AMD reveals triple-core desktop CPU

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 18 September 2007 06:32

Your IT - Home IT

AMD has added a triple-core processor to its desktop roadmap, with deliveries slated to begin in the first quarter of 2008.

While dual-core CPUs are becoming commonplace in desktop and notebook computers, AMD officials quoted Mercury Research's finding that less than two percent of desktop models shipped during the second quarter of 2007 were fitted with quad core CPUs.

"AMD believes this suggests a need for a wider selection of multi-core solutions," they said. "Triple-core AMD processors may stimulate broader multi-core adoption with a product family that scales to more points-of-entry for the customer."

Greg White, vice president and general manager of AMD's desktop division, said "This innovation is a direct result of our development of the industry's first true, native quad-core design, coupled with AMD's manufacturing flexibility, to create multi-core processors in two, three, and four computational core configurations on a single die of silicon."

The Phenom family is designed for for productivity, content creation, entertainment and gaming applications, and includes technology for cooler and quieter operation.

One bottleneck at this stage is that relatively little software in common use has been designed to make full use of multi-core CPUs.

Quad-core Phenom processors are still expected to ship before the end of the year. Unlike Intel's Core 2 Quad CPUs, which are basically a pair of dual-core CPUs in one packages, AMD's Phenom will deliver one CPU with four (or now three) cores in a single chip.