[Joe]

For

'Native' quad-core design delivers excellent scaling

Underlying Spider platform packs a lot of promise

An extremely simple quad-core upgrade for existing AM2 motherboard users

Against

Launch frequencies not high enough to compete with Intel

Execution core architecture becoming rather dated

Verdict

Combination of poor clockspeeds and conservative architecture adds up to mediocre performance

Click [url=http://www.tech.co.uk/computing/upgrades-and-peripherals/processors/review/amd-phenom-9700:165p0hp5]here[/url:165p0hp5] for full review

[Joshuashawharvey]

AMD have messed around for a year to come up with something that Intel already have. They need to be more creative. Up the L2 cache levels and dump that stupid L3 cache. Intel's amount of cache on even their Core 2 Duo's makes the AMD Phenom look a laughing stock. They need to dump that 65nm and make their processors on a 45nm process technology, and allow compatability for DDR3 on their current motherboards instead of still messing around with DDR2. Yeah their prices may soar but that doesn't stop people from buying £600 Intel processors. They are playing around with an out-dated architecture. The compatible AM2+ motherboards are nothing special also. I thought they were also meant to be focussing on power consumption. 125w! thats abysmal, especally compared to my 4 months old Q6600 G0 at 95w with exactly the same clock speeds. Their prices are disappointing also, £160 for the 9500+, a Core 2 Quad Q6600 with more cache and higher clock speeds can be bought for cheaper, although I expect their prices to decrease dramatically in the first 2 months to have any chance whatsoever to compete. In my opinion AMD have really messed up this time and it's going to take a LOT for them to get back on form and actually have something that can compete against Intel.