As we mentioned earlier this week, AMD is refreshing its desktop CPU line this week with 7 new Phenoms: 5 new quad-core a.k.a Phenom X4 9550 (2.2GHz), 9650 (2.3GHz), 9750 (2.4GHz), 9850 Black Edition (2.5GHz) and a low power 9100e (65W); 2 triple-core a.k.a Phenom X3 8400 (2.1GHz) and the 8600 (2.3GHz). The "sweet spot" for these new chips are the mid to high-end PC market.

The 7 new Phenoms are targeting 3 different market segments:

- the enthousiast, with Phenom X4

- the mainstream digital media high definition video playback, with X3

- and energy efficient small form factor PCs with the low power 9100e (power/frequency can be modulated on a core per core basis)

Performance

Athlon X2 ->+30% -> Phenom X3 -> +20% ->Phenom X4

Graphics: Crossfire Hybrid

In the demo, AMD showed that a Hybrid Graphics machine, i.e. using both the onboard and the discrete card GPUs, had a 3DMark of 2711 versus 1580 for the PC using only the discrete card.

It's all about the platforms: Cartwheel and Spider

Even though this was a CPU launch, AMD highlighted the power of its platforms:

- Cartwheel for mainstream HD desktop PCs, from $600-$800

- Spider for enthousiasts/performance, higher-end PCs (~$1,200)

The question and answer session:


The demo of AMD's Phenom X3 triple-core chips: