AMD Expands Desktop CPU Line with Six New Chips

As opposed to the momentous occasions when AMD or Intel unleash some new, groundbreaking CPU, Advanced Micro Devices has just issued a simple press release saying that it has brought out no less than six new chips.

Simply put, the Sunnyvale, California-based outfit has completed three new Athlon II processors, as well as three Phenom II chips.

These three cover a fairly wide range of consumers, being designed with two to six cores and carrying prices in line with the target market segment.

The Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition dual-core has a frequency of 3.3 GHz, 6 MB of cache memory, an unlocked multiplier and a TDP (thermal design power) of 80W. It sells for $105.

The second Phenom II chip is the X4 970 Black Edition, also an enthusiast-grade part, only with four cores, each at a solid 3.5 GHz.

This part also comes with a L3 cache of 6 MB, an unlocked multiplier, a TDP of 125W and a price of $185.

The third Phenom II, and the most powerful of the lot, is the six-core Phenom II X6 1075T, clocked at 3.0 GHz (3.5 GHz on Turbo), and with 6MB of L3 cache and the same TDP of 125W.

Like the other two, this part has an unlocked multiplier, the price being of $245.

The first Athlon II processor is the 3.3 GHz Athlon II X2 265, with 2MB L2 cache, a TDP of 65W and a price tag of $76.

AMD also readies the Athlon II X3 450 triple-core, whose frequency is of 3.2 GHz and which has a 95W TDP, 1.5MB of L2 cache and a price of $87.

Finally, the third Athlon II, the X4 645, is a quad-core processor which runs at 3.1 GHz, has 2MB of L2 cache and a TDP of 95W. It sells for $122.

All newcomers are compatible with the AM3 socket.