AMD's six-core Phenom II X6 CPUs will underclock three

[Night Hawk]

April 8th, 2010

AMD's six-core Phenom II X6 CPUs will underclock three cores and automatically overclock the other three

Posted by Sean Portnoy @ 7:57 pm



More details have emerged about how AMD’s forthcoming six-core desktop CPUs, the Phenom II X6 lineup (a.k.a. Thuban), plan to handle all that processing power when most applications still can’t make use of four cores.

More: AMD's six-core Phenom II X6 CPUs will underclock three cores and automatically overclock the other three | Laptops and Desktops | ZDNet.com

(six cores! I just bought a quad for a new build now six!)

 

[tw33k]

I too only recently built this PC. I have to say tho, I'm always in the mood to build an upgrade

 

[Night Hawk]

Supposedly the only thing you may need to run one of these on an AM2+ or AM3 board is a possible biod update since they are still compatible with the same two socket types.

I waited for almost 3yrs. running the dual core setup still in use and it was time to upgrade but this time a quad! The quad will be seeing a somewhat faster clock speed as well as gaining two more cores.

The 6 core cpus will still be seeing a 125w model and a lower 95w model but no mention of what the actual stock speeds are besides the mention of two cores being backclocked when idle. I'll be waiting to see more specs on those.

 

[stormy13]

AMD Phenom II X6 processors specs and pricing revealed - TechSpot News

And for those in Canada that might be interested, not in stock yet but,

PC Cyber Canada - For All Your Computer Needs

 

[Night Hawk]

Well at least the X4 I will be running recently saw a revision. AMD Phenom II X4 965 gets a new revision, lower TDP - TechSpot News

It seems the 6 core will only see the two speeds listed there being a limted addition to AMD's lineup of cpus. Now for the softwares that would actually place the demand on cpu time to see the two more actually come into play.

 

[pcgamer]

Well i hope they mange to keep these new CPU's cool as the recent 965 and other AM3 series have all been subject to heating issues and imo not worth the money as there always getting to hot while multitasking so hope this new lot is better.

 

[Night Hawk]

I hope not too serious since I have a 965 going into the new build. Besides a hefty cpu cooler however a case with good air flow helps especially with any 125w cpu. For most not looking for a performance build the advice would be looking at the 65w to 95w models.

 

[Mellon Head]

I had a quick look at a spec sheet at PC World today, and they were talking about the Thuban's Turbo capability. Probably just marketing hyperbole by AMD, but the way the article explained the Turbo stuff, it made it almost sound like parallel processing.

I'm not a big software guru, but I don't see that happening with Windows. I'm thinking it has to be AMD's take on combating Hyperthreading, which itself isn't quite what people think it is. It's an interesting concept to divide the load amongst the cores, and under/over clock different cores when needed, but I hope that people aren't mislead by the marketing. There isn't much out there that will actually use 6 cores right now. I'm lucky if I can get anything that will run all 4 of the cores on my quad, and I don't see that improving in the near future.

The nice thing about a multi-core CPU is that you can run a number of apps without a drop in performance. The problem I have with the early press on the new 6 core is they're making it look like it can run one app on 6 cores, all divvied up into nice slices for better throughput. I just don't believe it, but I'd be interested to hear from someone impartial, who really understands this more than me, what they think of this new Turbo feature.

Edit: The article linked by Night Hawk seems to be an edited version of what I read this morning, and the language suggesting what I called parallel processing isn't there in this article. I wonder if someone got their wires crossed on that one and just didn't explain it right? This morning, they were making comparisons to Hyperthreading and simultaneous execution by sharing core load. Weird.

 

[Night Hawk]

That wasn''t so much an article but a brief blog on the 6 core processors. As you go along you'll likely run into other more detailed blogs and articles in the coming weeks.

Even with a dual core most of the time one core remains idle unless you have several things going at once or have an involved software running that demands cpu time. I tend to agree with the blog writer at ZD Net about simply not seeing the programs that see all 6 cores fired up at least not for any typical desktop user.

Engineering and types of advanced softwares, large CAD programming, etc. that would call for quite a bit of ram might be enough to kick all in briefly. Reality check on the initial almost promotional aspects of what you initially see with any new line of cpus by Intel as well as by AMD.

"Anticipation" is often the driving force behind sales! Everybody has some gimic for marketing. You see this with other hardwares as well as with cpus.

 

[Mellon Head]

"Anticipation" is often the driving force behind sales! Everybody has some gimic for marketing. You see this with other hardwares as well as with cpus.

Hyperbole, rhetoric, and manufactured controversy make the world go round.

Lol, if they start claiming it makes coffee, I'm switching to Intel.

 

[MadMaxData]

Gotta' love the Advanced Micro Devices company! I never buy anything else. I recoil at the thought of Intel. The name Intel is an oxymoron.

 

[Product FRED]

I too only recently built this PC.

Me too. It makes me cry a little inside.

Gotta' love the Advanced Micro Devices company! I never buy anything else. I recoil at the thought of Intel. The name Intel is an oxymoron.

I agree. I mean Intel has some great stuff, but if you're looking for more bang for the buck, AMD generally has the better deals (not all the time). Still though, Intel CPUs run cooler in laptops. AMD for desktops all the way though.

 

[MadMaxData]

Well, there's plenty of Intel diehards around too. I've never had a single complaint with going the AMD route though. Usually, I'm MORE than impressed with their CPU's. So why spoil a good thing is my reasoning.

 

[Night Hawk]

AMDs generally run cooler in desktops as a rule. Someone suggested W* 128bit as the reason for seeing a 6 core cpu while I have a suspician that this will offer more resources for Virtualization as time progresses.

When going to run 4 OSs on VBox 3 being different versions of Windows and ubuntu the "out of resources" error while having all 4 running at the same time was thought simply to be a lack of memory with 4gb installed. But cpu time may have also played a small factor where the second core simply wasn't enough.

The new 965 quad going in will show plus later adding another 4gb of memory on for the new build allowing 2 of the 3 Windows to have a full 2gb available. The 98SE custom install on VB and ubuntu still won't need more then 1.25gb. Will the new build be taxed out too if 4 VMs are running simultaneously with a quad then in use?

(if so I think I'll be one of the first to reserve a 2.8ghz 6 core! )

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Then AMD would start making expresso!