AMD nears 45nm CPU release milestone

We've talked a fair amount about Intel's Nehalem microarchitecure recently, but what of AMD's own foray into the 45nm CPU playing field?

Courtesy of this article from Expreview, AMD appears to be adopting a rather interesting branding method for its upcoming SKUs.



The Phenom X3 and X4 brands will remain as torch-bearers for Sunnyvale, CA based AMD's offerings, yet a five digit model number shall now distinguish each part from its brethren.

Two 45nm CPUs from AMD shall see the light of day before then turn of the year, according to the source. 2.8 and 3.0 GHz parts, known as the Phenom X4 20350 and 20550, respectively, shall feature DDR2 support and a total cache of 8MB. Both, of course, shall support the AM2+ platform. These parts will only, however, be available until Q2 2009, it is claimed and, have been introduced to give current AM2+ end-users, the opportunity to partake in some 45nm goodness.

Moving into 2009, the Deneb core offerings shall breach into DDR3 domain, together with the AM3 platform. A plethora of SKUs on the quad-core side are expected, ranging from those containing 3 MB cache, up to 8 MB cache.

AMD's tri-core forte isn't to be neglected though. Q2 2009 shall see three SKUs launched, offering from between 1.5 MB cache, to 7.5 MB cache, all with a TDP of 95W.