AMD Adds 6 Athlon II Models to its Line-up

If there’s one thing AMD cannot be accused of, it’s being slow to update its product line-ups. Today, an announcement only reaffirms that fact, as some models are being bumped down in the ranks, and others brought in. Of these, all are Athlon II’s, so unfortunately, we’re still going to have to wait to learn more about the Turbo CORE-infused Phenom II X4 960T.

Of the six processors launched today, three belong to the “e” series. The “e” of course represents “energy” efficiency, and all three of these models – a dual, tri and quad-core – feature a TDP rating of just 45W. The clock speeds of these vary, as do their price tags.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been seven full months since AMD released its first sub-$100 quad-core, but it’s true. And since then, the company has followed-up with other Athlon II X4’s that cost just a bit more but still pack in quite the value. Today, the X4 630 gets bumped down to make way for the X4 640, which adds 200MHz to the clock speed, without affecting the price ($122).

All but two of these six processors add on the same 200MHz boost compared to the model they’re pushing down, with the exceptions being the X4 610e and 245e. Those two see an increase of only 100MHz. As you can probably tell, none of these six processors bring anything new to the table that we haven’t seen before, as they’re merely speed bumps. They are however built on new C3 silicon, so if anyone stands to gain, it could be overclockers.

Because these are only speed bumps, we’re going to hold off for the time-being on benchmarking any of them since the performance on a per model basis is going to be predictable, and not at entirely noteworthy. For those looking to pick up an AMD processor today, though, you’re now going to be getting even more bang for your buck. As long as you’re eyeing an Athlon II, of course.