We couldn’t give much details in our Core i5 Review, but AMD let us know that they would be introducing a bunch of new CPUs to compete with Intel in the $99 – 170 price range. They have announced them today, and we will have a full review up in the near future.
Here’s how the new CPUs look:
| Price | Cores | Speed | L2 Cache | L3 Cache | TDP | |
| Athlon II X2 255 | $74 | 2 | 3.1 GHz | 2 x 1 MB | 65 W | |
| Athlon II X3 440 | $84 | 3 | 3.0 GHz | 3 x 512 KB | 95 W | |
| Phenom II X2 555 BE | $99 | 2 | 3.2 GHz | 2 x 512 MB | 6 MB | 80 W |
| Athlon II X4 635 | $119 | 4 | 2.9 GHz | 4 x 512 MB | 95 W | |
| Phenom II X4 910e | $169 | 4 | 2.6 GHz | 4 x 512 MB | 6 MB | 65 W |
The X2 255 supplants the X2 250, and the X3 440 replaces the X3 435, with speed bumps of 100 MHz each. Nothing too interesting there.
At $99 though, we are seeing the first dual-core Phenom II in a long time. AMD says this is their fastest dual-core ever, and being a Black Edition means it has an unlocked multiplier. It should make for a very formidable opponent against the Core i3; it already has the advantage of being $25 cheaper (not including motherboard prices). It is also based on the newest Phenom II silicon (C3) and should be a killer overclocker. We’ll have to find out this week ;)
The X4 635 supplants the 630, which drops in price to $99. If you recall, the X4 620 (which was $99 at the time) was the real star of our Clarkdale review, giving you a real quad-core performance for just $99. And because of today’s release, you get one clocked 200 MHz higher for the same price, and the option to move up even more for $120.
And finally, the X4 910e is a low-wattage solution, with a 65 W max TDP.
I can’t wait to put these to the test, and it is interesting that PC buyers have the choice of going for a high-clocked dual-core with an open multiplier or a true quad-core CPU for the same $99 price point.
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