AMD’s Phenom II shifts to DDR3 at a surprisingly early stage
- Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 4:54
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Advanced Micro Devices have recently released a few multi-core desktop PC processors. The main advantage of these processors is that they work with a faster memory type. This means that they promise a sudden boost in your system performance. AMD’s Phenom II quad-core and triple-core chips now comprise DDR3 memory controllers. The best part of these controllers is that they allow data to travel between the CPU and memory a lot faster than the current DDR2 controllers. These chips are capable of running at speeds that range from 2.5GHz to 2.8GHz and also include a variety of cache sizes. However, the company said that these chips are aimed at mainstream desktops only.
The DDR3 at such an early stage has come as a surprise for many. This is because last year, the company promised on launching this support by the middle of 2009. It also said that the time of launch may also be forwarded based on stuff like memory prices and other factors. But the launch at such an early stage has surprised many. Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research was quoted as saying “AMD is taking an early step to incorporate DDR3 as the industry prepares for a broad transition from DDR2. The more affordable DDR2 memory dominates the PC market, but a full transition to DDR3 may occur by the middle of 2010. Tweaks in the core and cache allow AMD to offer more performance at similar price points to its earlier chips”.
David Schwarzbach, senior manager of platform marketing at AMD was also quoted as saying “The Phenom II chips will also work with DDR2 chips for users who want a more cost-effective memory option. DDR3 memory today can cost as much as three times more than DDR2 chips.” An interesting point to note here is that Asustek Computers, a motherboard company, has already announced AM3-compatible motherboards. Last month, the first Phenom II chips were introduced. These processors are made using a 45-nanometer process. The chips are available starting $125 and go up to $175.
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