Retailers Beat AMD to Phenom II Launch

From PCWorld: Online retailers are taking orders for Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming Phenom II processors, leaking chip details ahead of the company's processor announcement plans for early January.

Two new quad-core Phenom II processors, aimed at high-end desktops, will start shipping on Dec. 27, according to retail Web sites. AMD plans to announce the chips next month at the International Consumer Electronics Show to be held in Las Vegas between January 8 and 11.

The quad-core Phenom II chips run at speeds from 2.8GHz to 3GHz and include 8MB of cache. The chips are capable of achieving higher speeds under certain circumstances though. AMD overclocked Phenom II processors to run at up to 4GHz on air-cooled systems, and up to 5GHz on liquid-nitrogen cooling earlier this year.

AMD's Phenom II X4 940 quad-core processor, which runs at 3GHz, is being sold for US$304 by online computer parts retailer Computers4Sure. The chip is being priced as high as $373 by a Canada-based online retailer, A-Power Computer Online.

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