AMD's Phenom II Naming Change
AMD officially announced the new family name for the 45nm Phenoms and Phenom II, at the firm’s Financial Analyst Day last week. More interestingly, reports have surfaced that AMD has switched to a 3-digit model number scheme from the 4-digit one currently in use.
Back in September there were industry reports that AMD was going to change their Phenom X4 and X3 model number scheme from a 4-digit model number to a 5-digit model number. This no longer appears to be the case, but there has been no official word from AMD about these model numbers yet.
| Model | Cores | Frequency | Codename | Socket | Total Cache | TDP | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X4 945 | 4 | 3.0GHz | Deneb | AM3 | 8 MB | *125W | Q2 2009 |
| X4 940 | 4 | 3.0GHz | Deneb | AM2+ | 8 MB | 125W | Jan. 8 2009 |
| X4 925 | 4 | 2.8GHz | Deneb | AM3 | 8 MB | 95W | Feb. 2009 |
| X4 920 | 4 | 2.8GHz | Deneb | AM2+ | 8 MB | 125W | Jan. 8 2009 |
| X4 910 | 4 | 2.6GHz | Deneb | AM3 | 8 MB | 95W | Feb. 2009 |
| X4 810 | 4 | 2.6GHz | Deneb | AM3 | 6 MB | 95W | Feb. 2009 |
| X4 805 | 4 | 2.5GHz | Deneb | AM3 | 6 MB | 95W | Feb. 2009 |
| X3 720 | 3 | 2.8GHz | Propus | AM3 | 7.5 MB | 95W | Feb. 2009 |
| X3 710 | 3 | 2.6GHz | Propus | AM3 | 7.5 MB | 95W | Feb. 2009 |
*Expreview reports the Phenom II X4 945 as a 125W part. While the source did not specify, the 945 is assumed to have an unlocked multiplier as it is the flagship model. The Phenom II X4 940 and 920 will also have unlocked multipliers.
An interesting thing to note is the similarity between this naming scheme and that used by Intel’s Core i7 family of processors, specifically the Phenom II X4 920 and 940. Hopefully this won’t be a source of confusion for the less knowledgeable crowd should they decide to build their own system. At least the 3-digit model numbers are easier to say and remember than the 5-digit numbers.
April will reportedly see the launch of the mainstream triple- and quad-core Phenom II X3 400 and X4 600 series, and June the budget dual-core X2 200 series chips.
We contacted AMD and a representative told us that while the name changes are true, the processor model numbers cannot be confirmed at this time. We were also told that official numbers will be unveiled very shortly.
Regardless, this naming scheme is much clearer than what they had originally planned for the next-gen Phenom, so I think it's a good move.
If they are doing that again, I hope they're accurate.
I can't see it in the picture on Expreview reports article
will am2+ boards be compatible with am3 chips? i want the 940 or 945.
But not too bad in anyway.
All in all, I'm actually pretty excited about Deneb (Even though I don't have an AMD platform), more than I was with Core i7 until I heard gaming performance was the same.
Yes, the amount listed in the table is total cache.
That may be true, but AMD did it for different reasons.
The P3 chips and AMD chips were superior clock-per-clock to the P4 chips (interestingly the core 2 architecture is closer to P3 than the P4). However for intel the P4s were superior to the P3s because they could clock alot higher. As part of their marketing Intel put out that higher clock speeds meant better processors, whilst it is true in a given family, it isnt an actual comparison. Nobody (mainstream) would listen to AMD saying it isnt a fair comparison, so AMD named the processors with the X000+ designation to make them sound as though they had a similar clock.
I hope MSI adds it to its AM3 motherboard.
Doubt it, Nehalem's gaming performance is similar to C2D because of smaller L2 cache. Phenom II has the same L2 cache as Phenom I.
BTW, anyone noticed the AM2+ version requires more power than AM3 version; TDP 125w vs. 95w. I wonder if my 690G AM2 board will require more power if it works at all.
Orangedrink,
No the AM2+ mobo's will not take the AM3 CPU's
AM2/AM2+ is specifically for DDR2 memory
AM3 is for DDR3
my general thoughts,
DDR3 is a long way from being worth it (IMO) dollars to performance DDR2 wins
and regards to the naming system, they all suck but they gotta do something, i wish they'd just use Phenom X4 2800 for a 2.8 GHz but unfortunately peeps are dumb and think GHz is everything so they (AMD) needs to make it competitive to Intel, so they came up with this crap
while AMD might be a little over zealous with trying to compare their cpus to intels you really cant expect either Intel or AMD to be 100% honest can you? otherwise we prolly wouldnt need Tom's then
Personally, I like AMD, and I'm sick of Intel's lies from the old days claiming that the old AMD XP chips were unreliable, I have respect for AMD and that they're fighting Intel, if it werent for AMD we'd prolly all be uses a 2.0 GHz P4 right now
so if your an intel fan boy, or and AMD fan who cares what who calls a CPU, at least AMDs have been easier to figure out what proc is what compared to intels cryptic naming scheme, at least intel is changing it too
and yes i can comment about intel for those that might whine, I have both AMD and Intel CPU's here at home and at my business, while I prefer AMD/ATI i still can buy Intel or nVidia, thank goodness for competition
nB
yeah but phenom II has a larger L3 cache, and these processors are on a 45nm manufacturing tech so they use less power.
i think the AM3 cpus will still have a ddr2 controller, so you might be able to put them on am2+ motherboards
Maybe Intel's Penryn chips, but not Core i7.