AMD's Spider aimed at performance-oriented users

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 20 November 2007 09:31

Your IT - Home IT

The 'Spider' platform newly announced by AMD combines reasonably fast Phenom quad-core CPUs, Radeon HT 3800 graphics processors, and the 7-Series chipset.

Spider is aimed at customers who want decent performance for gaming and high definition video without having to spend a fortune.

At this stage, the Phenom 9000 range comprises two models: the 2.2GHz 9500 and the 2.3GHz 9600. Both are manufactured using a 65nm process, compared with Intel's latest 45nm parts. The finer process allows more transistors to fit on a chip of given size and reduces power consumption. AMD is not expected to begin 45nm production until the second half of 2008.

The Radeon HD 3800 provides DirectX 10.1 support and reduce CPU load when playing HD video such as Blu-ray or FD DVD content. It also scaling for displays with resolutions higher than 1080p and supports colour adjustment, noise reduction and edge enhancement. CrossFireX support means up to four GPUs can be used in parallel.

Three 7-Series chipsets have been announced: the 770, 790F and 790FX. All support HyperTransport 3.0 and PCI Express Generation 2.0. The 790X adds support for CrossFireX, quad PCI-E for faster GPU to GPU communication, and Auto Xpress to maximise the performance of systems with AMD CPUs and GPUs. The 790FX is aimed at those who want to extract as much performance as possible through overclocking.

Spider is designed to support DDR2 1066 memory once that specification is finalised.

AMD officials claim Spider delivers "industry leading platform performance-per-watt". For example, the Phenom is said to average 32W for consumer workloads and 29W for business applications.

"The AMD Spider platform embodies our approach to platform-level innovation and delivers a highly-advanced, feature-rich enthusiast computing experience. Our commitment to energy-efficient design and manufacturing excellence drives an unprecedented performance-per-watt at an amazing price point, putting enthusiast-class platforms in reach for more users than ever before," said AMD's president and COO, Dirk Meyer.