Phenom is the 64-bit AMD desktop processor line based on the K10
microarchitecture, in what AMD calls family 10h processors, sometimes
incorrectly called "K10h". Triple-core versions belong to the Phenom 8000
series and quad cores to the AMD Phenom X4 9000 series. The first processor in
the family was released in 2007. Background
AMD considers the quad core Phenoms to be the first "true" quad core design, as
these processors are a monolithic multi-core design, unlike Intel's Core 2
Quad series which are a multi-chip module design. The processors are on the
Socket AM2+ platform. Before Phenom's original release a flaw
was discovered in the translation lookaside buffer that could cause a
system lock-up in rare circumstances; Phenom processors up to and including
stepping "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, to overcome this
bug by software emulation of accessed- and dirty-bits. This method causes less
performance loss than previous workarounds. The program was said in
December 2007 to have received "minimal functional testing."
AMD launched several models of the Phenom processor in 2007 and 2008 and an
upgraded Phenom II in late 2008. Model naming methodology
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 whose first digit is a family indicator. Energy
Efficient products end with an “e” suffix. Some Sempron processors use the
prefix LE Cores
= Phenom X4= Agena
Four AMD K10 cores L1 cache: 64 KB + 64 KB per core
L2 cache: 512 KB per core, full-speed L3 cache: 2 MB shared among all cores
Memory controller: dual channel DDR2-1066 MHz with unganging option
MMX, Extended 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a, AMD64, Cool'n'Quiet, NX bit,
AMD-V Socket AM2+, HyperTransport with 1600 to
2000 MHz Power consumption: 65, 95, 125 and 140
Watt First release
November 19, 2007 March 27, 2008
Clock rate: 1800 to 2600 MHz Models: Phenom X4 9100e to 9950
= Phenom X3= Toliman
Three AMD K10 cores chip harvested from Agena with one core disabled
L1 cache: 64 KB data and 64 KB instruction cache per core
L2 cache: 512 KB per core, full-speed L3 cache: 2 MB shared between all cores
Memory controller: dual channel DDR2-1066 MHz with unganging option
MMX, Extended 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a, AMD64, Cool'n'Quiet, NX bit,
AMD-V Socket AM2+, HyperTransport with 1600 to
1800 MHz Power consumption: 65 and 95 Watt
First release March 27, 2008
April 23, 2008 Clock rate: 2100 to 2500 MHz
Models: Phenom X3 8250e to 8850 See also
List of AMD Phenom microprocessors List of AMD Athlon X2 microprocessors
AMD K10 References
External links AMD Phenom Processor Family