" but the problem I see is that video cards are not optimally utilized, which is just going to get worse as they continually double in processing power."

You've just identified the problem and the cause: Why spend effort optimizing for hadware that's just going to double in processing power in (insert span of time here)? That's why more optimization goes into console games, essentially by necessity, because you'll have a static architecture for around five years instead of six months-ish.

EDIT: This was to be a response to #113. Drain too bamaged this morning...

How about this... DENEB at 6Ghz approx LN2

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lJdgLM3WR3Y/SSrC5liCn6I/AAAAAAAAABU/XljNa...

Will it be compatible with AM2+ sockets? (Please say yes!)

excluding the price diff against a Core i7, the Core i7s have been OC'd to 4.5ghz air and 5.4ghz fridge being playable.

Intel still reigns supreme for speed

Wake me up when they don't need exotic cooling to reach those speeds.

So it can play crysis? :p

So, AMD overclocks 45nm Phenoms beyond 4GHz with liquid cooling ?!

I know some people overclocked their Q9550 beyond 4GHz without liquid cooling. And Q9550 is not really the highest end Yorkfeild

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i am honestly thinking about getting a phenom II, if it can compete in terms of price, i would be more than happy to go back to amd. i am painfully tired of my crap ass pentium d 830!!

Has anyone read this?

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20081119180239_First_Gener...on_Intel_Core_i7_Chips_Will_Never_Become_Mainstr...[bs.com]

This means that Phenom 2 will be competing with Core2 for a lot longer than we thought.

I think they knew it from the beginning, that's why they maintained compatibility with current sockets.

A really smart move from them.

I was just finishing my Core i7 920 build on Newegg.com when I saw this. Something is telling me to wait a while to knock down this $2200 build to $1500 with a Phenom II.

Also this Core i7 build may cut into my budget for my Nissan Skyline R33 Series II RB25DET swap into my 240sx. The AMD build's saving would get me an HKS EVC for that much.

Decisions, decisions...

How is a 4ghz AMD vs a 4ghz intel though?

So, can it play Crysis?

So they got rid of the cold bug in the memory controller?

That's pretty well done it. I'll be ordering a Phenom II when they come out.

OK this is what I want to see in the next CPU benchmarks.

920 I7 core (norm & OCed) vs 45nm Phenom II (norm & OCed) on Crysis *with* a med resolution of about 1280x1024 with AAx2 and AAx4
With a GTX 280 or if the next revision comes out with that.

This should be what I want/use and play on my dream system and I hate the idea of paying double for Intel CPU+RAM+MB if I can get the same effect on a AMD based system!

Won't it freeze at -185 c?

Q1 09 looks very interesting now, I am really waiting for the launch and the real thing reviewed. It may not overclock as high as Core 2 at the moment, but things should get better as they produce it every day. So as Core 2 E0 to G0 stepping, better overclock and lower wattage in general. With planned 2 years of product cycle, AMD should really have things to be done to enhance Phenom II even further.

Although they are chopping off employees, having some critical changes to their managerial personnel, I found that AMD actually does better in PR now. How often and how easy can you see the Pats, Leslie Sobon and co. on the tubes, blogs, etc. They have put in efforts to re-educate the world to deal with Intel-default, Nvidia-default things. They spin off non-profitable things and put all the focus on GPU and CPU designs. The outlook of AMD starts to get better. See if they really get things done according to their vision at the right time.

(btw, why 'AMD' and 'Nvidia' are not in your dictionary for this message spell check?)

SIX GIGAWATTSHERTZ!!!

Wait up ... can't i7 go 4.1Ghz on air?

Anyways ... yea finally, AMD gives us some good overclockers. I will always resend them for giving me a 2.3 A64 that only overclocked 200 Mhz ...

Wow, put aside the core i7 comparisons, this is a huge improvement from phenom 9xxx and 8xxx series

Do the oc results look a little strange to anyone?

It seems the Phenom II's do really well, even on air, right up to 4 GHz. Then, they seem to hit a wall, where the entire range of enthusiast cooling is only good for a few hundred MHz. Then, you break out the LN2 and suddenly that wall is gone again? Any idea what kind of process technology quirk might cause this sort of behavior?

Nonetheless, breaking 6 GHz is a very good sign that AMD has a solid CPU design/process combo this time around. Penryn's world-record overclock on LN2 isn't that far ahead (6.7 GHz).

BFD.
Those are suicide runs given that Vcore at 45nm.
*Maybe* it will achieve parity with quad Penryns.

How much would those voltages shorten the lifespan of this processor? Can someone guesstimate?

On another note, same stuff as Core i7, and I guess AMD deserves a pat or two for improving where they were most loathed.

This was a very smart move on AMD's part. It builds expectations. Remember when Intel did this with liquid nitrogen and stole AMD's thunder? Good showmanship AMD. ;-)

Any word on the pricing of these chips? Because they do sound like a nice upgrade from my current Athlon 64 x2 4000+.