Phenom II X6 Series Details Surface, Slated for May 2010

[HalfAHertz]

The launch seems to match Intel's launch of the i7 980X, which is kinda worrying. This thing will barely compete with the current i7 lineup, not to mention Intel's six-core.

Something else that gets me worried about the release date, being close to Intel's is that they may have some sort of under the table agreement for that. It hasn't been that long since their "settlement"

[saikamaldoss]

Hmmm I dont know how long it will take for AMD to start doing what ATI is doing.

power/performance than power/watt hmmm.

why cant they give 3.2 Ghz//4ch DDR3 1800//14MB L3 cache x8 core system instead.

[Fourstaff]

Originally Posted by btarunr

That's Magny-Corus ...

Isn't it Magny-Cours? Just nitpicking here. I wonder how well these chips perform.

[DrPepper]

Originally Posted by Fourstaff

Isn't it Magny-Cours? Just nitpicking here. I wonder how well these chips perform.

They won't be any better in games than their quad equivelants. Especially if the game isn't threaded for at least 3 core's. Nothing exciting in that department but if they are low power and good crunchers then that is a potential market. Also if they are cheaper than intel's hex core which they probably will be then they would make a nice workstation cpu on a budget.

[Fourstaff]

Is it possible to make 2 cores look like 1 thread but with insane clocks? I figured that since most apps use only 1 or 2 threads, it would be better for a reverse hyperthreading to occur, with controls to disable that when more threads are needed.

[dir_d]

If the these chips OC well they will be great in DX11 games since DX11 forces multi-threading i bet these could be the next great gaming chip if priced well.

[HalfAHertz]

Originally Posted by Fourstaff

Is it possible to make 2 cores look like 1 thread but with insane clocks? I figured that since most apps use only 1 or 2 threads, it would be better for a reverse hyperthreading to occur, with controls to disable that when more threads are needed.

Not that I know of. It's physically impossible to force a thread to jump around between two cores fast enough to get a significant increase in performance.

[johnnyfiive]

I'll definitely be saving money just to run this platform, going to be fun to play with.

[Kitkat]

lol should i wait for the 2000 hahahha looks cool.

[demonkevy666]

Originally Posted by HalfAHertz

Not that I know of. It's physically impossible to force a thread to jump around between two cores fast enough to get a significant increase in performance.

sure it is, it was implemented in vista it's uses a timer to distribute thread processes.

it's also in amd's dual core optimizer.

[Jizzler]

Nice, might be able to use the low TDP models in an ITX board. Come on Zotac, bring out some 890G minis!

[theorw]

If they cost less than 230EUR they ll be a WINNER!
I definately am going to buy one!

[PP Mguire]

For some dumb reason i have a feeling when this chip comes out it will be a lol compared to the current i7s and i5s.

[devguy]

Originally Posted by PP Mguire

For some dumb reason i have a feeling when this chip comes out it will be a lol compared to the current i7s and i5s.

Likely. But it'll likely also be super cheap compared to the Intel i7 hex core offering.

[erocker]

Originally Posted by devguy

Likely. But it'll likely also be super cheap compared to the Intel i7 hex core offering.

Exactly which is why these really aren't competing with i7. I will take one. I can live with a $300-$400 6 core but $1000+ no thank you.

[El_Mayo]

AM2+ support?

[HalfAHertz]

Originally Posted by demonkevy666

sure it is, it was implemented in vista it's uses a timer to distribute thread processes.

it's also in amd's dual core optimizer.

that's just moving the thread from a busy core to a less strained core. If I understand correctly, what he was asking for was two cores running a single thread simultaneously or close to it. Like for example one core does all the FP calculations while the second core does all the integer calculations.

[erocker]

Originally Posted by El_Mayo

AM2+ support?

No. It's all in the article. Sell your DDR2 while it's worth something.

[werez]

looks like a winner to me ...

[Kantastic]

Don't know if I should upgrade until Bulldozer...

[Kei]

For some strange reason I'm excited about these processors coming out...I've already got a blazin' quad, and only use the four cores when I actually need them. I think my lust for hardware is just kickin in or something, because these just have a special allure to them right now.

I'm very curious to see the clock speeds for the other models, and more importantly than anything to me...how well with these undervolt! The mad scientist in me is hungry again, I'm curious as to how well you could run a game or heavy program with these underclocked since there are 6 to use now. With that many cores you're bound to have plenty of free cpu to use which in turn would allow you to use lower clock speeds to accomplish the same task...which in turn would allow you to use less voltage...which in turns means less heat.....which means yea you get my point.

Depending on the pricing (more like timing) I just might do something crazy and pick one of these up.

Another thing that we can imply from the information that we're given already is that the Northbridge/memory controller will have to be default at 2400Mhz! With the current architecture of the Phenom you cannot have the HT Link set to higher than the Northbridge, and I assume without any doubts that it will be the same for these. Now I'm wondering whether or not the voltage requirements will be larger for the memory controller or be just like the pattern we have now.

Previous Phenom models needed more voltage to achieve the same Northbridge speeds than their later counterparts, which hasn't changed patterns since the introduction of the Phenom. If things stay that way we could very likely see some TREMENDOUS flexiblity with the Northbridge on these processors. Board dependant on each Phenom II I've owned/tested I can set 2400Mhz NB @ 1.10v-1.15v (for lower specced chipsets). That is totally unheard of for previous model Phenoms to have the voltage set that low achieving that kinda speed. If the voltage is indeed lowered (1.10v is current default) slightly that could be truly exciting. It may also push us closer/above the 3000Mhz NB mark without needed larger amounts (1.3-1.45v+) which may potentially help us enormously as well depending on system ram configurations.

Processor speed and voltage I imagine will also be roughly as flexible as we have now with the Phenom II series. Each generation/revision has given us the ablity to run higher clocks with less voltage, or more importantly to me the stock clocks with FAR FAR FAR lower voltage. Each Phenom I've tested since the very first models has been able to dramatically lower the voltage needed to run the stock speed, even the latest Phenom II 955 C2 stepping in my case is able to run it's default 3.2Ghz @ 1.168v which is simply staggering dropping from 1.35v. These X6's of course will have their own requirements, but if we are able to run them at default speeds (or better) while dropping the voltage roughly 10-18% like that would be truly insane! That's the range I've been able to drop all previous Phenom processors from their default voltage at stock speeds (13-18% actually), which is pretty fantastic I'd say. It helps an enormous amount with keeping the processors cool (which already isn't a problem), and allowing you to run even a stock cooler on low fan settings without any worries whatsoever. Depending on the cooler you can choose to not run the fan at all honestly, my V8 if I set fan control to enabled on the board doesn't even run the fan until it hits a certain temp (~25C) and the speed never needs to run more than ~400 - 500 rpm.

I totally should've never posted this....now I'm getting even more excited just with the possiblities!

Kei

[Assimilator]

Originally Posted by Fourstaff

Is it possible to make 2 cores look like 1 thread but with insane clocks? I figured that since most apps use only 1 or 2 threads, it would be better for a reverse hyperthreading to occur, with controls to disable that when more threads are needed.

That's exactly what Intel's newest CPUs offer with the Turbo Boost function - the chip can turn off some of its cores and overclock the remainder. Hence, apps that aren't heavily multi-threaded (and don't benefit from more cores) get a nice speed increase.

As for hex-core CPUs... meh, there are still precious few apps that can even take advantage of more than 2 cores, so adding another 2 into the mix isn't going to help things for the most part. That's why AMD have had these processors in servers for ages now and are only now bringing them to the desktop - servers can actually make good use of 6 cores, desktops, not so much.

Also, I just have to say... considering how long AMD has been harping on about Fusion, it's somewhat ironic that Intel is first to market with a GPU integrated in the CPU.

[El_Mayo]

Originally Posted by erocker

No. It's all in the article. Sell your DDR2 while it's worth something.

lmao
nah i'll stick with AM2+ for like 4 years... cos i'm lame like that

[Kantastic]

Originally Posted by El_Mayo

lmao
nah i'll stick with AM2+ for like 4 years... cos i'm lame like that

You could probably break even if you sell your DDR2/AM2+ setup for a DDR3/AM3 setup, what with prices nowadays.

And damn, I was under the impression that Bulldozer was coming out and not this PII X6 crap. It makes me wonder if I should even upgrade to 890FX.

[Kitkat]

i really hope ASUS remakes that Dual socket AMD at some point seeing that evga brings back memories of when i couldn't afford something like that now that i can i wanna buy it. If these can work together they should. (or the opterons)

Originally Posted by Kantastic

You could probably break even if you sell your DDR2/AM2+ setup for a DDR3/AM3 setup, what with prices nowadays.

And damn, I was under the impression that Bulldozer was coming out and not this PII X6 crap. It makes me wonder if I should even upgrade to 890FX.

This has been on the roadmap before bulldozer for a while. Should look up some roadmaps so u know when to expect it...