14 DAY TRIAL // In addition to the launch of its highly anticipated Radeon HD 4770, AMD's first 40nm desktop GPU, the Sunnyvale, California-based chip maker also rolled out a new product, part of its successful line of Athlon X2 processors. Simply dubbed Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition, the company's new dual-core processor is expected to provide users with a choice for a high-performance computer system that can be affordable for a wider range of computer enthusiasts. Codenamed Kuma, the new processor is built to run on AM2+ platforms and makes use of a 65nm manufacturing technology.
As with the Radeon HD 4770, one of the main features of AMD's latest dual-core processor is its estimated street price, which is expected to end up under $70, according to the chip maker. This basically makes the new Kuma-based Athlon X2 processor a choice for budget gamers and computer enthusiasts, providing them with an alternative to Intel's LGA775-based CPUs, in the same price range.
As for the CPU's technical sheet, AMD's new central processing unit is designed to provide computer enthusiasts with an unlocked dual-core processor, running at 2.8GHz on a socket AM2+ platform. In addition, the maximum thermal envelope of the CPU is rated at 95 watts, with the L2 cache set to 512KB per core and with 2MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU can support 3.6GHz HyperTransport bus and the latest 32-bit and 64-bit applications.
Being designed as an unlocked dual-core CPU, the new 65nm part from AMD will provide overclocking and computer enthusiasts with an easy way to boost performance. The new Athlon X2 7850BE has the potential of reaching a core speed of approximately 3.2GHz, with standard cooling. However, for those looking to smash performance, the X2 7850BE could potentially reach a core speed of 4.2GHz with high-end cooling.
The release of AMD's new Radeon HD 4770 GPU and Athlon 7850BE processor is part of the company's plan to provide users with an affordable, yet performance-capable platform, using today's technology.