Name Changes

XBit Labs has an article referring to this AMDZone forum post which displays CPU-Z ID for FX-55 and Athlon 64 4000+ CPUs.

The FX-55 will run at 2.6GHz, but will be made with 130nm technology. The Athlon 4000+ is simply a renamed FX-53, with 1Mb cache running at 2.4GHz.

As we’ve mentioned several times in the past, AMD wouldn’t be doing such things if everything was okey-dokey with their 90nm process. They would be releasing such chips as 90nm CPUs.

It’s not that AMD can’t make 90nm chips, they’re apparently beginning to be shipped.

However, it doesn’t look like they can make them fast. That’s looks to be the secret. If you look at the AMD roadmaps, we’re not supposed to see what will have to be fast 90nm chips until Q2 2005.

Given all this, we confidently predict the following:

  • The initial 90nm AMD chips will run at no more than 2.2GHz, and they will not overclock terribly well, a little better than current 130nm chips, but no more.

    Somewhat less confidently (i.e. since these events will occur rather later than the first, AMD may be able to fix their current problems)

  • The Athlon 4200+, which will come out in Q1 2005, will be a rebadged FX-55.
  • The first fast 90nm Hammer will be the FX-57, which won’t be out for six months + at best.

    The question for us, of course, is not what top-end Hammers are or aren’t. The question is, “How far can the initial 90nm chips that do come out go?”

    And for that, we have no evidence yet.

    Ed

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