New 45nm AMD CPUs Coming in Q3 2009

AMD plans to move its production line to the 45nm manufacturing node in Q3 while releasing a few new 45nm processors before the end of the year.

In an attempt to reduce costs, AMD plans to move its production line to the 45nm manufacturing in Q3 of this year. The Sunnyvale, California-based chipmaker already has two products currently using the next-generation processing: the quad-core Phenom II X4 800 and 900 series (Deneb), and the triple-core Phenom II X3 700 series (Heka). From a price and performance standpoint, these two processors have helped AMD compete against its main competitor, Intel, in the CPU market currently dominated by the rival chipmaker.

However, AMD is moving additional CPUs over to the 45nm processing as well, starting with the dual-core Phenom II X2 500 series (Callisto), and the Athlon II X2 200 series in June. By September, AMD will have added the quad-core Athlon II X4 600 series and triple-core Athlon II X3 400 series (Rana) processors. These should help AMD fend off Intel's assault when the rival company launches its three quad-core Lynnfield CPUs in the third quarter.

In addition to moving its desktop CPUs over to 45nm, AMD also has plans to launch several CPUs between Q2 and Q3 2009, most notably with the dual-core Phenom II X2 550 and 545 hitting the market by the end of the second quarter. The third quarter will see a large helping of new AMD releases: the quad-core Phenom II X4 945 (95W) and 8xx (95W), the triple-core Phenom II X3 7xx (95W), the quad-core Athlon II X4 630 and 620, the triple-core Athlon II X3 435 and 425, and the dual-core Athlon II X2 250, 245, and 240.

According to DigiTimes, there are also plans to release ten low-power consumption CPUs as well, including AMD's Phenom II X4 905e, Phenom II X3 705e and Athlon II X4 605e. These round out to a relatively great release schedule for the second half of 2009. A little competition between companies only means better products for the consumer.

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DragFire24 , May 24, 2009 5:31 AM

So, what is the difference between a Quad-core Phenom II X4 and a Quad-core Athlon II X4??
Maybe lower clock speeds for the Athlon?
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wild9 , May 25, 2009 7:52 AM

You read my mind, DragFire. Naturally I am quite exited about more choice, I just hope AMD keeps the naming conventions as simple and straightforward as possible.
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pete3867 , May 25, 2009 9:37 PM

I think the athlons will have less cache and be cheaper , I cant wait , the phenom x2's should be a great chip
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anonymous@guest , May 26, 2009 9:56 AM

...small cache of course that equals cheaper...and probably lower clock and HT link and support old ddr2 only!

This is for the poor bums out there and the emailing mothers/grandmothers as for the rest we've got phenom.
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pete3867 , May 26, 2009 3:44 PM

as for lower clock speeds , I aint so sure , I think AMD has a good market profile with "Athlon" and they will be hoping to take some of the venom out of Intels upcoming releases .
In fact I think that in one years time AMD will be in a much stronger position than Intel (in many ways)
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pete3867 , May 26, 2009 3:53 PM

as for lower clock speeds , I aint so sure , I think AMD has a good market profile with "Athlon" and they will be hoping to take some of the venom out of Intels upcoming releases .
In fact I think that in one years time AMD will be in a much stronger position than Intel (in many ways)