Conclusion - Cautiously Optimistic with a Glimmer of Hope

Our conclusion is that the new stepping runs faultlessly from what we can tell so far and is a bit faster than the previous model. This is to be expected, since our sample ran at the clock speed originally promised for the Phenom 9700 (2.4 GHz), which was announced in November but never shipped, due to the TLB bug. We were able to use the new model in our reference motherboard without needing to update the BIOS. The new revision offers the level performance we expected from a Phenom processor of its speed grade as well as equivalent power consumption.

In our estimation, there is still a little room for AMD and the motherboard makers to increase efficiency. Still, this will likely only apply to activated and fully supported Cool’n’Quiet mode and result in minor savings. We’ll provide more detailed results in a much more extensive test in a few weeks. We will also take a look at the overclocking headroom offered by the new stepping, as this will also let us make predictions regarding possible clock speed increases and thus the introduction of faster models by AMD. We already know that there will be another Black Edition aimed at enthusiasts and overclockers. However, we do not know what clock speed this part will ship at.

Nonetheless, we would like to warn our readers against approaching the upcoming Phenom revision with too much optimism. In the past, newer AMD’s processor revisions have usually brought some advantages with them, especially when moving to a smaller production process, e.g. from 90 nm to 65 nm. Modifications to the core and new steppings tend to have more of an impact on the production process and yield. The end user, on the other hand, may not notice any improvement at all.

By sending us the B3 stepping of its Agena core this early, AMD is trying to do one thing above all – draw attention. We will see whether this will finally allow AMD to take the decisive step forwards when we can look at the test results at the end of the month. For now, word on the street is that the B3-Phenom will be released on March 26th.