TBred2 Look: October 15

Until it is no longer necessary, we’re going to report on the availability of the TBred2 processor.

Unless circumstances change, we will focus on the 2400+.

Our reference point will be Pricewatch (except where noted). We will also check each website to see if it is actually available, and if not,
when the reseller expects it to be.

If a company does not provide such information, it will not be listed here, and such companies should be avoided. Don’t reward companies that tell you less and punish those who are trying to be honest with you.

(There’s only one company that fits this bill, and there is a Reseller Ratings article from a 2400+ complaining that they didn’t have the processor in stock when he ordered it.)

One place that apparently has had these consistently is a place called Nutrend. You can read customer comments about them here; they seem decent enough, but I can’t say I’ve found a lot of people who have ordered this from them yet.

Besides Nutrend, the “Nos” continue to have it, and the consensus of websites indicate initial arrival during the last week of October.

Last week, we suspected those resellers showing mid-October dates were going to push back ETA date towards the end of the month, and that is precisely what happened.

In most cases, it doesn’t look like this is the reseller playing games. We got some feedback from a few resellers, and what they reported was that the AMD salespeople said, “Sorry, just don’t have them.”

We’ll also note that non-American resellers have also had to push their dates back.

The next important event in this search will be the AMD conference call next Wednesday. The nonavailability of these parts was a significant concern during AMD’s October 1 webcast; expect it to become a major if not the major issue Wednesday.

The webcast will begin Wednesday at 5:30 (ET); you can listen to it here.

After that, the next major milestone will be two weeks from now. By that time, some supplies should be showing up, and if AMD can at least start supplying the goods, the number of places offering these CPUs should grow considerably.

If they don’t, and resellers have to push back their ETAs deep into November, I think there’s a problem here. A big problem.

Again, if any resellers out there could (anonymously) provide more insight into this (especially if it’s a matter of the supplier pushing back the dates), I’d appreciate it if you sent me a note.

Ed