News AMD announces Thuban six-core CPUs

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/09/22/amd-announces-thuban-six-core-cpus/1

AMD has announced the desktop equivalent to its recently released six-core Opteron server processors, due next year and dubbed Thuban.

 

i'd rather have a quad at a higher clock speed at the moment, more cores aren't really needed

 

Unless you use a lot of multi-threaded applications - for regular users or gamers you're right, they're not specifically needed. I hope game devs pull their fingers out and start utilising more than two & a half threads - then our multi-cored CPUs will be worth it.

Hmmm... multi-threaded.

 

At least Socket AM2+ and AM3 are cheaper than LGA1366.....

 

Quite. Unless AMD prices these astronomically high, for those running AM2+ in particular this could be a worthy upgrade without breaking the bank on a platform shift.

 

Think i'll wait for a few reviews before deciding if either are worth upgrading to.

 

Looks promising, especially for multithreaded applications, however the low clock speed doesn't speak well for mostly single threaded applications, or low-core (1-2) applications such as games.

As already mentioned, waiting on reviews.

 

Well as it stands today, i've found that 3 cores is the sweet spot for performance.....

When i run my Phenom 550 as a 3 core the performance jump is significant over 2 cores, but the jump from 3 to 4 cores only results in a much smaller gain, even in games like GTAIV and ARMAII, which supposedly need 4 cores.....im lucky if i see 3-5fps extra...

Until they properly utilise 4 cores, 6 will only be impressive in highly multithreaded synthetic benchmarks....

Still, im sure 6 cores and more will one day be needed...

 

Is it single die or 2 3 core dies stuck together? It doesn't seem to have vast quantities of L2 though.

 

Four cores is plenty for me for the neard future. That said, it would be nice for AMD to be able to put some competition in for the i7 (the real 1366 ones) at some point.

 

I'm still slightly unclear on exactly what I can and can't plug into my existing motherboard. It's about three years old and is currently populated with an Athlon X2 6000+. I suspect this means AM2, and that what I have is about as good as I can go, but it's actually quite difficult to figure out what I can and can't do.

 

what motherboard is it (model number)

 

Phil, time for a new motherboard, they are cheap, dont be cheap yourself, 3 years is fine value out of a MB, let it go now.

 

would like bit-tech to do a review, when they can get there hands on one to see what it can do (O/C speeds, multitasking, gaming, video encoding......) so i shale wait like most people will do on this site to see if its worth the upgrade!

 

Yes but so is a KFC 12 piece bargain bucket but that doesn't make it better than LGA1366. I'm staggered at times with some posts on here.

This topic is really good news as the CPU manufacturers are still pushing their developemenst onto desktops. Since most OS being used today hardly even recognise Quad Core or fully utilise it. Six Core or more may not make a huge difference until the software takes into consideration the extra cores.

Isn't there something in Windows 7 about quad or higher cores being utilised better? I know the Server OS are getting to grips with it better now.

 

If you have a 6000 in there, Its quite likely you can drop a Phenom in no bother thats what I did on my old board even though it said it was only compatible with upto 125w chips I dropped a 140w 9950 in and had no bother even though it didn't know what it was.

Every board is different though so best to look to the manufacturer or google you're board and see what people are running in there but even that doesn't necessarily help as my Asrock board has no support for quads CPU Support list let alone 140w varients, still I used it until I could get a replacement for my SLI board that had died.

 

It's a Foxconn C51XEM2AA, I discover.

If anyone ever looks in this thread again.

 

I'm glad my new build features an AM3 motherboard. The Phenom II X2 545 I have right now is decent, but only barely competitive with the lower-end Core2Duos. Why did I pick it? It's cheap, it's brand new, and it's all I need for now.

When the time is right, I'll probably upgrade to one of these monsters.

 

Seem to recall most 590 boards based on the reference design wouldn't work, something to do with bios chip size.

can't see anyone saying that they've done it.

 

Mutter. What do I go to, then?

Intel Core series stuff seems expensive, but I use After Effects and Premiere a lot, and in contrast to games, they love multi cores.