AMD to Launch 45nm Quad-Cores in January

As I mentioned in today’s pricing guide, the choice between current AMD processors is a simple one, simply because their entire collection of models is priced so close to each other, there are really only two choices. Well, we’ve all been waiting for AMD to pull something out of their sleeve, but it sure can’t come soon enough. What’s next is their 45nm revisions, and according to certain leaks, that might happen in January.

It’s just too bad that January is four months away, and it’s made even worse because we were supposed to see these CPUs already. AMD was originally quoted as being able to deliver their die shrinks in the middle of this year, which obviously didn’t happen. So, it’s still going to be a little bit of a wait, and it’s too bad, because there’s little hope that a simple die shrink is going to help AMD gain the traction they need. It’s not good when their most expensive processor is $180.

With Intel’s Nehalem right around the corner (~two months), AMD is really going to have to innovate to push out a product in the near-future that’s going to make Intel even bat an eye. While it’s far too early to write 45nm AMD off, as long as they are priced competitively, they may very-well compete nicely with Intel’s current offerings. One of the biggest caveats with AMD processors right now is power efficiency, and with the die shrink, that should improve. January is going to be an interesting month.

Getting back to next-gen Phenoms, the roadmap lists two chips due for January: one clocked at 2.8GHz and another pegged at 3GHz, both with 125W thermal envelopes just like the existing Phenom X4 9850. Unless Intel’s plans fall through, the new Phenoms may face similarly clocked Core i7 processors with more threads per core. AMD may well aim for lower prices, though.