AmbroseAthan on 12/21/2007 2:23:01 PM , Rating: 3
Wouldn't be surprised if it came in lower in the States also. Over at Newegg the 9500 has dropped down to $199 and the 9600 is at $239. Its unfortunate the BE will not be the new stepping on its release; I am waiting on the new stepping before making the jump.

(And before someone says get Intel, I have an AM2 Motherboard, and do not have unlimited cash for a new board & cpu)


RE: Not bad
By MrBungle123 on 12/21/2007 2:32:51 PM , Rating: 1
You'll probably wait and wait then when they are finally released end up getting one of the old stepping chips through the crap shute of dumb luck that is ordering stuff online.


RE: Not bad
By The Jedi on 12/21/2007 2:55:24 PM , Rating: 3
ClubIT.com is kind of good about specifying the stepping of the CPU's they sell. But true, most places are just faceless e-commerce sites that could care less.


RE: Not bad
By Proteusza on 12/21/2007 3:18:05 PM , Rating: 2
Thats what I'm doing.

I have an Athlon X2 5600+, and I'm gonna wait until the Barcelona chips achieve clock speed parity with my chip.

IE until they release a 2.8 GHz one, so that in the worst case scenario I wont lose any performance at all.


RE: Not bad
By 16nm on 12/21/2007 5:14:03 PM , Rating: 3
The 2.8 Barcelona (post B2 stepping) will be faster than your 2.8 X2. Their new chips are faster clock for clock than the older ones. It's not a huge jump but its still there.


RE: Not bad
By Spoelie on 12/22/2007 6:35:18 AM , Rating: 2
from what i read, B3 is supposed to have a different model number, like 9650 instead of 9600


RE: Not bad
By jhtrico1850 on 12/21/2007 3:59:28 PM , Rating: 2
The Q6600 is cheaper with a locked multiplier and overclocks better. Faster too.


RE: Not bad
By xti on 12/21/2007 5:02:05 PM , Rating: 2
not everyone needs huuuuuuge speed. granted the intel chips are pretty nice, but its almost the communities responsibility that if they can keep them afloat and still be content with the performance they receive from AMD, then to go for it and see it through.

wrestling got crappy when they only had 1 major player.


RE: Not bad
By djkrypplephite on 12/21/2007 6:01:54 PM , Rating: 1
Wrestling never became crappy and never stopped begin crappy, it's a constant state of being for WWF. Or WWE, or NWO or whatever it is now.

True though, SOMEONE will have to get AMD's chips to keep the afloat during the hard times. Perhaps they will rise again someday. Until then, fanboys better be keeping my prices down.


RE: Not bad
By clnee55 on 12/22/2007 2:15:58 AM , Rating: 2
I have no responsibility for AMD. Hector is the guy who is responsible. Where is mr Viditor who claims AMD is a great buy at $12. Mr Viditor, can you buy some more million shares to rescue AMD?


RE: Not bad
By crystal clear on 12/22/2007 11:36:44 AM , Rating: 2
As of 04:01 PM EST
$7.79 USD Price Change
0.18 Percent Change
2.26% (downwards)


RE: Not bad
By ImSpartacus on 12/22/2007 7:15:53 PM , Rating: 2
hmm, thats purdy cheap. and most likely someone will buy amd and bring it out of the depths of bankruptcy.


RE: Not bad
By lindejos on 12/26/2007 3:55:59 AM , Rating: 3
I couldn't disagree more. How is it anyone's responsiblity to purchase an inferior product? If AMD goes under, someone else will step in and fill the void.

You can "feel bad" for the employees of the company, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be held responsible for failing to meet launch dates, delivering buggy products, buying companies they couldn't afford and being a full generation behind in process technology. If the AMD managment hadn't failed over the past year, they wouldn't be in the spot that they are in now.


RE: Not bad
By Regs on 12/26/2007 10:07:46 AM , Rating: 2
Past year? More like years. They stalled. They were able to put what they had in their pipeline on the shelves but it's obvious their pipeline ran dry over 2 years ago. Something that was likely forseen.


RE: Not bad
By eye smite on 12/21/07, Rating: 0
RE: Not bad
By clnee55 on 12/22/2007 2:18:26 AM , Rating: 2
Who are us? is it your family?

quote:
Most of us don't care for intel chips


RE: Not bad
By eye smite on 12/22/07, Rating: -1
RE: Not bad
By mindless1 on 12/23/2007 6:23:41 PM , Rating: 1
Some of US are both AMD and Intel fans. They have both performed remarkably in developing and furthering performance of desktop PCs. Sometimes it seems crazy that everyone poo-poos AMD for being mere single to a couple dozen percent behind Intel in performance or overclocking, while ignoring what a vast increase in performance we have enjoyed in such a very short period of time over the past few years!

Performance does not matter THAT much, that you would be lost today if owning a processor only having the performance possible in 2005. Looking back, somehow you manged to survive 2005 performance levels and even get some work done, maybe even play a game.

Today nothing has changed, enthusiasts rate CPUs like it is some kind of sporting even where one only has to score a tiny bit better to seem like some vastly superior choice when in fact, most people don't have any real effect in their system use unless they're the type that no matter how fast it was, they'd try as hard as they can to bring it to it's knees. (CPU isn't the problem then, it's the nut behind the mouse).


RE: Not bad
By eye smite on 12/23/07, Rating: -1
RE: Not bad
By clnee55 on 12/24/2007 2:16:58 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
I prefer AMD and Intel burnt me a long time ago during the original Pentium days. They started me down the road to AMD in 1998 and I've been happy with them ever since.

It sounded pretty smart then
quote:
I however keep the 4 AthlonX2 desktops, 2 Athlon64 mobile laptops, and 1 turion laptop running 24/7 on a project called word community grid.

Unfortunately, it sounds pretty stupid now, again. Many better choices now.

I don't pay a damn about who makes what. You have the right to follow the AMD religion and the right to worship Hector. Just don't claim the AMD fans represent the computer world unless you meant the losing world. DOn't get upset because AMD is in trouble after trouble, it is not good for your blood pressure.


RE: Not bad
By clnee55 on 12/24/2007 2:08:50 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
Us being the ones that have owned faster chips than intel could make since the first opteron and athlon64 came out. Us that built and owned the athlon xp's, the athlon thunderbirds, the standard athlons and of course the k6-2.

Sounds pretty smart then

quote:
Us being the ones that don't care for intel.

Unfortunately. it turns pretty stupid now.

quote:
Us being the amd fans

Why should I expect from the fanboys anyway.


RE: Not bad
By drebo on 12/22/2007 1:05:57 AM , Rating: 2
Dailytech tends to over-estimate their AMD pricing fairly heavily. In this case, by about 33%.

In fact, this processor has been available for preorder at one of my vendors for about two weeks now at a price a full $40 cheaper than the Q6600. Now, it may not have the same speed, clock for clock, but at $40 cheaper with an architecture that ALSO runs about $20-$40 cheaper than a comparable Intel-based system, it makes these chips perfect for the enthusiast on a budget.

Also, this is not the second Black Edition chip AMD has released. They've done a 6000+ and a 6400+ Black Edition as well. Both were Windsor cores.

Face it, though. Multiplier-unlocked processors have always been in the upper echelons of the CPU spectrum. The fact that AMD is making an effort to cater to people who don't have $1000 to blow on a processor is a step in the right direction regardless of the performance of the chip.


RE: Not bad
By sweetsauce on 12/22/2007 7:37:17 PM , Rating: 3
So we should feel privilaged to be able to buy an underperforming chip thats unlocked? Last time i checked, those locked core2 chips seem to do pretty well at overclocking.


RE: Not bad
By eye smite on 12/22/2007 9:29:53 PM , Rating: 1
If you go back and look at benchmark scores from different sites, the margin of lead core 2 has over athlon x2 is not much and in some case the x2's equal or better the core2. It's no until you get into the quad core intel's that you see a mountain of difference between the 2. I go back to my argument of the P4 vs Athlon XP from a few yrs back....."Amd has the time and the patience to make it as good as the intel or better". Everyone seems to think they're supposed to be blowing intel away and they aren't. They're supposed to be sticking to their game plan and to hell with what everyone thinks. If you don't like AMD, don't buy their cpu's, or read reviews about them.


RE: Not bad
By DeepBlue1975 on 12/22/2007 8:19:22 PM , Rating: 2
No, but you have to remember:

- it is $50 more expensive than a faster clocked Q6600, which is also faster clock for clock, and usually can overclock further even without its multiplier unlocked

- TLB bug, which can be circumvented by a BIOS patch... that can introduce a performance penalty of around 10%

- For what I've read by now, Phenom processors are not great overclockers as of yet, and because of this, the multiplier unlocked feature becomes a not so important one.

To me, $315 for a chip that is likely to be slower in all circumstances than a 266 one is not that good of a deal.

The good thing about this is, I believe, will be drawing less power and generating less heat than a Q6600 which is like a very tall brunette with perfect legs and great breasts (in one word: HOT)

I hope AMD can refine their pricing and processing.
With their newest and long overdue addition sporting an out of the box, peformance penalty inducing bug, and with their newest video cards being not so great compared to nvidia's offerings, I think 2008 will not be too easier for them compared to this year, specially taking into consideration how Intel recovered all of its strengths, is selling great chips cheap, and has a solid roadmap which, by now, is sticking very well to their claimed schedule.


RE: Not bad
By liquidaim on 12/24/2007 10:51:19 AM , Rating: 2
And how does the TLB error affect the average desktop user?

Show me one site that has managed to replicate this error on an average desktop. Will the error cause BSOD's unless the bios fix is applied unless you are running a virtual machine?

The point is, that the TLB error is blown way out of proportion.

Wait until official pricing is announced state side instead buying into rumors and speculation.


RE: Not bad
By Regs on 12/23/2007 1:06:03 PM , Rating: 2
I'm starting to think that since the value of the euro is more than the dollar is why we're paying 320 instead of 300 for it. Still not bad.


Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By Oroka on 12/21/2007 4:31:30 PM , Rating: 2
IMO this is a step in the right direction for AMD. The only people Black Edition CPUs are good for is enthusiasts, but those are the people who make the most noise in Yay/Nay for a manufacturer. If a OCer wont buy a AMD CPU, they re not going to suggest one for thier relitives and friends.

I got out of overclocking last year, sold off all my watercooling gear to my brother, but a new design CPU Black Ed is quite tempting. I was just assuming the Black Ed was a gimick to get us geeks to buy a warmed over X2 CPU and would dissappear when the Phenoms take over.

A friend of mine was in the market for a upgrade from a X2 3800, and I suggested the X2 5000 Black, and he overclocked that puppy to 3.1GHz with virtually no prior experience with overclocking, and on air! Definatly a good buy.

I got a X2 6000, 7900GT OC, 2GB DDR2... I am not doing any upgrades till AM3 is finalized, then I will do a complete overhaul. A Phenom X8 would be nice :D




RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By bryanW1995 on 12/21/2007 9:27:06 PM , Rating: 2
wow, this article was written by the same guy who just trashed all amd gpus and said they were slower than nvidia at all price ranges. funny, the title of the article is about a blace edition phenom but he managed to throw out an intel comparison in the first sentence. nice, very objective.

I own an e6750 and am planning to get a 9450 when they come out btw, I just didn't see the intel comparison as relevant here.


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By eye smite on 12/21/07, Rating: 0
RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By clnee55 on 12/22/2007 2:22:03 AM , Rating: 1
It is funny. Couple years ago, people said Daily Tech and Anandtech were biased towards AMD. Things change, fanboys, wake up and face reality. Don't waste your time reading Anantech and Dailytech if you don't believe them. It is not good for your blood pressure.

quote:
Dailytech and Anandtech are biased towards intel for whatever reasons and it shows in all their writings


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By drebo on 12/22/2007 10:33:06 AM , Rating: 2
That's not true. As long as I've been reading DT/AT, there has been a heavy bias toward Intel and a moderate bias toward nVidia.


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By Ryanman on 12/22/2007 5:53:51 PM , Rating: 1
Lol, I agree. Probably moderate would be a better word than light for the Nvidia Bias.
The good news is guys, that they don't lie about benchmarks. Just read those instead of the "word" articles.


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By mindless1 on 12/23/2007 6:34:33 PM , Rating: 2
Before there was DT, like in the Radeon 9700 era, AT showed bias towards it. They were biased towards what seemed the better choice at the time, which shouldn't be surprising. I do think more emphasis should be placed on the performance differences at the low end, since that is where most are shopping. IMO, most are looking to spend under $200 for a processor and under about $120 for a board to run it except of course for gamers that want bragging rights.


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By eye smite on 12/22/2007 9:39:26 PM , Rating: 2
You want to see an unbiased review that just presents the facts instead of a rant or colorful opinions, read the review of the phenom review in tom's hardware. Not once is intel nentioned, and it's not a rant like the AT review, it's strictly facts and what the cpu will do when overclocked, etc. When the people at DT/AT learn how to be professional instead of doing reviews like a blog rant, I'll read their site and take them seriously. Until then I rank them up their with the campaigners for Cindy Sheehan against Nancey Pelosi. That a clear enough picture?


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By mindless1 on 12/23/2007 6:36:00 PM , Rating: 1
and yet you keep reading


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By clnee55 on 12/24/2007 2:21:03 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
When the people at DT/AT learn how to be professional instead of doing reviews like a blog rant, I'll read their site and take them seriously. Until then I rank them up their with the campaigners for Cindy Sheehan against Nancey Pelosi. That a clear enough picture?


Do what your mouth is worth. Stop reading and save your blood pressure.


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By Spuke on 12/25/2007 1:45:02 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
read the review of the phenom review in tom's hardware
Ewwww. You just said the "t" word. You know that's an automatic downrate here. LOL!


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By Cincybeck on 12/22/2007 5:57:23 PM , Rating: 1
I see this a lot no matter what site I'm on. You ever think that they might seem biased towards so-n'-so because you are bias towards the other company? Everything I've read on DT seems pretty straight up and if it doesn't I use my brain and get the story from another angle. A wise man told me once. "Believe nothing that you read and only half of what you see."
Some people take it literally, I believe it just means, question everything.


RE: Wake me up when AM3 comes...
By Regs on 12/23/2007 1:13:06 PM , Rating: 2
The one thing I frowned upon in this article is that the writer waited until the end of the 3rd paragraph to mention it had an unlocked multiplier. Which is the whole entire point of the "black edition". Tech guru's know off the bat what the black series are for, but even to mention it that far into a article is kind of ludicrous.


great CPU, great potential.
By dazy on 12/21/2007 2:36:14 PM , Rating: 2
check these out for more info:
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTE...
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ...
and that TLB bug is a non-issue for allmost all users..




RE: great CPU, great potential.
By eye smite on 12/21/07, Rating: 0
RE: great CPU, great potential.
By sweetsauce on 12/22/2007 7:39:42 PM , Rating: 2
Hold your breath waiting for that day


RE: great CPU, great potential.
By eye smite on 12/22/07, Rating: -1
RE: great CPU, great potential.
By JumpingJack on 12/23/2007 4:29:27 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, he is pragmatic in a cynical sorta way.


RE: great CPU, great potential.
By clnee55 on 12/24/2007 2:24:55 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
You're an intel fan aren't you? It shows


It is better for you to learn how to think like a mature person. People can always disagree. But it doesn't mean you can label them to the opposite side, you begin to sound like communist.


RE: great CPU, great potential.
By clnee55 on 12/24/2007 2:30:28 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Weren't they saying back then that amd would never beat intel, and oh look what happened


Why you keep living and dreaming in the past AMD golden area 3, 4 years ago.

quote:
AMD isn't done, they just don't move as fast as people want them to.


Exactly, that's why they are in trouble. it is not the same as 3, 4 years, ago. You pointed it out yourself, why don't you get it.


intel will charge $1000 a chip again if AMD dives
By urdric on 12/24/2007 9:28:01 AM , Rating: 2
remember the old days when intel made their billions by charging $1000 a chip. If AMD dives those days will be back again.




By DeepBlue1975 on 12/24/2007 10:47:40 AM , Rating: 2
Sad, but true.

Today Intel is the only high end CPU provider.


By clnee55 on 12/25/2007 4:02:44 PM , Rating: 2
They still make billions now without charging $1000. AMD will never die. But they need to be better. Survival with bad chips doesn't help.

quote:
remember the old days when intel made their billions by charging $1000 a chip. If AMD dives those days will be back again


By artbronze on 12/25/2007 10:14:21 PM , Rating: 3
No I can't remember, and I have been buying cpus since the 80286 both AMD and Intel. This $1000 cpu price is an urban myth-lie that i am tired of hearing about. Tell me mr. Liar how in the early nineties did I buy a brand new computer with a 386 cpu for $1200 if the cpu cost $1000? The only thousand dollar cpus I've ever seen have been very recent and they are a very rare minority being the extream edition cpus. As far as considering one of these new unlocked Phenom cpu's you would have to be brain damaged to buy a cpu that runs slower than the slowest Intel quad core runs hotter uses more juice and cost more. Why in gods name would you possibly consider this if you are buying a computer for gaming performance. And also let me remind you that is what this site has always been based on and why you are here.... for gaming performance. Now the Amd cheerleaders can grovel and groan and brainlessly follow thier chosen company like a bunch of zombie lemmings following the pied piper into the ocean but it will not change the facts that the Phenom just plain sucks when it comes to gaming performance. I seem to remember the same lame rantings from the 3dfx crowd when that company was over run by thier competition (Nvidia), The answer right now is to buy the best performer at the best price, and that unfortunately is not Amd anymore.


Max Multi?
By Phynaz on 12/21/2007 2:13:23 PM , Rating: 2
Is the default multi the max multi?




RE: Max Multi?
By MrBungle123 on 12/21/2007 2:21:14 PM , Rating: 2
As far as I know all standard version AMD processors are multiplier unlocked down. The FX and Black Editions are unlocked up and down.


I own a B2 9500
By rhog on 12/24/2007 12:33:30 AM , Rating: 2
I find it interesting that Dailytech seems bent on killing AMD (and now ATI) they seem uninterested in anything AMD does becuase OMG it is 10% slower clock for clock! I have benchmarked the 9500 processor and tested it for days without incident and no TLB hack turned on in my bios a 790FX Gigabyte board. I considered it a non issue atleast with my processor. What I do find interesting is that it is faster than any Core 2 duo you can buy and at $199.00 at Newegg is is very inexpensive compared to an E6600 which goes for 239.00. So according to DT logic the Core 2 duo (not a Quad) is now a non competative processor and intel should be in big trouble after all the 3.0ghz Duo is not as fast as the 9500 and costs more. This fact becomes more significant wiht intel's silly excuse that they delayed their new lower speed Quad core processors because AMDs were not a significant threat, please! Also, since Intel's Penryn is at most only 5% quicker than the previous version they are also in need of a new microarchitecture by DT logic. If AMD can tweak there core and get back even 7-8% then they will be on an even footing with intel, but not by DT logic as it must be atleast 10% quicker to be any good. BTW the floating point operations on the 9500 are significantly faster than intels it is only in integer operations that Intel is really king.




RE: I own a B2 9500
By Joz on 12/24/2007 12:57:58 AM , Rating: 2
Untill that C2D at 3.0GHz outperforms the 9500 in anything thats not optimized for multithreading, aka most things common users use.

I rest my case. You sir, are a fanboy idiot.

/C7-M (VIA)
/K6-2+ (AMD)
/Q6600 (Intel)
/7900GTX (nVidia)
/X800GTO (ATI)
/Apack {zerotherm}
/Zalman
/CoolerMaster
/PCP&C
/Mushkin
/Lite-On
/Acer
/WD
/Seagate
/Toshiba
/Abit
/DFI
/Gigabyte
/eVGA
/Biostar
/Foxconn
/AC
/Thermaltake
/Wintec
/Cell Shock
/NEC
/ViewSonic
/Diamond
/Chaintech
/Sparkle
/HIS
/Albatron
/LeadTek
/Logitech
/Silverstone
/Lian-Li
/Enermax
/SeaSonic
/Palit
/Galaxy
/Gainward
/-Fanboy.


Low voltage
By Comdrpopnfresh on 12/21/2007 10:18:56 PM , Rating: 2
"The operating voltage is 0.97va to 1.15v."

Isn't that low? I have a S939 3800X2 which'll run @ 1V @ 1040mhz. This is four quads running @ 2.3. What is the stock core2 voltage?




The mystery TURBO button
By crystal clear on 12/22/2007 12:19:56 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Like all the other Phenom processors, the Black Edition 9600 does suffer from the well-publicized TLB processor bug DailyTech reported on early in December 2007.


Now there are new development on this subject-

"It’s unfortunate that the TLB erratum that affects the AMD Phenom 9500 and 9600 processors has garnered as much attention as it has. Unfortunate not just for AMD, but for customers because I believe it has been blown out of proportion. Every processor, ours and our competition’s, has errata. Phenom is no different. Erratum number 298 is L3 protocol issue which can cause a system hang when running certain client workloads. That may sound scary, but some perspective is needed. It is extremely unlikely desktop users are going to find themselves in a scenario that could trigger this erratum. I won’t go so far as to say no one will ever see it, because I’m not going to claim absolutes like that, and AMD wants to always land on the side of caution and prudence. That’s why I’d point out that the fix is in. We’ve communicated a BIOS modification to motherboard vendors that will ensure system stability, and we’re implementing a silicon fix in future CPUs. But what really stands out to me is that we put a switch in the AMD OverDrive utility that enables PC users to disable the BIOS workaround. That should send a message of our confidence that desktop users should not lose sleep about this particular erratum." - AMD PR to Legit Reviews on 12/19/2007



<iLegit Bottom Line: AMD fails to communicate a performance crushing erratum to the media. They then provide motherboard companies a BIOS fix with, but there is no way to disable the BIOS workaround. AMD then releases new OverDrive versions that can disable it with a mystery 'turbo' button.

>

We asked AMD if they could go into more details on what exactly these settings are doing, but it has been days and they have not commented. To be honest we have asked more than one person in AMD what these settings do and either they don't know or don't reply. The one thing we know it does is disable the TLB patch for erratum 298, which is a good thing for those that want a performance boost. Personally, I think it should be either an option that can be either enabled or disabled and one that is clearly marked. In the mean time I'm going to try and figure out what the turbo settings are really doing. If you own a Phenom processor and update your BIOS to one that has the performance fix be sure to get the latest version of OverDrive to disable the TLB workaround. We have yet to see it on any of our systems and unless you are running VMware it's likely you won't run into it either.



http://www.legitreviews.com/article/618/1/

Note-

AMD just this week released OverDrive 2.0.13 beta, which adds more features but still lacks 64-Bit driver signing. That means if you are running 64-bit Vista for example you have to disable driver signing by hitting F8 while windows is booting, change the setting and then let Windows Vista 64-bit fully load.




By DeepBlue1975 on 12/23/2007 6:03:41 PM , Rating: 2
quote:

I believe many of you remember the triumph of the first 64-bit x86 Athlon 64 processors. They were the ones that made AMD processor leader for a significant period of time: until Intel started rolling out their CPUs on Core micro-architecture. It was then that AMD’s era of success came to an end and hard times set it. For over a year and a half AMD fans hope for the new solution to finally come out that will help this company regain their high-performance maker title. That is why Phenom is one of the most impatiently awaited solutions of the year 2007. Numerous hopes were pinned upon it.

And finally the waiting is over. The curtain of mystery has been raised over the new AMD Phenom processor and we a chance to check out this achievement using bare facts and figures. Which will hardly please those of you who expected this processor launch to change the CPU market dramatically. Despite all indisputable advantages and technological innovations, Phenom processors available today and scheduled to come out later will hardly be able to compete successfully with quad-core Intel CPUs. Especially, with those that will belong to 45nm Yorkfield generation.

The performance of quad-core AMD Phenom processors based on K10 micro-architecture that is none other but enhanced and modified K8 micro-architecture proved considerably slower than any other quad-core processors from Intel Core 2 Quad family. That is why it would make perfect sense for AMD to position their new Phenoms as mainstream solutions. In other words, as budget CPUs with four computational cores.

This is actually the current AMD’s strategy already. Phenom 9500 and 9600 processors are selling at considerably lower prices than any Core 2 Quad solutions. The current retail price difference between Phenom and Core 2 Quad does reflect the fact that Phenom 9500 is 17% slower and Phenom 9600 – about 14% slower than their competitor.

So, it looks like Phenom CPUs will not win the enthusiasts’ hearts just yet. Although they can overclock pretty well, they can only catch up with Core 2 Quad working in nominal mode at best. Therefore, even the launch of Phenom 9600 “Black Edition” with an unlocked multiplier will hardly create any additional interest among computer users.

The power consumption of the new Phenom processors is also not among their advantages. They require more power than their faster competitors, which makes them less attractive from the performance-per-watt prospective.

Summing up everything we have just said, I can conclude that Phenom has very vague market prospective. At this time they may be interesting only as inexpensive quad-core solutions used to upgrade the existing Socket AM2 platforms. Especially, since AMD made them compatible with the existing infrastructure. Also, they will most likely win some fans due to their low price. However in any case, AMD shouldn’t hope that the demand will grow massive.

In this situation AMD should focus on increasing the clock speeds of their new processors, because they no longer have the chance to offer a CPU with more advanced micro-architecture in the near future. Especially, since the today’s gap between the top Phenom and Core 2 Quad is almost 1GHz. However, Phenom CPUs with 3GHz+ speeds will hardly come out before they switch production to 45nm process that is scheduled to occur only in H2 2008.


Source: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/amd-p...

So, it needs more voltage to reach 3ghz (my q6600 b3 doesn't need any kind of voltage increase to go to 3ghz), even then it's barely better than Intel's q6600 at stock speed...
And what's worse: it draws more power! (I thought it did better in that department)

AMD will have to keep driving prices lower if they want to regain some of the lost marketshare.




amd vs intel ?
By Marty007 on 12/28/2007 9:23:59 AM , Rating: 2
amd was good,.. and noone will deny that..

at the time amd released their athlon xp processors, amd was good... they matched up to intel's speed pretty easy, and on top of that were a lot cheaper.. more bang for your buck...
but the problem is .. intel accepted that and started developping things like dual core, and later the core2duo/core2quad
and this is a brilliant move by intel, and completely stupid by amd.... and on top of that they buy ATI.... why.. they werent losing fast enough ??
when amd bought ati, everyone was hoping.. oh yeah.. were gonna get a cpu/gpu combi chip thats uberness ultra mega fast..
instead we get crappy cards and crappy cpu's now..
and amd's last resort is the Deneb right now..
wich appearantly will most probably gets its butt kicked by the nehalem from intel...
amd better come up with something good..
intel claims to be improving cpu/gpu with the nehalem, with a factor 10.. thats quite a impressive claim..
lets say 50% of that is true...
wheres amd..??? they dont even dare to make claims..
so lets say 50% of that is true...
amd is gone ?

amd had its good time..
but they rather milked their cow rather than investing and researching for new milk cows..

now intel has 2 straight desktop families to milk at the same time.. and 2 server family cores along with that
and the notebook market can choose of 4 different families as well..
wheres amd now??




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