Report: AMD Prepares Athlon II X4 CPUs for Socket FM2
With the A-Series Trinity desktop APUs not set to reach retail till later this year, we are getting our first look of the FM2 Athlon II X4 processors.

We first got our hands on the elusive A-Series Trinity processors in June just to later learn that the processor won't hit retail until later this year. As we wait for Trinity's release, we are learning more about the upcoming Athlon II X4 processors based on the "Piledriver" architectural.
AMD is planning a trio of quad-core Athlon II X4 processors in the socket FM2 package. All three models will be based on "Piledriver" architecture, with quad CPU cores and 4 MB L2 cache. The Athlon II X4 730 and 740 have a TDP of 65 Watt, operating at 2.8 GHz and 3.2 GHz respectively. Athlon II 750K will be clocked at 3.4 GHz, have a 100 Watt TDP, and may come with an unlocked clock multiplier.
| Model | Cores | Frequency | L2 cache | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlon II X4 730 | 4 | 2.8 GHz | 4 MB | 65 Watt |
| Athlon II X4 740 | 4 | 3.2 GHz | 4 MB | 65 Watt |
| Athlon II X4 750K | 4 | 3.4 GHz | 4 MB | 100 Watt |
Socket FM1 Athlon II processors have a disabled integrated graphics core. We expect to see this trend to continue with the FM2 Athlon II processors, potentially creating some confusion with these processors at its expected price point. As a "budget" processor, does it make sense to have the intergrated graphics disabled requiring users to use a discrete GPU? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a "budget" build with the added cost of a discrete GPU? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
It does make sense for AMD to try to sell these, since they are probably harvested from chips with duff GPUs. Better to try to sell them for a few bucks than for them to go to land fill. These might be nice little chips with some overclock headroom to go with the better memory controller than the AM3 Athlon II.
Tom's did a comparison between the Athlon II and Phenom II a few years back to show the effect of L3 cache, so it'd be great to see a repeat of that once Piledriver has been released.
The best part about AMD's latest APUs is their integrated graphics. If they put just a plain ol' processor out there, I think it's going to get smashed by anything Intel has in that same price range. That is - without the graphics, I wouldn't buy anything of AMD's over Intel's processor lineup. Especially at a comparable price range.
32nm
just my 2 cents
And probably, it makes no sense (well in fact if this "disabling" can be reversed then it makes a lot of sense... 10 bucks cheaper APUs
It does make sense for AMD to try to sell these, since they are probably harvested from chips with duff GPUs. Better to try to sell them for a few bucks than for them to go to land fill. These might be nice little chips with some overclock headroom to go with the better memory controller than the AM3 Athlon II.
Tom's did a comparison between the Athlon II and Phenom II a few years back to show the effect of L3 cache, so it'd be great to see a repeat of that once Piledriver has been released.
To already be offering GPU disabled versions when they have the FX series looks very odd.
Otherwise they need to be priced really low to compete.
To already be offering GPU disabled versions when they have the FX series looks very odd.
Yep, this does sound like the familiar yield problems Llano had on GF's 32nm process, since these supposedly have a disabled GPU. Llano was delayed around 9 months IIRC from midsummer 2010 to March 2011, only selling in volume summer of 2011. And Bulldozer's delay as well seems to be linked to some problem between AMD and GF in implementing a new design with GF's design rules..
The average customer has no idea what is what and how it compares to Intel Processors.
And guess what... if in doubt consumers will take the 'Intel Inside" over AMD.
That's a mindset AMD has to overcome if they want to improve their market share.
I believe that AMD should partner with IBM in the near future and use some of Big Blue's patents to fight against Intel. IBM is the main reason AMD exists anyway, so it would be fitting that they would partner. IBM has some great lithography and integrated circuit patents.
The nm node is not the size of the transistors. It is the distance between transistors. Transistor sizes vary between different types of transistors even on the same process technology and node
Counting overclocking, the Athlon II 750K is probably better than any Phenom II CPU.