Source: Tom's Hardware UK – Keywords: Phenom_9700, Spider_Platform, 790FX
Categories: Hardware
Top Model with Four Cores – AMD Phenom 9700
Today marks a historic occasion for AMD. After delays of more than a year, the company can finally present its new, highly anticipated processor - and not a moment too soon. AMD needs a fresh product. While this CPU was originally meant as a competitor to Intel’s Core 2 CPUs, the balance of power in the CPU arena has shifted over the past 18 months. The new processor, dubbed Phenom by AMD, is the first quad-core CPU by AMD and, as the company likes to remind us, the first native quad-core design.
The exhaustion in the faces of our editors in the Munich lab is a testament to the hard work they’ve put into this article over the past few hours and days. We tested all three models of the new processor, the Phenom 9700, Phenom 9600 and Phenom 9500, running each of them through our benchmark suite. Along with the Phenom processor, AMD is also presenting its "AMD OverDrive" tool.
With the new 7-series chipset family, consisting of the 790FX, 790X and 770, AMD is simultaneously unveiling the Spider platform. Up to four graphics cards can be set up as a Crossfire X configuration using the new 790FX chipset.
All of the current and the new motherboards and processors are fully compatible with one another.
Looking towards Eastern Europe: For the actual introduction of its Phenom processor, AMD invited the press to the Polish capital of Warsaw, where the company held a three-day press conference.
Jochen Polster, manager of AMD Germany, opened the event with a keynote addressing the press. For the first time since the acquisition of graphics chip company ATI, AMD is presenting a complete platform consisting of the Phenom processor, the 790FX chipset and the HD3800 graphics card series. With this platform, code named Spider, AMD aims to offer the basis for a computer that is affordable for everyone.
Jochen Polster emphasised that the Phenom quad-core processor does not represent a high-end model for now. AMD plans to price the Phenom models markedly lower than Intel’s quad-core models.
The gaming market has always been a driving force in PC sales. With the 790FX chipset, AMD now offers buyers the possibility of creating a system using up to four graphics cards in a crossfire configuration. The appropriate driver is expected for release in January 2008.
Since we already covered the HD3800 series of graphics cards in a separate launch article, we will concentrate exclusively on the Phenom quad-core processor and the new 790FX chipset in this article.
AMD’s Phenom processors - our test candidates today.
- Next page The Phenom in Detail - a Revamped...
"Intel, since the chip giant has already announced that its current high-end platform X38 will be incompatible to the next generation of high-end CPUs at the beginning of next year."
I'd rather have a slower processor but not have to rebuy the 3 of the most expensive components (CPU, mobo, and RAM) every time I want to upgrade something. That's why I've stuck with AMD for the last few years. Can't wait to drop a couple of Phenom FXs in to my 4x4 platform and have 8 processing cores.
Not so sure about forthcoming compatibility.
What is going to happen when AMD shortly moves to 45nm processors with DDR3 memory controllers?
unless AMD are going to put both DDR2 and DDR3 memory controllers on their 45nm processors or make them in both DDR2 and DDR3 versions then you will have to change you're ram, motherboard and processor to go 45nm.(that didn't happen with intel)
Unless motherboard makers put both DDR2 and DDR3 slots on current boards although the latter wouldn't be supported until 45nm come in.(can't see that happening though).
why do the companies have to be so selfish with this incompatable SSE thingy....
P21, that table isn't really taking the quad core part into account... because look, in things like supreme commander its quite a bit faster... (which is important to me...)
LOL at the .1% extra value for money compared to the q6600, AMD clearly did that to annoy intel...
Well seen as though thats a brand new chipset as well wouldn't it be a little foolish to expect full performance straight out of the box ?
I think these chips have more to come, thats an engineering sample and the mainboards got a chipset with undeveloped drivers.
I say give it a month for the nvidia chipset....... and retest.
Intels @4Ghz OC on air... AMD is on @3Ghz OC on air... Oh dear...
I can see why they need 4x Crossfire boards given the lack luster performance of the new ATI cards... ATI seem to be struggling since their Cope-de-grace with the X19xx series...
AMD clearly has a good design (architecture) but the process technology is their achilles heal. They need 4Mb+ L3 cache, high K transistor process, and 45nm like yesterday!!
As a bit of an AMD fanboy (I'm on a dual Opteron rig just now) I hate to see whats happening to them now!!
Bob
Bob if AMD was having 4mb+ L3 cache, high K transistor process and 45nm it will be twice expensive as the intel's solutions.
.. I'm currently on a AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+.. and it's a bit overclocked(from 2.6 GHz to 3.01 Ghz) ..I'm on water although. Wish AMD be back on top!
P.S. But it will be better
I think for server setups this HT 3.0 is gonna shine. More so if you want to build a super-computer system. The bandwidth gains are enormous. But the actual core performance..sorry AMD, but this is just a little disappointing. Intel's current stock is already ahead of you. Perhaps 45nm products will address this (and allow for more L3 cache).
Overall, I like the way AMD has gone for compatibility and performance. The price is phenomenal and the ease of implementation will ensure downtime during upgrades is kept to a minimum. It's easy to under-estimate just how hard that is to pull off.
One of the CPU-Z pics shows a higher Vcore? Come on lads..who'se been naughty!
p.s. I would.