AMD Phenom II X4 965 is CPU that does not operate at its limits as it was the case few years ago with 3200MHz X2 6400+ model. AMD Phenom II X4 965 has very nice overclock margin and potentials which resulted in very good price/performance ratio compared to Intel models. Compatibility with DDR2 and DDR3 memory standards combined with acceptable thermal dissipation are also welcomed features. Also, AMD Phenom II X4 965 is very good choice for gamers since it can support very powerful graphics cards.

AMD’s chip is codenamed Thuban and will feature all six cores on single 45nm die. Thuban will feature an integrated DDR3 controller. The company didn’t confirm branding but the chip is expected to be labeled as the Phenom II X6. The chip is derivative of the six-core Opteron chip which made its earlier this summer.

Two Istanbul CPUs would have a lot of heat issues and therefore AMD is using lower power Lisbon cores to make Magny Cours 12-core non native core work. Magny Cours is a server CPU and we don’t expect desktop version of 12 core CPU anytime soon.

The server CPU is expected in Q2 of 2010.

We also learned that Bulldozer at start comes as an eight core CPU, but we would not exclude the possibility of other core iterations. Intel plans to have Sandy Bridge, its new 32nm architecture in 2011 and plans a refresh in 22nm called Ivy Bridge.

It might not be something you're likely see in your desktop anytime soon, but the performance is pure pornography. The CPU was pushed to 3.3GHz, but it wasn't stable in all tests. Believe it or not, the OC was done using an Opteron stock cooler.