14 DAY TRIAL // Because the inventory of the holiday rumor shop wouldn't be complete without some supposed developments on AMD's part, Fudzilla has supplied end-users with just about enough o keep their minds wondering. This time, the rumors imply that Advanced Micro Devices may be gearing up to release the six-core Thuban chip somewhat earlier than initially planned.
The first serious reports regarding the Thuban six-core processor emerged back in September and the chips were set to have 3MB of L2 cache and 6MB L3. The processors were also set to include support for 1333MHz DDR3 memory and believed to be scheduled for a Q3 2010 release.
The rumors that surfaced on Fudzilla contain little differing details. In fact, the only change of plans distinguishable on AMD's side is that the processors should now be launched during next year's second quarter instead of the third. This means that, even though it will likely still make it out after Intel's Core i7 980X 32nm six-core chip, the duration between the releases won't be as large.
Thuban will be paired with AM3 platforms and will be the company's first six-core processor, just like the Core i7 980X will be Intel's first six-core chip. What is currently known about the last is that its L3 cache memory will be of 12MB, which is twice that of the Thuban chip.
The 980X was reported as the only six-core currently planned by Intel for 2010. Both high-end processors have their individual performance boost technologies (Turbo Boost for the Core i7 and C-state for AMD's chip) and the only known advantage of Intel's product, besides the earlier release, is the already mentioned larger L3 cache. It will be interesting, for consumers and analysts alike, to see just how AMD's product will match up against the Santa Clara-based company's CPU, and how large a share of the high-end market they will secure.
Fudzilla didn't have any details on either processor but “can confirm” that they are in the works.