Phenom B3 is right around the corner...
by Gary Key on February 9, 2008 1:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Gary's First Looks
The bouncing ball release schedule for the long awaited Phenom B3 revision that fixes the Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) errata has taken a favorable bounce according to our sources. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plans on releasing three versions into the retail market in the early April time frame. Fortunately for consumers, it appears that AMD will change the product designations in order to differentiate the B3 series from the current B2 release.
Unfortunately, we will not see a significant increase in bin speeds as the new models are coming in at 2.2GHz (9550), 2.3GHz (9650), and the 2.4GHz (9750). It also appears the current pricing structure will remain somewhat in tact although a final decision has not been made by AMD. Also, there will be a BE edition, but once again whether that will occur with the 2.3GHz (9650) or 2.4GHz (9750) is not finalized.
We originally expected the 2.4GHz (9700) and 2.6GHz (9900) parts to be released in late Q1, but after the TLB errata fiasco, those products were basically dropped in favor of getting the B3 series ready. Our sources indicate the Phenom 9950 being launched in late Q2, possibly Q3 at this time with a clock speed of 2.6GHz. This places AMD once again in an awkward position of not being able to respond in a timely manner to Intel's new Penryn based Quad-Cores that will be available shortly at speeds anywhere from 2.5GHz (Q9300) to 3.2GHz (QX9770). The current 3.0GHz (QX9650) being available for a few weeks now.
The good news is the TLB errata fix in the B3 will not incur a performance penalty when compared to the current BIOS enabled solution. A solution that so far causes performance penalties up to 18% in certain applications and BIOS configurations. While the current beta version of AMD's AOD utility allows you to turn off the TLB fix, we have found performance still suffers slightly. This also holds true with current BIOS releases that offer an enable/disable function compared to early release BIOS spins that ignored the TLB problem. We hope to have a B3 based Phenom shortly for testing to verify AMD's performance claims.
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09 - Sunday, February 10, 2008 - link
eventhough i prefer amd over intel, i feel amd isn't being honest about the b2 bug. amd says the bug does not occur in normal real-world situations. if this is true why would they make a patch that effects performance and why would they delay the other processors just because of this bug? either amd is delaying the other processors because they can't deliver or the bug does happen in normal real-world situations but either way they aren't being truthful.JarredWalton - Sunday, February 10, 2008 - link
The problem is defining "normal situations". My information says that it really is a rare bug, but even if you don't run software right now that can trigger the bug, would you really want a CPU that has a flaw that would potentially lock your system? This is a lot like the Intel FP divide flaw, only AMD is being a little more proactive about admitting it's a pretty big concern. The real issue, unfortunately, is that even with the B3 stepping it doesn't look like AMD can even match Intel Kentsfield (let alone Penryn) overall performance. It's looking like K10 will only be truly useful for Opteron server upgrades.MadBoris - Sunday, February 10, 2008 - link
I had not heard about those issues. With all the slow movement from AMD in recent years, it still seems the CPU was somehow rushed to have those flaws. Intel has made mistakes in the past too, it's just bad timing for AMD. I hope they can start making some money with some good products that won't have to be sold for close to cost to be competitive in the market. AMD consistently trying to undercut Intel and NVIDIA with prices is no way to survive as a company.lopri - Sunday, February 10, 2008 - link
Are they fixing the lagging north bridge as well with B3? Also, is there any truth to one of the cores being defective in current B2? And also being fixed in B3 if true?Killrose - Sunday, February 10, 2008 - link
I'm glad to hear they are finally releasing the B3 stepping. Hopefully AMD's claims of fixing the TLB are proven true. Too bad there are no big speed bumps or other performance claims with B3.