AMD today announced the introduction of five new CPUs consisting of Athlon II and Phenom II parts designed for economical or power-conscious systems.
| Processor | Cores | Frequency | L1 | L2 | L3 | TDP | Max Temp | MSRP |
| Phenom II X4 910e | 4 | 2.6GHz | 128K/core | 512K/core | 6MB (Shared) | 65W | 71°C | $169 |
| Phenom II X2 555 | 2 | 3.2GHz | 128K/core | 512K/core | 6MB (Shared) | 80W | 70°C | $99 |
| Athlon II X4 635 | 4 | 2.9GHz | 128K/core | 512K/core | N/A | 95W | 71°C | $119 |
| Athlon II X3 440 | 3 | 3.0GHz | 128K/core | 512K/core | N/A | 95W | 73°C | $84 |
| Athlon II X2 255 | 2 | 3.1GHz | 128K/core | 1MB/core | N/A | 65W | 74°C | $74 |
While the above processors don’t break any new ground, they do serve to further enhance the price/performance of several attractive price points in AMD’s spectrum of products. For example, the introduction of the $119 Athlon II X4 635 has pushed the price of the Athlon II X4 630 down to $99, or the price once held by the Athlon II X4 620, a chip we found to be excellent for HTPCs. A few hundred extra megahertz for the same sub-$100 price point is a pretty fine deal, particularly when Intel’s cheapest quad is a shade north of $150.
In terms of special perks, the new 910e is a low-TDP model with a maximum thermal envelope of just 65W. Though at $169 it demands a rather princely premium–$169 is good for about 3.0GHz with regular Phenom IIs–it might be the ideal part for people looking to build a small and efficient PC. Meanwhile, the Phenom II X2 555 BE is built on the company’s C3 stepping, which adds superior power management and improved DDR3-1333 support.
All processors are available in retail immediately, and should start hitting online vendors in the coming days.
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