A report from Xbit labs says that AMD could release at least five six-core chips in 2010, and will entertain the possibility of a sixth if sales go well.
Xbit labs’ Anton Shilov alleges that the impending family of Thuban chips will include the Phenom II X6 1035T; two models of the Phenom II X6 1055T, with 95W and 125W TDPs, respectively; the Phenom II X6 1075T and a fifth unnamed 10xxT model in 3Q10. Shilov also speaks of the Phenom II X4 960T, a quad core Zosma part that has been pared back from a hexa core chip via two factory-disabled cores. Finally, Xbit alleges, AMD may produce a sixth unnamed six-core model if the new series sells well.
| Model | Codename | Cores | Cache | TDP | Socket | Availability |
| Phenom II X6 1075T | Thuban | 6 | 6MB L3/3MB L2 | 125W | AM3 | 2Q 2010 |
| Phenom II X6 1055T | Thuban | 6 | 6MB L3/3MB L2 | 125W | AM3 | 2Q 2010 |
| Phenom II X6 1055T | Thuban | 6 | 6MB L3/3MB L2 | 95W | AM3 | 2Q 2010 |
| Phenom II X6 1035T | Thuban | 6 | 6MB L3/3MB L2 | 95W | AM3 | 2Q 2010 |
| Phenom II X4 960T | Zosma | 4 | 6MB L3/2MB L2 | 95W | AM3 | 2Q 2010 |
| Phenom II X6 10xxT | Thuban | 6 | 6MB L3/3MB L2 | ? | AM3 | 3Q 2010 |
Said to be launching with a technology known for now as “C-state performance boost,” Phenom II X6s are alleged to be capable of dynamically adjusting core frequencies up to the maximum limit of the chip’s TDP. Those familiar with Intel Turbo Boost will no doubt see the similarities.
Reports suggest that the dynamic clocking functionality comes in response to the dearth of software that’s aware of two cores, much less the six offered by AMD’s Thuban architecture. By disabling idle engines and overclocking the remaining cores, the X6 can more quickly process single-threaded workloads.
For more information on Thuban and the hardware ecosystem being designed for it, please consider Icrontic’s brief and informative platform analysis.
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