An industry source apparently confirmed to website Hexus.net the branding of AMD's upcoming dual-core processor. According to the article, AMD will name its chip the Athlon 64 X2.

There will be at least three models available at launch: The X2 4400+, the X2 4600+ and the 4800+. Actual processor speeds will be up to 2.4 GHz.

There is no information, if AMD plans to fit the model numbering sequence into its current lineup. Given the fact that the firm's fastest regular Athlon 64 is named "4000+", we would expect AMD to position the performance of the X2 clearly at the very top-end of the mainstream processor offering.

The FX line will be marketed as the fastest performing AMD processor for some into the future - and is likely to also remain the most expensive processor at AMD. In an interview with Tom's Hardware Guide, a spokesperson for AMD said that the company intends to sclae its single-core chips through 2005 and 2006 on focus on single-cores especially for gaming products: "This market is savvy enough that customers are able to see that there is no performance increase with dual-cores yet." (THG)