AMD Spider components

[Notnice]

SPIDER: AMD
unveils its plans to take on Intel and Nvidia
By Matt “The D.O.G.” Mefford


This past week, select members of the gaming press were invited to a private AMD benchmark event. Behind closed doors, FileFront got to see what AMD has in store for the Holiday season. By now, you have no doubt read about the new CPUs and GPUs on the way, but what does it mean to us gamers? Read on!



AMD’s New Strategy
To sum up AMD’s new business strategy in one word: Spider. With the acquisition of ATI, AMD is in the business of CPUs, motherboards, and now GPUs. Spider is comprised of three core components: The AMD Phenom 65nm CPU, the ATI Radeon HD 55nm GPU, and the AMD 790 Chipset.



The AMD 790 Chipset
The heart of AMD’s Spider technology, the 790 chipset is the basis for their new motherboards. What it brings to the table is CrossFireX, which gives us the option to stack up to FOUR GPUs in our system. With support for DDR2 RAM, these boards help the user save some money (you won’t have to buy the more expensive DDR3 memory sticks). Also helping the user save on cost, the 790 chipset includes “Bernstein” 8 channel audio processing and output. With this capability on board, the user doesn’t have to buy a dedicated sound card. For the readers who are gaming enthusiasts, the included AMD Overdrive utility allows you to overclock the 790 chipset to your liking.



AMD’S “PHENOM”
The second component of the AMD’s Spider strategy is the new “Phenom” CPU. Utilizing a new 65nm die process, each CPU has a reduced heat envelope and is more energy efficient. This means that your rig will produce less heat, and require much less juice from your power supply. What does the “Phenom” processor mean to you? Simply put, it is AMD’s first desktop quad core solution. As of now, two models are available: the 2.2-GHz 9500 and 2.3-GHz 9600. A 2.4-Ghz (X4 9700) and a 2.6-Ghz (X4 9900) Phenom will be available in the first quarter of 2008.



ATI’S RADEON HD
The last component in AMD’s Spider strategy is the ATI Radeon HD GPU. Coming in two flavors, the HD 3850 and 3870, this new offering has a 55nm process. Just like the Phenom CPU, the reduced die process allows for less heat build-up and lower power consumption. The 3850 has 256MB of GDDR3 memory while the 3870 has 512MB of the new GDDR4 memory. For the enthusiast, the CrossFireX capabilities of the motherboard allow you to put up to 4 Radeon HDs into your PC.

PRICING
So how much can we expect to pay for these AMD Spider components? According to Newegg.com this is what to expect:

      MOBO/CHIPSET:
          o GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX:..............$169.99
          o MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 790FX ATX:..............................................$179.99

      CPU:
          o AMD Phenom 9500 @ 2.2 GHz:.........................................................$259.99
          o AMD Phenom 9600 @ 2.3 GHz:.................................................................Not available – 1KU pricing is $283

      GPU:
          o Radeon HD 3850:.................................................................................$179.00
          o Radeon HD 3870:.........................................................................................$219.00



Got this for this site: http://battlefield2.filefront.com/news/SPIDER_AMD_The_Battle_is_on;36233


All i could say is nice video cards 4 card wow?

[Arcmanov]

Very impressive post here, but all this is moot if this Spyder (not 'Spider') platform cannot best
the 780i-Penryn-SLI platform.

[W1nTry]

Arc I have to say that's a very narrow viewed post there, its a FACT that the spyder platform CANNOT outperform the Penryn, this has already been established, what you have to consider is that this chipset is heads and shoulders above what intel has in terms of power (digital PWM) and sheer ease of OCing (the damn thing OCs in windows stable and no hassle, with more options than intel could stuff on anything with Maximum or Extreme on it) that being said the HD series cards are also better FOWARD looking cards as they are lower in power consumption and have DX10.1 support (some may think that is of no consequence, that's not compeltely true) also consider that SLI si still QUITE broken vs Crossfire X which works (oh btw in case noone noticed the Asus X38/48 Maximum Extreme Mobo SUPPORTS QUAD CROSSFIRE, just thought i'd point that out).

This 'Platform' is offering a VERY good BANG for BUCK and will be a very good platform for those that don't want to change they ENTIRE rig as fast as you change parts and underwear arc. Whereas in MOST cases, anythng Intel makes is somewhat incompatible with the newest latest greatest. Then there is of course the fact that Intel has already started to show signs of going back into consumer UNfriendly mode with Processors @ over 1400USD!!!

Spyder is a VERY excellent platform for those looking to upgrade in a year. as it supports all the AMD AM2/+ cpus and will be a nice drop in for a faster clock Phenom. The BIG problem with Spyder is that the CPU is lacking atm.

[Arcmanov]

Well, since you put it that way, who am I to argue?

[Crixx_Creww]

lol arc
doh take that amd propaganda from winny!!

how the hell is a 4 card scheme a plausible solution??
 4x 219 dollars to beat the intel rig??

are you serious???
what ever "supposed" power savings yu get from phenom and 55nm gpu are completely negated by a 4 card setup!!

and of course u will need like a 900 watt psu for dis damn thing!!

probably need a 300 dollar case as well
and dx 10.1 is a flikkin small ting!!
seeing as though no one gonna be making anything for it for YEARSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS to come!!
i mean men not even on de dx 10 bandwagon yet
lol @ foward thinking


and THEN
we can start laffing @ the ishhy processor at the heart of this endeavor
lawlllll

kentsfield... the spy derrrr killah! slasha! rippa! tearah!!!

[Spazosaurus]

For once I have to say I agree with Crixxplix. They make some cards that are marginally more efficient than nvidia's but talk about a quad card setup? AMD only want we for card or wa. What about game compatibility with that setup? I wonder when they'll get around to implementing proper support for that.

On to the quads...slightly cheaper quads from AMD that can't OC worth a damn? Seriously, I cant see anyone with a recent Intel rig switching to AMD at all. We eh even start to talk about this switching sockets like draws thing yet, I wont be surprised if we hear about AM3+ just now.

[Prowl]

lets get 2 things straight here,

1 nvidia chipsets have always sucked, yes they perform really fast but are unstable and buggy. Intel chipsets have always been among the best.

2 amd's new stratagy is not to be the best, it's just to survive, for them cheap quads and vid cards work, as long as they can supply them ( another nvidia failing not enough stock )

3 intel will rule, at least until 2010

4 spyder is aimed at keeping existing amd fanboys buying amd. yes it is a worthy upgrade if you just refuse to go intel.

[Spazosaurus]

2 Things? Someone needs to get their Sesame Street on.

[Saxito Pau]

"That's one... two... three... FOUR points Prowl made!!
I love it! AH AH AH AH AH AH!!"  *thunder and lightning*

[daniboy79]

he says keep 2 things in mind... i choose no. 2 & 3 as they are the most valid, lol (so he's right; 2 points)

[Spazosaurus]

^^^ ahahahahahahahaahhh allyuh is the WORSE oui. Take chakra take LMAO.

[Arcmanov]

Oh my LAWD!!!  Dan, you not nice.

[W1nTry]

@ Crixx: If you're buying a multicard setup POWER SAVING IS NOT ON YOUR LIST OF THINGS TO DO OR CARE ABOUT so moot point

@ Prowl: I agree with points 1, 2 and partly 3, I don't agree with 4 as out of the box the AMD system is cost effective in comparison to the intel, you HAVE to go X38 for multi card and that ain't even REMOTELY cheap and the overall power of the AMD platform WILL be less.