AMD Announces New CPUs, Slashes Prices On Older Models

Today AMD unveiled six new speedier CPUs to refresh not only their newer Phenom II lineup but also their aging Athlon II budget line.

For the budget minded AMD introduced three new chips into its budget Athlon II lineup. First up is the new Athlon II X2 265 (3.30 GHz). The X2 265 is based on the 45 nm Regor die, it features 2 MB of L2 cache, rated TDP of 65W, and is priced at US $76. Next is a new triple-core Athlon II X3, the new Athlon II X3 450 (3.20 GHz). The X3 450 is based on the 45 nm Rana die, and is essentially a cut down Propus die with one core disabled. It has TDP rated at 95W and sells for $87. The last addition to the budget lineup is the new quad-core Athlon II X4 645 (3.10 GHz). The X4 645 makes use of the full Propus die, rated TDP at 95W and is priced at $122.

Next up, AMD introduced a new "high-end" six-core model the new Phenom II X6 1075T Black Edition. The new chips is essentially the same as the current Phenom II X6 1090T, except that it's clocked at 3.00 GHz not 3.2GHz like the 1090T. The Phenom II X6 1075T is priced at $245 or about $50 cheaper than the Phenom II X6 1090T. Next up AMD added a new quad-core Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition. This new chip is clocked at 3.50 GHz, the highest AMD default clock speed to date, and is based on the older Deneb die instead of derivation from Thuban. This new chip displaces the X4 965 BE, and is priced at $185.

Lastly, there's the the dual-core Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition. Aimed to compete with Intel Core i3 processors, this model is priced at just $105, but offers a clock speed of 3.30 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache per core, 6 MB L3 cache, and TDP rated at 80W. It's based on the Calisto die, which is Deneb with two cores disabled. So its possible you might get lucky unlocking the disabled cores on any of the motherboards out there that have core unlocking enabled.