Digital Home Thoughts: AMD's New Phenom II: Does It Measure Up?

"The production of a sequel typically implies that the original creation is worth revisiting. However, considering that the original Phenom was the hardware version of Ishtar, many enthusiasts didn’t think Phenom deserved to be revisited. AMD certainly thinks it does—and it hopes Phenom II is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn to Phenom’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And why shouldn’t AMD be able to pull off a reversal of fortune? Phenom II isn’t just Phenom joined by a Roman numeral—it’s a die shrink with a boatload of additional cache and an improved core. In short, AMD hopes to erase memories of the original Phenom and put smiles on the faces of disappointed overclockers with its reimagined Phenom II chip."

Targeted towards mid-range PCs, the Phenom II is pretty much the original Phenom packaged in a 45nm process. MaximumPC puts the new CPU through its paces, but the results don't show anything worth noting. The Phenom II seems to be much more of an evolutionary than revolutionary step for AMD, with the new CPU using a bit less power while maintaining most of the compatibility with existing motherboards. Overall, I'm not impressed, but pleased to see AMD working to hold its ground against Intel, however, I think the company needs to put a magic rabbit out of its hat to push back the 800 pound gorilla that is Intel.