AMD thinks clock speed will sell again

Antique_Clock_FaceThis week AMD has released a 5 GHz processor into the market which puts clock speed back on the marketing ticket.

The AMD FX-9590 is based around an 8-core CPU and is being pitched as providing shedloads of gaming and multimedia performance for desktop enthusiasts.

AMD FX-9000 Series CPUs will not be sold over the counter but will go to the outfits’ system integrator partners.

Bernd Lienhard, corporate vice president and general manager, Client Products Division at AMD started the performance spin saying that the FX 5 GHz processor is an “emphatic performance statement to the most demanding gamers seeking ultra-high resolution experiences including AMD Eyefinity technology”.

AMD reminded us that it was was the first to break the 1GHz barrier in May of 2000 and suddenly we were propelled into the 1990s where AMD and Intel were telling us all that sort of stuff, all the time.

These days it is all about how much battery life and less concern about how many clock cycles you could wring out of the thing before it caught fire.

AMD system integrator Wallace Santos, CEO of MAINGEAR said that AMD was pushing the envelope when it comes to desktop capabilities and power performance.

The new 5 GHz FX-9590 and 4.7 GHz FX-9370 is based around the “Piledriver” architecture. They are unlocked for easy overclocking which means that they could be pushed much harder.

The processors feature AMD Turbo Core 3.0 technology to dynamically optimise performance across CPU cores and enable maximum computing for the most intensive workloads.

The chips will start appearing in systems this summer. Two models will be available the FX-9590 at 5 GHz Max Turbo and the X-9370 at 4.7 GHz Max Turbo.

There’s no word on how much these chips will cost but they will almost certainly only be seen in high end gaming machines.