AMD Phenom X3 8750: Entering the Triple-Core Era

INTRODUCTION

Intel has dominated the desktop processor market for a long time. Being they are such a huge giant, it is not easy for any company to fight against them. It is like “David vs. Galiath” and AMD is only remaining player hanging in there to fight against the giant as Via and others provide very little impact anymore.

In order to stay alive, AMD has to be innovative with their products.  Remember that they were the first one to offer support for the x86-64with their Athlon X64 processors?  Also, they are the first one with the integrated memory controller in their K8 architecture.  In fact, the K8 architecture is probably one of the best architectural design from AMD.  These innovative technologies not only helped AMD in terms of performance and market-share, they also are superior than many other designs that Intel virtually borrowed them as well.  Everyone is familiar with the current Intel processor also offers the x86-64 instruction and Intel’s next generation of processors, Nehalem, will also feature integrated memory controller as well.  If you are a fan-boy of AMD, you probably are thinking “copy-cat” but the truth is that Intel is not alone.  AMD, in fact, has also borrowed a few technologies from Intel.

Things have been gloomy for AMD for the last couple of years.  Just when things start to look good for AMD as they released the K8 architecture, Intel has countered with the Core architecture processors in 2006 which trumped AMD.  The subsequent refinement of the Core architecture from 65nm to 45nm has further increased the performance gap while lowering the energy consumption for Intel.  Since then, AMD has released Brisbane Athlon 64 X2, virtually a 65 nm AM2 variant of the K8 architecture that offers support for DDR2, which in terms of performance is almost identical to the original Socket 939 K8 processors.  Thus, it does not cause any storm to the industry and everybody is waiting for their K10 architecture. 

After some rumors of cancellation of K10, AMD has finally released new processors based on the K10 architecture. On September 10, 2007, AMD has finally released the Opteron processor based on the new architecture and shortly after on November 11, 2007, the Phenom processor for desktop was released.

Despite some great improvements with the K10 architecture, the initial Phenom processors (B2 stepping) did not help AMD’s situation at all since they had a nasty TLB erratum.  The TLB erratum will cause system lockup under rare circumstances.  It is actually as a big issue since the chance of it occurs is prertty rare.  However, it is still recommended to patch the errata via BIOS update or the AMD's own OverDrive.  It may not have been as big of an issue if the patch does not cause a huge performance hit (review).  Finally, after four month, AMD has released the B3 stepping processors with the TLB erratum fixed.  Yet, the new B3 stepping processors still cannot match the performance of the 45nm Core 2 Duo due to much higher clock speed of these processors.  And they also face even tougher competition against the Core 2 Quad.

Knowing that they are facing a tough competition, AMD prices their quad core processor at the price similar to the Intel’s Core 2 Duo and low-end Core 2 Quad.  Furthermore, AMD once again is being innovative with their product and releases a triple-core processor in hoping to fight the tough battleground that is facing them.  Today, join us as we’ll be putting the AMD X3 8750 triple-core processor to the test.

AMD at a Glance

A Leading Global Provider of Innovative Microprocessor and Graphics Solutions

Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD designs and produces innovative microprocessor and graphics and media solutions for the computer, communications, and consumer electronics industries.

Quick Company Facts

• Year Company Started: 1969
• Number of Employees: approximately 16,500
• Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California
• CEO: Hector Ruiz
• Number of Locations: 80
• Revenue: $5.649 billion in 2006
• NYSE ticker symbol: AMD

Innovation

Since the beginning, our focus has gone beyond integrated circuits and transistors. AMD is the informed choice for those who want superior microprocessor and graphics solutions designed from the perspective of the customer. After all, our customers' success is our success. That’s why AMD products are always developed with customer needs in mind and not for the sake of technology alone. We provide real solutions for real customer problems that exist in the real world today. It’s a philosophy we refer to as “customer-centric innovation,” and it represents the guiding principle behind everything we do.

Vision

We never rest on our laurels. Our passion for what we do compels us to keep looking for the next opportunity to succeed. With corporate locations in Sunnyvale, California; Austin, Texas; and Markham, Ontario; and global operations and manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, we’re one of the world’s leading integrated circuit manufacturers. We’re also among the market leaders in each of our core businesses: microprocessors and graphics and media solutions for the computer, communications, and consumer electronics industries.

Execution

Because our customers’ needs are ever-changing, AMD understands the value of looking towards—and keeping pace with—the future. To help ensure we meet our customers’ needs today and tomorrow, AMD invests in state-of-the-art technology research many years in advance of first commercial use.

Like other world-class companies, we are proud of our success, but we are never satisfied. At AMD, we are committed to delivering the innovative solutions our customers need, building the framework for sustainable growth going forward.