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Phenom (processor)
 
 
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Phenom (pronounced as IPA:, as in the word phenomenon) is the AMD
Advanced Micro Devices

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is an United States multinational corporation semiconductor industry company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops Central processing unit and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets....
 desktop processor line based on the K10
AMD K10

The AMD K10 is Advanced Micro Devices's latest microprocessor microarchitecture. Though there were once reports that the K10 had been cancelled , the first Opteron#micro-architecture update products for servers were launched on September 10, 2007, with the Phenom processors for desktops following and launching on November 11, 2007 as the imm...
 (not "K10h"
AMD K10

The AMD K10 is Advanced Micro Devices's latest microprocessor microarchitecture. Though there were once reports that the K10 had been cancelled , the first Opteron#micro-architecture update products for servers were launched on September 10, 2007, with the Phenom processors for desktops following and launching on November 11, 2007 as the imm...
) microarchitecture, or Family 10h Processors, as AMD calls them. Triple-core versions (codenamed Toliman) belong to the Phenom 8000 series and quad cores (codenamed Agena) in the AMD Phenom X4 9000 series. AMD considers the quad core Phenoms to be the first "true" quad core design, as these processors are a monolithic multi-core design (all cores on the same piece of silicon die), unlike Intel's Core 2 Quad series which are a multi-chip module
Multi-Chip Module

A Multi-Chip Module is a specialized electronic package where multiple integrated circuits , semiconductor dies or other modules are packaged in such a way as to facilitate their use as a single IC....
 (MCM) design.






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Phenom (pronounced as IPA:, as in the word phenomenon) is the AMD
Advanced Micro Devices

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is an United States multinational corporation semiconductor industry company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops Central processing unit and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets....
 desktop processor line based on the K10
AMD K10

The AMD K10 is Advanced Micro Devices's latest microprocessor microarchitecture. Though there were once reports that the K10 had been cancelled , the first Opteron#micro-architecture update products for servers were launched on September 10, 2007, with the Phenom processors for desktops following and launching on November 11, 2007 as the imm...
 (not "K10h"
AMD K10

The AMD K10 is Advanced Micro Devices's latest microprocessor microarchitecture. Though there were once reports that the K10 had been cancelled , the first Opteron#micro-architecture update products for servers were launched on September 10, 2007, with the Phenom processors for desktops following and launching on November 11, 2007 as the imm...
) microarchitecture, or Family 10h Processors, as AMD calls them. Triple-core versions (codenamed Toliman) belong to the Phenom 8000 series and quad cores (codenamed Agena) in the AMD Phenom X4 9000 series. AMD considers the quad core Phenoms to be the first "true" quad core design, as these processors are a monolithic multi-core design (all cores on the same piece of silicon die), unlike Intel's Core 2 Quad series which are a multi-chip module
Multi-Chip Module

A Multi-Chip Module is a specialized electronic package where multiple integrated circuits , semiconductor dies or other modules are packaged in such a way as to facilitate their use as a single IC....
 (MCM) design. The processors are on the Socket AM2+
Socket AM2+

Socket AM2+ is a CPU socket, which is the immediate successor to Socket AM2 that is used by several AMD processors such as Athlon 64 X2. Socket AM2+ is a mid-migration from Socket AM2 to Socket AM3 and is fully compatible with Socket AM2, so that processors designed for Socket AM2 work on Socket AM2+ motherboards and vice versa....
 platform.

AMD has launched several models of the Phenom processor in 2007/2008 and more recently an upgraded model Phenom II
Phenom II

Phenom II is a family of AMD multi-core 45nm central processing units, succeeding the original Phenom . The Socket AM2+ version of Phenom II was released in December 2008, while Socket AM3 versions with DDR3 support, along with an initial batch of triple- and quad-core processors were released on February 9, 2009....
 in 2009.

Older model nomenclatures

The model numbers of the Phenom line of processors were changed from the PR system used in its predecessors, the AMD Athlon 64 processor family. The Phenom model numbering scheme, for later released Athlon X2 processors, is a four digit model number with a different family indicator as the first number. Energy Efficient products end with the letter “e” after the model number (example Phenom 9350e) and some Sempron processors use the LE prefix (example Sempron LE-1200), as follows:

Series number
Processor series Family Indicator
Phenom X4 quad-core (Agena) X4 9
Phenom X3 triple-core (Toliman) X3 8
Athlon dual-core (Kuma) X2 7/6
Athlon single-core (Lima) 1
Sempron single-core (Sparta) 1


Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) Error in Original Phenoms


Before Phenom's release, a flaw was discovered in the translation lookaside buffer
Translation Lookaside Buffer

A Translation lookaside buffer is a Central processing unit CPU cache that is used by Memory management unit to improve the speed of virtual address translation....
 that could cause a system lock-up in rare circumstances. Phenom processors up to and including stepping
Stepping (version numbers)

Stepping is a designation used by Intel and AMD to identify how much the design of a microprocessor has advanced from the original design. The stepping is identified by a combination of a letter and a number....
 "B2" and "BA" are affected by this bug. BIOS and software workarounds disable the TLB, and typically incur a performance penalty of at least 10%. This penalty was not accounted for in pre-release previews of Phenom, hence the performance of early Phenoms delivered to customers is expected to be less than the preview benchmarks. "B3" stepping Phenom processors were released March 27, 2008 without the TLB bug and with "xx50" model numbers.

An AMD subsidiary has released a patch for the Linux kernel
Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like operating systems. The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux Kernel....
, which it said has received "minimal functional testing", to overcome this bug by software emulation of accessed- and dirty-bits causing little performance loss.

Cores


Phenom X4


Agena (65 nm SOI
Silicon on insulator

Silicon on insulator technology refers to the use of a layered silicon-insulator-silicon Substrate in place of conventional silicon substrates in semiconductor manufacturing, especially microelectronics, to reduce parasitic device capacitance and thereby improve....
)
  • Four AMD K10
    AMD K10

    The AMD K10 is Advanced Micro Devices's latest microprocessor microarchitecture. Though there were once reports that the K10 had been cancelled , the first Opteron#micro-architecture update products for servers were launched on September 10, 2007, with the Phenom processors for desktops following and launching on November 11, 2007 as the imm...
     cores
  • L1 cache
    CPU cache

    A CPU cache is a cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average time to access computer storage. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from the most frequently used main memory locations....
    : 64 KB
    Kilobyte

    Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
     + 64 KB
    Kilobyte

    Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
     (data
    Data (computing)

    In computer science, data is anything in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from computer programs. A program is a set of instruction that detail a task for the computer to perform....
     + instruction
    Instruction (computer science)

    In computer science, an instruction is a single operation of a central processing unit defined by an instruction set architecture. In a broader sense, an "instruction" may be any representation of an element of an executable program, such as a bytecode....
    s) per core
  • L2 cache: 512 KB
    Kilobyte

    Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
     per core, full-speed
  • L3 cache: 2 MB
    Megabyte

    Megabyte is a SI prefix-multiple of the unit byte for digital information computer storage or transmission and is equal to 106 bytes....
     shared between all cores
  • Memory controller: dual channel DDR2-1066 MHz with unganging option
  • MMX, Extended 3DNow!
    3DNow!

    3DNow! is the trade name of a multimedia extension created by AMD for its processors, starting with the K6-2 in 1998. It is an addition of SIMD instructions to the traditional x86 instruction set, designed to improve a central processing unit's ability to perform the vector processing requirements of many graphic-intensive applications....
    , SSE
    Streaming SIMD Extensions

    In computing, Streaming SIMD Extensions is a SIMD instruction set extension to the x86 architecture, designed by Intel and introduced in 1999 in their Pentium III series processors as a reply to AMD's 3DNow! ....
    , SSE2
    SSE2

    SSE2, Streaming SIMD Extensions 2, is one of the IA-32 SIMD instruction sets. SSE2 was first introduced by Intel with the initial version of the Pentium 4 in 2001....
    , SSE3
    SSE3

    SSE3, also known by its Intel code name Prescott New Instructions , is the third iteration of the Streaming SIMD Extensions instruction set for the IA-32 architecture....
    , SSE4a, AMD64, Cool'n'Quiet
    Cool'n'Quiet

    Cool'n'Quiet is a central processing unit CPU throttling and power saving technology introduced by AMD with their Athlon 64 processor line. It works by reducing the processor's clock rate and voltage when the processor is idle....
    , NX bit
    NX bit

    The NX bit, which stands for No eXecute, is a technology used in CPUs to segregate areas of memory for use by either storage of processor instructions or for storage of data, a feature normally only found in Harvard architecture processors....
    , AMD-V
  • Socket AM2+
    Socket AM2+

    Socket AM2+ is a CPU socket, which is the immediate successor to Socket AM2 that is used by several AMD processors such as Athlon 64 X2. Socket AM2+ is a mid-migration from Socket AM2 to Socket AM3 and is fully compatible with Socket AM2, so that processors designed for Socket AM2 work on Socket AM2+ motherboards and vice versa....
    , HyperTransport
    HyperTransport

    HyperTransport , formerly known as Lightning Data Transport , is a bidirectional serial/parallel high-bandwidth, Memory latency Point-to-point that was introduced on April 2 2001....
     with 1600 to 2000 MHz
  • Power consumption (TDP
    Thermal Design Power

    The Thermal Design Power represents the maximum amount of power the cooling system in a computer is required to dissipate. For example, a laptop's Microprocessor cooling system may be designed for a 20 W TDP, which means that it can dissipation 20 watts of heat without exceeding the maximum junction temperature for the chip....
    ): 65, 95, 125 and 140 Watt
  • First release
    • November 19, 2007 (B2 Stepping)
    • March 27, 2008 (B3 Stepping)
  • Clock rate: 1800 to 2600 MHz
  • Models: Phenom X4 9100e to 9950
    List of AMD Phenom microprocessors

    The Phenom family of microprocessors is a microprocessor family from Advanced Micro Devices. It includes the Phenom X4 quad-core series and Phenom X3 triple-core series....


Phenom X3


Toliman (65 nm SOI
Silicon on insulator

Silicon on insulator technology refers to the use of a layered silicon-insulator-silicon Substrate in place of conventional silicon substrates in semiconductor manufacturing, especially microelectronics, to reduce parasitic device capacitance and thereby improve....
)
  • Three AMD K10
    AMD K10

    The AMD K10 is Advanced Micro Devices's latest microprocessor microarchitecture. Though there were once reports that the K10 had been cancelled , the first Opteron#micro-architecture update products for servers were launched on September 10, 2007, with the Phenom processors for desktops following and launching on November 11, 2007 as the imm...
     cores
  • L1 cache
    CPU cache

    A CPU cache is a cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average time to access computer storage. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from the most frequently used main memory locations....
    : 64 KB
    Kilobyte

    Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
     data
    Data (computing)

    In computer science, data is anything in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from computer programs. A program is a set of instruction that detail a task for the computer to perform....
     and 64 KB
    Kilobyte

    Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
     instruction
    Instruction (computer science)

    In computer science, an instruction is a single operation of a central processing unit defined by an instruction set architecture. In a broader sense, an "instruction" may be any representation of an element of an executable program, such as a bytecode....
     cache per core
  • L2 cache: 512 KB
    Kilobyte

    Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
     per core, full-speed
  • L3 cache: 2 MB
    Megabyte

    Megabyte is a SI prefix-multiple of the unit byte for digital information computer storage or transmission and is equal to 106 bytes....
     shared between all cores
  • Memory controller: dual channel DDR2-1066 MHz with unganging option
  • MMX, Extended 3DNow!
    3DNow!

    3DNow! is the trade name of a multimedia extension created by AMD for its processors, starting with the K6-2 in 1998. It is an addition of SIMD instructions to the traditional x86 instruction set, designed to improve a central processing unit's ability to perform the vector processing requirements of many graphic-intensive applications....
    , SSE
    Streaming SIMD Extensions

    In computing, Streaming SIMD Extensions is a SIMD instruction set extension to the x86 architecture, designed by Intel and introduced in 1999 in their Pentium III series processors as a reply to AMD's 3DNow! ....
    , SSE2
    SSE2

    SSE2, Streaming SIMD Extensions 2, is one of the IA-32 SIMD instruction sets. SSE2 was first introduced by Intel with the initial version of the Pentium 4 in 2001....
    , SSE3
    SSE3

    SSE3, also known by its Intel code name Prescott New Instructions , is the third iteration of the Streaming SIMD Extensions instruction set for the IA-32 architecture....
    , SSE4a, AMD64, Cool'n'Quiet
    Cool'n'Quiet

    Cool'n'Quiet is a central processing unit CPU throttling and power saving technology introduced by AMD with their Athlon 64 processor line. It works by reducing the processor's clock rate and voltage when the processor is idle....
    , NX bit
    NX bit

    The NX bit, which stands for No eXecute, is a technology used in CPUs to segregate areas of memory for use by either storage of processor instructions or for storage of data, a feature normally only found in Harvard architecture processors....
    , AMD-V
  • Socket AM2+
    Socket AM2+

    Socket AM2+ is a CPU socket, which is the immediate successor to Socket AM2 that is used by several AMD processors such as Athlon 64 X2. Socket AM2+ is a mid-migration from Socket AM2 to Socket AM3 and is fully compatible with Socket AM2, so that processors designed for Socket AM2 work on Socket AM2+ motherboards and vice versa....
    , HyperTransport
    HyperTransport

    HyperTransport , formerly known as Lightning Data Transport , is a bidirectional serial/parallel high-bandwidth, Memory latency Point-to-point that was introduced on April 2 2001....
     with 1600 to 1800 MHz
  • Power consumption (TDP
    Thermal Design Power

    The Thermal Design Power represents the maximum amount of power the cooling system in a computer is required to dissipate. For example, a laptop's Microprocessor cooling system may be designed for a 20 W TDP, which means that it can dissipation 20 watts of heat without exceeding the maximum junction temperature for the chip....
    ): 65 and 95 Watt
  • First release
    • March 27, 2008 (B2 Stepping)
    • April 23, 2008 (B3 Stepping)
  • Clock rate: 2100 to 2500 MHz
  • Models: Phenom X3 8250e to 8850
    List of AMD Phenom microprocessors

    The Phenom family of microprocessors is a microprocessor family from Advanced Micro Devices. It includes the Phenom X4 quad-core series and Phenom X3 triple-core series....


See also

  • List of AMD Phenom microprocessors
    List of AMD Phenom microprocessors

    The Phenom family of microprocessors is a microprocessor family from Advanced Micro Devices. It includes the Phenom X4 quad-core series and Phenom X3 triple-core series....
  • List of future AMD Phenom microprocessors
    List of future AMD Phenom microprocessors

    The Phenom family of microprocessors is a microprocessor family from Advanced Micro Devices. It includes the Phenom quad-core and triple-core ....
  • List of AMD Athlon X2 microprocessors
    List of AMD Athlon X2 microprocessors

    The Advanced Micro Devices Athlon 64 X2#Athlon X2 microprocessor family consists of microprocessors based on both the Athlon 64 X2 and the Phenom processor families....
  • AMD K10
    AMD K10

    The AMD K10 is Advanced Micro Devices's latest microprocessor microarchitecture. Though there were once reports that the K10 had been cancelled , the first Opteron#micro-architecture update products for servers were launched on September 10, 2007, with the Phenom processors for desktops following and launching on November 11, 2007 as the imm...


External links