The Phenom: K10 and Quad-Core
In 2007, AMD introduced its K10, marketed as the Phenom. This processor has had its share of teething pains: it’s not as fast as Intel’s competing models, there were bugs in the early versions (in the TLB), and it initially struggled in overclocking efforts. Yet the Phenom is still a good processor. Its architecture is well-conceived and it’s perfect for servers, for example. Though it’s still considered a more budget-oriented chip, the Phenom is at least free of its early defects and, with the help of AMD’s ACC technology, can overclock substantially better than before.
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| Code name | Agena (X4) | Toliman (X3) |
| Date released | 2007 | 2008 |
| Architecture | 64-bits | 64-bits |
| Data bus | 64-bits | 64-bits |
| Address bus | 64-bits | 64-bits |
| Maximum memory | 1 TB | 1 TB |
| L1 cache | 64 KB + 64 KB x 4 | 64 KB + 64 KB x 3 |
| L2 cache | 512 KB x 4 (CPU frequency) | 512 KB x 3 (CPU frequency) |
| L3 cache | 2 MB (HT link frequency) | 2 MB (HT link frequency) |
| Clock frequency | 1,800-2,600 MHz | 2,100-2,400 MHz |
| Memory controller | DDR2-1066, 2 channel | DDR2-1066, 2 channel |
| FSB | 2,000 MHz (HTT) | 2,000 MHz (HTT) |
| FPU | built-in | built-in |
| SIMD | MMX, Enhanced 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a | MMX, Enhanced 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a |
| Fabrication process | 65 nm | 65 nm |
| Number of transistors | 450 million | 450 million |
| Power consumption | 65/125 W (TDP) | 95 W (TDP) |
| Voltage | 1.25 V | 1.25 V |
| Die surface area | 285 mm² | 285 mm² |
| Connector | Socket AM2+ | Socket AM2+ |
The Phenom is compatible with Socket AM2 (with some limitations). The three core Phenom X3 is essentially a Phenom X4 with a defective or disabled fourth core.