Phenom II X4 3.6GHz and RV740 This Year?

By Kevin Parrish
published

Over the weekend, there was quite a lot of buzz about an AMD Phenom II X4 processor clocking at 3.6 GHz by the end of the year as well as the possibility that the ATI RV740 will be used in the upcoming Radeon HD 4730 and HD 4750 SKUs.

According to German website News-AMD, AMD plans to release the 45 nm Phenom II X4 chipsets, clocking up to 3.6 GHz, in Q2 of this year. However, the site quickly went offline due to "incorrect interpretation," with a newer version of the original article going up yesterday. Based on information stemming from recently "leaked" AMD roadmap slides highlighting the release of the Phenom II X4 950 (4 x 3.1 GHz) in Q2 2009, the site speculates that the 3.6GHz version will see a release before the end of the decade. The theory utilizes a model number roadmap using increments of ten (because apparently no one could agree on increments of 5). As a result, the AMD Phenom II X4 960 clocks at 4 x 3.2 GHz, the AMD Phenom II X4 970 clocks in at 4 x 3.3 GHz and so on.

If all goes according to plan, the upcoming Phenom II X4 950 will support DDR3 1333 MHz memory, 4 GHz HyperTransport interface speed, and Socket AM3. Supposedly, the chip will also have a 125W thermal envelope and 8 MB total cache, however TechReport speculates that the cache splits into 6MB of L3 and 512KB of L2 per core. Currently AMD's fastest processor is the Phenom II X4 940, clocking in at 3.0 GHz with 8 MB total cache. AMD is said to top that processor as well with the release of the Phenom II X4 945, a Socket AM3 version of the 940.

Additionally, TechPowerUp reports that AMD is on course to release the first GPU built on the 40 nm silicon process, the RV740, catering to the sub-$150 market. According to the site, the GPU will come packed with 640 stream processors and a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. There's also speculation that the RV740 may be implemented in two SKUs: the Radeon HD 4730 and the Radeon HD 4750, stemming from a thorough inspection of the information files packed with the just-released ATI Catalyst v9.1 drivers. It's assumed that the RV740 will make its debut at CeBIT held in Hannover, Germany on March 3-8, however AMD has not released anything official regarding the GPU.

Kevin Parrish
19 Comments Comment from the forums
  • curnel_D
    Again and again, old news. Ugh. This would be some cool stuff if I hadnt read it almost 4 days ago somewhere else.
    Reply
  • "128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, making it the first GPU to implement the GDDR5 standard."

    Without any bias, how old are you and have you spent last 12 months under a rock? Radeon 4870 was the first card with GDDR5 memory, launched in July. Wake up!

    Reply
  • Pei-chen
    Don't care about the 3.6GHz portion of the news as it is still slower than Q9650, i7 920. AMD need to work on per-clock efficiency; Phenom II reminds me of P4's high clock and high voltage.

    About RV740, wouldn't the new 4750 be performing the same as 4830? Same stream processors and memory bandwidth.
    Reply
  • it is underestimated how architecture compatibility is of crucial importance, compared to standalone efficiency. and thats why im a 110% SUPPORTER of AMD/ATI and not intel, nvidia.

    just look at the xbox 360 and ps3 , both almost perfect hardware/software compatibility, so when u look at it ... from an engineering point of view... AMD is far ahead of the game .... too bad its always a step behind in the enthusiast section. like the phenom II x4 950 is merely a minor update compared to its competitors (cell processor,core i7).
    Reply
  • Efrayim
    sandmanzero1it is underestimated how architecture compatibility is of crucial importance, compared to standalone efficiency. and thats why im a 110% SUPPORTER of AMD/ATI and not intel, nvidia.just look at the xbox 360 and ps3 , both almost perfect hardware/software compatibility, so when u look at it ... from an engineering point of view... AMD is far ahead of the game .... too bad its always a step behind in the enthusiast section. like the phenom II x4 950 is merely a minor update compared to its competitors (cell processor,core i7).
    Dosent the PS3 have Intel and Nvidia Chips in them...I dont know about the Xbox 360... I just thought that the Cell CPU in the PS3 was intel made and the GPU was made by Nvidia but I could be wrong
    Reply
  • @Efrayim
    PS3 have Nvidia and Sony designed GPU.
    XBOX have ATI chip based on Xenos (R500)
    bay.
    Reply
  • TheViper
    The CELL BE is made by IBM (co-developed with Sony and Toshiba). As is the Xbox360 Xenos CPU and even the Hollywood CPU inside the Nintendo Wii. All IBM.

    The GPU inside the PS3 is nVidia while the GPU's inside the X360 and Wii are ATi.


    By the way, the HD 4870 was the first GPU to use GDDR5.
    Reply
  • IBM made the cell ............. and nvidea the gpu (costume made)
    XBOX ..... is intel and ati (r5oo) also modified costume gpu.and there designs meet the best compatibility hardware wise ...
    Reply
  • TheViper
    Sorry, Xenon is the X360 CPU name. Xenos is the GPU name.
    Reply
  • Claimintru
    sandmanzero1it is underestimated how architecture compatibility is of crucial importance, compared to standalone efficiency. and thats why im a 110% SUPPORTER of AMD/ATI and not intel, nvidia.just look at the xbox 360 and ps3 , both almost perfect hardware/software compatibility, so when u look at it ... from an engineering point of view... AMD is far ahead of the game .... too bad its always a step behind in the enthusiast section. like the phenom II x4 950 is merely a minor update compared to its competitors (cell processor,core i7).
    Welcome to being a fanboy.
    Reply