AMD Hits Top (Base) GHz with Quad-Core Phenom
By - Source: Tom's Hardware US
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67 comments
Just another 100MHz.
AMD today released a new Phenom II that could be one of the last new introductions for the company before it enters its future in Fusion.
New to its desktop family is the AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition processor. The X4 980 is much like the X4 975, except it gains another 100MHz to hit 3.7GHz. It features the same 6MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 125W.
If you're familiar with the Phenom II family, then you'll know exactly what this latest member is all about. Tech Report has a quick lowdown on what it calls "An old horse gallops a few steps faster."
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Waiting June and their big revelations.
Come on bulldozer. I am lying when I am saying I don't have high expectations for you because I fear disappointment. Be a fan like it is never going to disappoint you, because that's the only way to truly be a fan. And right now I am a fan for getting the CPU to move some. There is a lot of stagnant potential in Intel, and there is pushing AMD to the limits. I like them both pushed to the limits and the pressure to bring more. So, GO AMD!! Bring us dream instructions per cycle and also keep the experience of pushing your CPUs to 3.7 GHz out of the box.
It's just a minor update like AMD and Intel do all the time. Sure, it can't complete with SB, but AMD's answer to SB is slated for June in the form of Bulldozer (high end CPU for use with discrete GPU's) and Llano (mid end CPU with powerful IGP for everyday use).
It's a bit like saying that a security patch is Window's answer to the next Mac OS X - that's not true, it's the next Windows version that's the answer.
No matter how much better sandy bridge is, AMD wont be dismantled because of it. Amd remains the solid leader in the low end market and its high end(which is not bad at all) is ALOT cheaper than intels high end. Bulldozer is supposed to be AMDs answer top SB, and if it doesnt do well against SB, its still in a good spot because it will undoubtably be a powerful CPU at an affordable price(probably 1/2 or less of SB price).
Wouldn't that be a "half step faster"?
AMD has high end APU's? Lol i laughed at this one. AMD is for budget gamers. Bulldozer is a joke, AMD is 3 years behind Intel, and still lacks any benchmarks to prove they can keep up with anything. AMD stick to putting your money into crap laptops.
Is the 980 a "minor update" or is it a 975 tested and placed in a faster bin?
i5-2500K completely dominates this latest (and every other) AMD CPU but still costs less and uses less power. And when Bulldozer comes out, it'll still be slower than Sandy Bridge, not to mention Ivy Bridge which is expected by the end of the year. AMD is dead, surviving only on the charity of fanboys.
It does NOT cost less. It's even more than the AMD 6 cores which on games like Bad Company 2 that can use up to 6 cores does better than 2500k. Also with the AMD chips you don't have to buy a new motherboard.
I also like how you Intel fanboys trash AMD when they're the only ones keeping prices down. You can see what happens when AMD is not in the market at the highend Intel CPUs where they have no competition - prices just skyrocket.
The uses less power is much less of a deal than having to buy a new mobo each new CPU upgrade.
lol, reviews came out monday, a bit late on the news.
If i wasn't for AMD, the cheapest thing you could buy would be the i5-2500k for $1000. Think intel really cares about their customers ... lol
In performance terms, AMD is behind Intel, at least until Llano and Zambezi arrive, however in terms of low-power computing, AMD is ahead of Intel with its very first new product in that area (and let's remind ourselves of how people thought all AMD processors were hungrier and lower performing, and to an extent, that's spot on, but not exclusively the case anymore). As I've said to someone recently, the most purchased products are towards the lower end, which Brazos and Llano should cater for nicely. You forget that not everybody is an enthusiast and not everybody visits tech websites.
I believe SB was Intel's answer to Fusion. Intel just brought SB to the market faster than AMD was able to deliver the high end Fusion processors.
The one thing that I can agree upon with everyone is the anticipation of getting the Fusion product to market. I am excited, and hope I will be impressed with the benchmarks that Tom's will provide when it is released. I'm due for a refresh...
Yeah, my bad. I was comparing it to 1100T for some reason. You're right, it is cheaper.
I don't know about Bad Company 2 but 2500K decimates 1100T by at least 30% in every game benchmark I've seen.
For those who bought a lower level Phenom CPU a while back with a decent mobo, this is about the quickest speed bump your going to get without a major mobo transplant ... or trying to tickle the life out of the older cpu with an overclock, other than stepping into an X6 (again if the mobo supports it, and in many benchies there is little difference between the X4 and X6 for gaming).
Cheers.