WITH THE IMMINENT launch of Core 2 QC6700 (codename: Kentsfield), AMD will respond by introducing the QuadFather platform, marketing dubbed the 4x4. The platform consists of Opteron workstation motherboards using Socket 1207 and equipped with two PCIe x16 slots for graphics cards and retail packaged CPUs.
We have learned that not many motherboard vendors will support the platform, so it is up to the highest-end manufacturers such as Tyan, SuperMicro, or Iwill to offer 4x4 motherboards. This will hardly differ from current 1207-pin-socketed Opteron motherboards. At the same time, it seems that AMD will finally remove the need for Registered ECC memory for Athlons, but another source is countering this info with the claim that FX-70 series will be nothing more but the Opterons and that the processors will require usage of Registered DIMM memory.
The retail boxes are coming in a bit larger size than current packaging and feature an open look at two CPUs, but for the first time, AMD will be launching not one, but three FX CPU packages. All of the CPUs will feature 256KB of L1 and 2MB of L2 cache memory (each core has 64+64KB L1 and 1MB L2 cache), and be placed in three speed grades.
FX-70 CPUs will be clocked at 2.6 GHz, with the price of $999 for a dual-processor retail box.
FX-72 will be clocked at 2.8 GHz, and with the price of $1132, it presents an interesting choice, since it outclocks Kentsfield.
FX-74 is clocked at 3.0 GHz and finally breaks the 3 GHz clock barrier for desktop and dual-core CPUs in general. However, the price is currently planned at sky-high $1500, so who ever spends that amount of money in the year of K8L (Barcelona) arrival, it should better have another $1,500 in the bank - for quad-core Barcelona babies, of course.
