Pre-release Tests Conducted on AMD Deneb

AMD Deneb is the code-name for the 45nm quad-core CPU which AMD plans to release soon. Chinese website ITOCP got their hands on two engineering samples. They used these samples at various clock-speeds set by altering the FSB multiplier and Vcore voltage. These chips were then subjected to rounds of Super Pi 1M benchmark. The results look rather luke-warm compared to what we saw of the Intel Bloomfield chips recently. The Deneb CPUs were supported by an AMD RD790 motherboard and 2 GB of DDR2 800 MHz unganged memory, running at timings of 5-5-5-18. The Phenom X4 Deneb 45nm will feature 6 MB of L3 cache apart from the usual 512 KB L2 caches dedicated to the cores.

MSI just announced the launch of a new mainboard aimed at high performance desktop computer systems that are compatible with the latest AMD AM2+ processors. As the new line of dual and quad core AMD CPUs is due to hit the market soon, MSI prepares its own line of compatible mainboards with the first RD790 powered K9A2 Platinum motherboard in front. This new MSI product supports all current AM2 CPUs as well as the AM2+ Phenom X4, X2 and X3 CPUs that will be released in the coming months. The K9A2 Platinum comes with four PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, support for 800/1066MHz DDR2 memory and HyperTransport 3.0. In addition to featuring a new copper-constructed Circu-Pipe cooling solution as seen on the pictures below this board has integrated 7.1 channel audio, 5 phase PWM design, one Gigabit LAN, 6x SATA 3.0 Gbps connectors, 10x USB 2.0 ports, 2x IEEE1394 connectors and MSI's Dual CoreCell technology.

AMD will release its RD790 chipset by the end of September, with ASUSTeK Computer and GIGABYTE Technology likely to be the first to launch motherboards supporting the new chipset. ASUSTeK and GIGABYTE have been taking the lead in the race to the launch the first RD790 motherboards, having already delivered design verification test (DVT) samples to AMD's Taipei validation lab. If everything goes smoothly, ASUS and GIGABYTE will be able to start volume production of RD790 motherboards in early September, while competitors may not be able to launch motherboards supporting the new AMD chipset until mid October. According to AMD's product planning, the 65nm RD790 made at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the vendor's first quad-graphics platform that supports the next-generation Phenom processors and HyperTransport 3.0. It will also introduce PCI Express 2.0 and Triple CrossFire support.