AMD Launches Industry’s First Sub-$100 Quad-Core

When Intel released their Lynnfield processors a few weeks ago, we saw some unbelievable value. These Quad-Cores, equipped with their robust Turbo feature, were simply fast, as heck. But, while the Core i5-750 comes in at $200, and P55 motherboards kick off at $109, some might still want to hold off and save even more  when the right chip comes along.

Well that right chip might be the new Athlon II X4 620 or 630, released yesterday. The X4 620 in particular becomes the first Quad-Core in the world to be sold for under $100. In this case, $99. Think back to when Quad-Cores first hit the market. The absolute first was $1,000 (Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700), and shortly after that, we saw the Core 2 Quad Q6600, for just over $500. But here… a Quad-Core, for under $100. That’s impressive.

“Rob, there must be a catch!”, and well, there is. The new Quad is part of the Athlon II series, not the Phenom II, and as such, it doesn’t have any L3 Cache. But, it’s based on a “new” core, Propus, which is based on Deneb. In reviews around the web, the chip doesn’t seem to really lose it’s overclocking-ability, so for those willing to go down that path, you might be able to make up for the lack of L3 Cache.

The best part might be that both the 620 and 630 (~$122) are available right now, and can be paired up with AMD’s latest 785G motherboards – many of which can be found for at or under $100. We’ll be taking a look at the new chip shortly, though the way things are going lately, I know better than to make a promise of a certain day… so I’ll just say soon.

As part of the new desktop platform designed for mainstream consumers, AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the first ever quad-core processor for less than $100 Suggested System Builder Price (SSBP). By balancing the power of new AMD Athlon II X4 quad-core processors and the AMD 785G chipset featuring ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics, AMD delivers smooth HD visuals and the foundation for a great Windows 7 experience.