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LOSTCIRCUITS
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| AMD's Phenom X3 8750 - The Power of 3 | |
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(Author: Michael Schuette, April 27, 2008) | |
X3 Peculiarities
Within the X3 design, everything tied to one core is present in triplicate. Naturally, this includes the L1 data and instruction caches that in the X3 series now amount to a total of 384 kB as opposed to 256 kB in the X2 processors or the 512 kB in the X4 series. Likewise, the L2 cache is now 1.5 MB as opposed to the 1MB or 2 MB in the Athlon X2 series or Phenom X4, respectively. Note though that the L3 cache is not part of the actual core design but rather a feature of the so-called NorthBridge also featuring the memory controller and running on its own supply voltage circuitry and frequency. Therefore, regardless of whether it is an X3 core or an X4 core, the cache is always 2 MB.
With respect to the naming convention, all X4 processors will be part of the 9000 series whereas the X3 versions will all start with an 8 in the four digit part number.
AMD Phenom X4 8x50 processor TECH SPECS:
| Processor Frequency: | 2.1, 2.3, 2.4GHz | L1 Cache Sizes: | 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (384 KB total L1 per processor) | L2 Cache Sizes: | 512KB of L2 data cache per core (1.5 MB total L2 per processor) | L3 Cache Size: | 2 MB | Memory Controller Type: | Integrated dual 64-bit wide memory controller * | Memory Controller Speed: | 1.8 GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management | Types of Memory Supported: | Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2 8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) | HyperTransport 3.0: | One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2) | Total Processor Bandwidth: | Up to 33.1 GB/s bandwidth | Packaging: | Socket AM2+ 940-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA) | Fab location: | AMD's Fab 36 wafer fabrication facilities in Dresden, Germany | Process Technology: | 65-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology | Approximate Transistor count: | ~ 450 million (65nm) | Approximate Die Size: | 285 mm2 (65nm) | Max Ambient Case Temp: | 61o Celsius | Nominal Voltage: | 1.2-1.3 Volts | Max TDP: | 95 Watts |
* All Phenom processors feature dual independent 64-bit memory controllers that can be configured to run in ganged and un-ganged mode, the latter indicating that one controller can for example issue a Read operation while the second controller performs a Write at the same time.
| Phenom Model No: | CPU Freq. | MC & HT(x2) Freq. | Max TDP | Availability on 3/27/2008 | Price | Core Count | Silicon Revision | Unlocked Multiplier "Black Edition" | ||
| OEMs Only | Channel Only | Channel + OEM | ||||||||
| X4 9850 | 2.5GHz | 2.0GHz | 125W | Yes | $235 1KU | 4 | B3 | Yes | ||
| X4 9750 | 2.4GHz | 1.8GHz | 125W | Yes | $215 1KU | 4 | B3 | |||
| X4 9750 | 2.4GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | Yes | OEM Price | 4 | B3 | |||
| X4 9650 | 2.3GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | Yes | OEM Price | 4 | B3 | |||
| X4 9550 | 2.2GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | yes | $195 1KU | 4 | B3 | |||
| X4 9100e | 1.8GHz | 1.6GHz | 65W | Yes | OEM Price | 4 | B2 | |||
| X3 8750 | 2.4GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | 4/23/08 | $195 1KU | 3 | B3 | |||
| X3 8650 | 2.3GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | 4/23/08 | $165 1KU | 3 | B3 | |||
| X3 8450 | 2.1GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | 4/23/08 | $145 1KU | 3 | B3 | |||
| X3 8600 | 2.3GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | Yes | OEM Price | 3 | B2 | |||
| X3 8400 | 2.1GHz | 1.8GHz | 95W | Yes | OEM Price | 3 | B2 | |||
All Phenom cores feature 128kB L1 and 512kB of L2 cache, the 1MB L2 version is not available in the multicore version. However, we have noted a few times that there is very little performance increase to be had by going from the half cache to the full cache design in the case of AMD's architecture, whereas the die size penalty is quite substantial. More importantly, since the individual cores cannot talk to each other's L2 cache, a larger L2 would cause more contention because of the higher amount of duplicate / dirty entries. In so far, we don't miss the full cache at all especially since the shared 2 MB L3 cache makes up for the difference anyway.
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