| AMD Phenom X3 and X4 Shake Down |
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Editor: Evan Chowning
AMD is pushing their own envelope of computing with their lineup of quad and triple core processors by eliminating the much buzzed about fatal B2 stepping complications. Today, April 7, AMD planned on shrugging off the problems of the past in hopes of moving forward. The Phenom X4 flagship CPU is an enhanced Black Edition, enthusiast-centric 9850. The 9850BE will feature AMD's trademark unlocked CPU multiplier made famous by their previous success with the Black Edition 5000+ and 6400+ X2's, leaving free performance implementations more reliable with minimal effort. This processor will feature 2.5GHz per core, using 2MB of dedicated L2 cache, plus 2MB of dedicated L3 cache as well. The 9850 is a 125W processor utilizing a 4000MHz HyperTransport bus and will lock into the AM2+ socket like all of the current Phenom line.
The 9850BE will top the pricing chart for the Phenom X4 series at
**Update** Prices fluctuated April the 8th, producing some very similar prices between each model.
Intel is working on a strong lineup of multi-core processors
this year as well, but is focusing on their 6-core (Dunnington) and 8-core (Nehalem) projects. Due out this year in the second
quarter, these processors will be the bleeding edge of computing power, so only
time and benchmarks will shed light on the performance value of such beasts.
With the market flooded in price savvy processors lately, the "bang-for-buck" battlefield has yet to turn favor. AMD currently leads in terms of performance per watt, keeping with tradition between the two manufacturers. On the other hand, AMD released a handful of X3 processors and shook up their pricing tree today, which may result in complicating the process of picking a processor for the informed user. AMD states that the Phenom X3 8400 and AMD Phenom X3 8600 processors can improve performance over dual-core processors on single-threaded applications and can scale with the same applications that scale with quad-core processors. AMD Phenom triple-core processors can also increase performance for multitasking and multi-threaded applications because they are AMD Phenom X4 quad-core processors with one-core disabled. AMD explains in their release literature that a third core would perform tasks such as an antivirus sweep, while the remaining two cores continue to provide performance for desktop applications. Independent benchmark veterans have performed some useful benchmarks. They pit the Phenom X3 8600 against the X4 9600. The X3 lineup falls just behind the X4 Quad cousins in terms of pricing. The X3 8400/8450 will sit at 159.00 USD and the 8600/8650 will retail at 179.00 USD. The higher end 8750 will weigh in at 200.00 USD. The prices for the X3 series from AMD mirror their X4 line, making the decision similar to deciding between a NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT and a GeForce 9600GT, which is lesser performing, yet similarly priced.
After reviewing the benchmarks of the 8600X3 and
the 9600X4, it is difficult to say why one would opt for the one-off Phenom
cousin. Future comparisons reported by dedicated users will determine
the superior architecture. Happy hunting and check back with BHFO.org for
content on this and other news.
              
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