Report: AMD Prepares Athlon II X4 CPUs for Socket FM2

By Doug Crowthers
published

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.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
ModelCoresFrequencyL2 cacheTDP
Athlon II X4 73042.8 GHz4 MB65 Watt
Athlon II X4 74043.2 GHz4 MB65 Watt
Athlon II X4 750K43.4 GHz4 MB100 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!

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Doug Crowthers
72 Comments Comment from the forums
  • AgentLozen
    These things better be in the >$100 price range.

    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.
    Reply
  • Pyree
    chromonoidwhat would be the size of the transistors used to build these CPUs?32nm
    Reply
  • AgentLozen
    The article says that these Athlon II's are based on Piledriver architecture, so it's probably 32nm like the rest of them.
    Reply
  • rolli59
    Lets see how they compete in price with LGA 1155 pentium CPU's
    Reply
  • emad_ramlawi
    yay this made my day . even today the Athlon II x4 that power the AM3 socket and fm1 socket are great performers , sadly there abit outdated with CPU memory channel and performance per clock and high CPU watt usage compared to an i3-2130 , another thing the FM 2 socket will be packed with power saving tecn , just like the FM 1 , and for users that admire that and loves performance \ power efficient \ dollar \ quiet , equation , they will love an quad core on 65 Watt for 100$ and AMD HD 7750 for another 100$ , and PSU + case + RAM + HDD + mobo will be another 220$ , and fore 420$ man you get a good budget strong build , that can do anything , there is no APU that can provide that compete with a 7750 , so it makes perfect sense for users whom want a budget quit and efficent build (there is silenced 7750 as well i reckon cooler master 212 or any other tower cooler will semi-silence that 65 watt CPU)

    just my 2 cents
    Reply
  • serendipiti
    I Feel that this article justs asks: hey guys, it makes sense to get a trinity APU, disable the graphics core and sell it for 10 bucks less ?
    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
    Reply
  • gonzosquirrel
    Doubtful that you would be able to re-enable the graphics core, but I agree with the thought that AMD is just trying to sponge up some funds from wherever they can. The Athlon II 750K shouldn't list any higher than about $80.00. Although it is in socket AM3, you can still buy a Phenom II 965 for $100.00 and it will be a better chip.
    Reply
  • horaciopz
    So if this comes with a Piledriver architecture but without cache L3, we will have a FX4100 cheaper and still able to overclock. It means quad cores for under $100 able for overclocking. As bench said about the Trinity cores, those have about 15% IPC over Bulldozer, so it's not too crazy to say that a better performance FX4100 and cheaper will be OK for some budget builders that just want to get into the overclocking world. I like that :) !
    Reply
  • colinp
    Wouldn't it make more sense to call this the Athlon III, since it is a completely different architecture to Athlon II?

    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.
    Reply
  • Cazalan
    It makes you wonder if the rumor is true that there's a problem with manufacturing the trinity desktop chips. GF said their 32nm production was at full ramp.

    To already be offering GPU disabled versions when they have the FX series looks very odd.
    Reply