Phenom Black Edition announced for Q4 2007

Slobogob

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Source: http://ascii.jp/ (Japanese)

98821178yd3.jpg


I read this news on several sites and it seems AMD is quite serious about this.

There are several implications though:
- If this Black Edition chip is still a B2 revision it makes no sense because it would be hardly overclockable.
- The price. At 2.3 Ghz it can't compete with Intels Q6600 unless its offered at a decent price. I believe it would be acceptable to price it equal to the Q6600.
- The naming scheme of the phenom series makes me suspicious. It may sound childish but what will AMD do if they really make a phenom 9900 with 2.6 Ghz? Does that mean they have no plans (or are unable to make) faster chips or is it just a marketing error?
- Given the companies history of delays and paper launches, how can they possibly pull this off?


Here's another site with a more detailed article about it (German):
http://www.computerbase.de/news/hardware/prozessoren/amd/2007/november/phenom_9600_black_edition_phenom_9900/

And a link to another forum with some more pictures regarding AMD recent revelations (English):
http://my.ocworkbench.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=69055
 

epsilon84

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- If this Black Edition chip is still a B2 revision it makes no sense because it would be hardly overclockable.
Agreed, but it's better than nothing I guess.

- The price. At 2.3 Ghz it can't compete with Intels Q6600 unless its offered at a decent price. I believe it would be acceptable to price it equal to the Q6600.
It needs to be priced LOWER than the Q6600, by a considerable amount, especially if you take into account overclocking, which we should since it's a 'BE' edition processor. Of course, AMD would probably charge $300 for it.

- The naming scheme of the phenom series makes me suspicious. It may sound childish but what will AMD do if they really make a phenom 9900 with 2.6 Ghz? Does that mean they have no plans (or are unable to make) faster chips or is it just a marketing error?
Yeah, it's rather curious, they didn't leave a lot of room for clockspeed growth in the naming scheme eh. Oh well, IF they can get above 2.6GHz, I'm sure they'll work something out. Product numbers is the least of their worries at the moment. ;)

- Given the companies history of delays and paper launches, how can they possibly pull this off?
It's just a Phenom 9300 with an unlocked multi, it's not that hard to unlock the multiplier at the factory. :kaola:
 
No offense to AMD but if it is still a B2 and doesn't have any fixes this would be a waste. Doesn't Black Edition mean it is clocked higher stock than a normal version? Also if they had to recall the launch of the 9700(clocked at 2.4GHz due to lackluster performance and too much power usage) how do they plan to release this?

I think AMDs roadmap is wrong. They want this but wont be able to till they fix the L3 cache error and get them to both perform equally as a Q6600 and use a little power. That is what AMD needs to get serious about. Not trying to release CPUs that wont be anygood.

This just makes me laugh. Intel has a set plan and has stuck to it so far where as AMD has had to take detour after detour. This is just another "paper release". Even Intel proved that their"paper tiger" QX9770 was real. Toms has one now.
 

sailer

Splendid


A couple things here. First off, this was a press release with a few slides showing some good numbers in comparing the AM2 6000+ to the Phenom 9500. But they're only slides, no actual chips and platforms for the reviewer to play with and try to verify what the AMD official was saying. Have we heard this story before, and how many times for the past year? Sorry, I lost count and lost interest. I mean, I waited and waited for Phenom to appear and justify my faith in AMD. Phenom didn't have to be a world beater, only be reasonably competitive. Of course, we pretty much know the truth of what happened.

Second involves Intel. Tom's accused Intel of just trying to sabatoge AMD with a fake announcement about a chip that didn't exist. So Intel responds by sending a chip with no strings attached and tells Tom's to have at it. If AMD responded like Intel did, then I wouldn't have quite the distrust of of AMD which I now harbor. Instead, AMD hides truth behind closed doors and NDA's. So who do I trust, AMD or Intel? I'm not saying that Intel is perfect. We have yet to see any X48 boards for sale at Newegg, but we do know they exist and should be here soon, along with a new chip to put into it. I like that, and I like Intel putting its product where its mouth is.

As for the Phenom Black Edition? Well, we have some slides and promises, just like we've had slides and promises for the past year. I've used AMD chips for the past decade, but enough is enough. Pardon my cynical self, but I'll believe it when I see it reviewed by multiple sites, verified to be good, and for sale at Newegg. And I won't believe it one second sooner.
 

rodney_ws

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Unlocked multipliers FTW!!! For God's sake just make this standard on every CPU across the board. Can someone tell me what good locked multipliers do for CONSUMERS? Arguing for locked multipliers makes about as much sense as supporting DRM.
 
I wish AMD had the black edition right now, it would give them some ground to fight on. They should make black editions of every processor and become the "Overclocker's Company".

Unfortunately the only enthusiast chip they currently have is the "TLB Errata Recall Edition"
 

sailer

Splendid


Rodney, you just don't seem to understand things from the company's point of view. Often times the only differences between two or more CPUs is the multiplier. If the multiplier was unlocked, then there would be no reason to have so many CPUs to confuse the unknowing buyer. With a locked multiplier, the company can sell a low speed chip for a small profit, and then by using a higher locked multiplier sell that same chip to someone who wants more speed and charge him twice as much, thereby making lots of profit. See how good it is for the company to have lots of different chips with locked multipliers instead of only a few chips with unlocked multipliers?

Oh wait, you were asking what good locked multipliers did for consumers. Well, no good at all, unless they enjoy spending money when they don't need to.
 

tkpb938

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lol so true
 

epsilon84

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In the days of unlocked CPUs, some dogdy retailers used to raise the multiplier and sell the CPU at higher pricepoints. Hence the locking of the multis.

Or so they say anyway... it was a long time ago.
 

sailer

Splendid


Don't worry, I got the upper-case "CONSUMERS" detail. :bounce: I was just putting in a company point of view for the purpose of contrast. :whistle: After all, where would the companies be without the consumer?
 

monsterrocks

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That would be funny if it wasn't true...It's probably the saddest thing I have heard of in a long time; recalling you "flagship". I used to love AMD so much, but I don't really have trust in them anymore.
 

monsterrocks

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Ummm....you would not be saying this if intel made an affordable unlocked multiplier. It is not a stupid idea at all; it's just that AMD's chips aren't the best for implementing it on.
 

turpit

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mesdiscussions-56813.jpg

Unlocked Multipliers....so simple even a caveman gets it.

(Sorry, just couldnt resist ;) )
 

Dahak

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First of all,I need to be able to read the language.That link sucks for the english speaking majority.Anyhow,if the phenom is due to be released Q4 for 2007,then I expect we'll see it very soon.I really hope so.AMD needs some goodluck for a change.

Dahak

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caamsa

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jjblanche

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It's marketing, folks. AMD is desperate. They'll do anything to sell a chip. Calling it a crazified "black edition" and throwing in some rad scorpion stickers is just their new low, that's all. For every gamer that knows the dirt on hardware, there's two more that just buy a name.

Of course, this isn't to say I'm anti-AMD. Quite the contrary, I'd love to see AMD succeed. However, they're draggin' their butts in the dirt these days, and I don't see improvement on the horizon.
 

caamsa

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Hmmm does AMD even advertise at all? What percent of their budget goes to advertising............?

I have a few computer games that on start up have advertisements for Intell..............and Nvidia......I have never seen AMD mentioned.

Lord of the rings battle for middle earth......starts up and then a little advertisement says play it on intell with hyper-threading............so I really don't think fancy stickers or calling it a black edition is a guise to fool people.

I certainly won't buy a cpu just because it came with a free sticker...................
 

tkpb938

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Until AMD gets its act together with the new phenoms, i think our only real choice for decent priced quad cores is the q6600. A single product. Wow....
 

jjblanche

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Hmmm does AMD even advertise at all?

Yes. What do you think this black edition is? If they didn't advertise, they'd just slap a number on it. Advertisement comes in many guises, and not all of them subscribe to the video method of delivery. Call it public relations if you want, but the end goal is the same.

What percent of their budget goes to advertising............?

A good percentage. They paid someone to come up with the "black edition" schema.

...so I really don't think fancy stickers or calling it a black edition is a guise to fool people.

I certainly won't buy a cpu just because it came with a free sticker......


Maybe you wouldn't, but some people would. It's not about the sticker, per se, but about an image. The "black edition" is supposed to be bad, extreme, tough. It is supposed to be the antithesis to Intel's blandness. They're not trying to fool people, necessarily, but they are trying to distract from the obvious performance deficiencies of the chip.
 

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