AMD Austin Tech Day - Information from the inside

moloko vellocet · 21st November 2008, 8:45 AM

Hey peeps!

I quite literally just got back to the hotel from AMD's Austin campus after a day with some rather interesting information being disclosed and freely discussed.

Unfortunately, the level of free discussion outside of the room is heavily covered by NDA so I'm unable to announce specific details. But this is what I can say...

The new platform from AMD will be called 'Dragon' and will be focused around the new 'Phenom II' processors, 4800-series Radeon graphics cards and 7-series chipset based motherboards.

Here are some general performance observations that I can disclose:

Phenom II and the Dragon platform can overclock to 4GHz on air - we were demonstrated a system @ 3.9GHz using stock bus frequency and HT link frequency and a multiplier set at 19.5x. This was done with 1.55v BIOS set. This system was looping endlessly through a Crysis time demo without issue; by the end of the day it was past 100 loops.

The platform core specifications demonstrated were as follows:

Phenom II processor
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H motherboard
Radeon HD4870X2 graphics
OCZ Reaper memory

While the unit demonstrated was @ 3.9GHz, we later had a hands on benching period with the new platform and I was able to quite easily reach this stated 4GHz frequency.

This same platform also exceeded 5GHz on liquid nitrogen cooling. But what was perhaps the coolest (no pun intended) specific of this demonstration was the processor operating and even cold booting at -196 degrees Celsius - that's right, AMD has no cold bugs of any kind, at all for Phenom II!

During this LN2 session the system was demonstrated operating in excess of 5GHz and running 1.95v BIOS set (1.936v CPU-Z read in Windows) and as stated, at the maximum lowest temps available with liquid nitrogen - time to find a liquid helium supplier peeps!

I'm gagged by the NDA on any further information and specifications such as model numbers, product features + specs, stock clock frequencies or even specific overclocked frequencies (i.e. LN2 max) as well as pricing, competitive performance or bench scores. So please, don't even bother asking me these questions as I cannot and will not answer these questions - at least until the NDA drops.

What I wanted to do with this post is at least let you all know that there is hope still for AMD and that while I've harped on about the LN2 experience, the overclocking ability is solid for LN2, phase, water and air cooling methods.

Cheers guys

Frontl1ne · 21st November 2008, 8:52 AM

1.55v for 3.9GHz, is that safe for a 45nm chip? :S

moloko, any chance of disclosing how much voltage it took for you to reach 4GHz?

Cheers for the news

prezident doom · 21st November 2008, 9:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moloko vellocet

So please, don't even bother asking me these questions as I cannot and will not answer these questions - at least until the NDA drops.

So i guess the question is... when does the NDA drop

Nice info btw

mAJORD · 21st November 2008, 9:48 AM

no coldbug... if that's true - AWESOME

AEKaBeer · 21st November 2008, 9:50 AM

Confirmed 4GHz on air is what's doing it for me. I'll be content with a 3.6ghz clock, 1GHz faster than my current opty (which is still handling itself well I might add) and twice the cores = Mmmm!

AEKaBeer · 21st November 2008, 10:39 AM

Is this what the NDA is not letting you put out? 6GHz! Holy Shit

Anthw27 · 21st November 2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moloko vellocet

Hey peeps!

What I wanted to do with this post is at least let you all know that there is hope still for AMD and that while I've harped on about the LN2 experience, the overclocking ability is solid for LN2, phase, water and air cooling methods.

Cheers guys

Theres always been hope. I consider myself a AMD fanboy, and while Intel impresses me, I prefer AMD for stability. I can honestly say that AMD processors and chipsets have been more stable for me than anything Intel that I have owned to date.

AMD aint done and dusted like a lot of others believe, yes i7 is an amazing thing , but wait untill AMD get to 32nm they will have some suprises for intel.

either way there is room in the marlket for both producers and I personally think thast AMD is the more innovative and will prove that they have the most power efficent product in the near future.

pantner · 21st November 2008, 12:27 PM

so, any performance numbers at these speeds??? or is that what is under the NDA???

kingborel · 21st November 2008, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pantner

so, any performance numbers at these speeds??? or is that what is under the NDA???

Quote:

Originally Posted by moloko vellocet

Hey peeps!
I'm gagged by the NDA on any further information and specifications such as model numbers, product features + specs, stock clock frequencies or even specific overclocked frequencies (i.e. LN2 max) as well as pricing, competitive performance or bench scores. So please, don't even bother asking me these questions as I cannot and will not answer these questions - at least until the NDA drops.

(10char)

sandeep · 21st November 2008, 12:33 PM

I can tell you at they won't be fully stable at 3.9Ghz or 4Ghz. They might be stable at 3.8Ghz.

I think AMD is back in action since the release of 9850 BE.

pantner · 21st November 2008, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingborel

(10char)

lol...reading = FAIL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeep

I can tell you at they won't be fully stable at 3.9Ghz or 4Ghz. They might be stable at 3.8Ghz.

and how do you know? have you used them?

dinos22 · 21st November 2008, 1:17 PM

shame that we dont have any cheerleader smilies cause they are sooo appropriate right now

go AMD

Frontl1ne · 21st November 2008, 1:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeep

I can tell you at they won't be fully stable at 3.9Ghz or 4Ghz. They might be stable at 3.8Ghz.

They looped Crysis throughout the whole day continuously on all OC'd Deneb systems according to Legit Reviews. Sure it might not be Prime95 "stable" but at least it can run big games like Crysis without stability issues. I'm sure with a bit of tinkering and tweaking, OCers would be able to get it stable.

doghouse · 21st November 2008, 2:54 PM

This is brilliant news, maybe its time to flog off my Kentsfield, when does the NDA get lifted? I want Penryn but I miss AMD.

Apokalipse · 21st November 2008, 6:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moloko vellocet

I'm gagged by the NDA on any further information and specifications such as model numbers, product features + specs, stock clock frequencies or even specific overclocked frequencies (i.e. LN2 max)

Quote:

Originally Posted by moloko vellocet

During this LN2 session the system was demonstrated operating in excess of 5GHz

If that's not the max, something tells me this could be a record breaking chip.

21st November 2008, 8:45 AM	#1
moloko vellocet Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Central Coast [2250] Posts: 471	AMD Austin Tech Day - Information from the inside Hey peeps! I quite literally just got back to the hotel from AMD's Austin campus after a day with some rather interesting information being disclosed and freely discussed. Unfortunately, the level of free discussion outside of the room is heavily covered by NDA so I'm unable to announce specific details. But this is what I can say... The new platform from AMD will be called 'Dragon' and will be focused around the new 'Phenom II' processors, 4800-series Radeon graphics cards and 7-series chipset based motherboards. Here are some general performance observations that I can disclose: Phenom II and the Dragon platform can overclock to 4GHz on air - we were demonstrated a system @ 3.9GHz using stock bus frequency and HT link frequency and a multiplier set at 19.5x. This was done with 1.55v BIOS set. This system was looping endlessly through a Crysis time demo without issue; by the end of the day it was past 100 loops. The platform core specifications demonstrated were as follows: Phenom II processor GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H motherboard Radeon HD4870X2 graphics OCZ Reaper memory While the unit demonstrated was @ 3.9GHz, we later had a hands on benching period with the new platform and I was able to quite easily reach this stated 4GHz frequency. This same platform also exceeded 5GHz on liquid nitrogen cooling. But what was perhaps the coolest (no pun intended) specific of this demonstration was the processor operating and even cold booting at -196 degrees Celsius - that's right, AMD has no cold bugs of any kind, at all for Phenom II! During this LN2 session the system was demonstrated operating in excess of 5GHz and running 1.95v BIOS set (1.936v CPU-Z read in Windows) and as stated, at the maximum lowest temps available with liquid nitrogen - time to find a liquid helium supplier peeps! I'm gagged by the NDA on any further information and specifications such as model numbers, product features + specs, stock clock frequencies or even specific overclocked frequencies (i.e. LN2 max) as well as pricing, competitive performance or bench scores. So please, don't even bother asking me these questions as I cannot and will not answer these questions - at least until the NDA drops. What I wanted to do with this post is at least let you all know that there is hope still for AMD and that while I've harped on about the LN2 experience, the overclocking ability is solid for LN2, phase, water and air cooling methods. Cheers guys __________________ :: Team.AU :: Aussie Extreme Overclocking :: The Overclocker :: The World's First Free Overclocking Magazine

21st November 2008, 8:52 AM	#2
Frontl1ne Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Perth Posts: 1,012	1.55v for 3.9GHz, is that safe for a 45nm chip? :S moloko, any chance of disclosing how much voltage it took for you to reach 4GHz? Cheers for the news __________________ GB Aurora 3D 570 \| GB P35C-DS3R \| Intel E8400 @ 3.6GHz \| Noctua NH-U12P \| Asus HD4870X2 @ 815MHz/900Mhz \| AC Accelero Xtreme Kingston HyperX DDR2 800MHz 4GB \| 500GB WD Caviar Black \| Zalman ZM850-HP 850W \| Windows 7 Build 1000 Samsung 2433BW \| Logitech Z-2300 \| Logitech G15 v2 \| Logitech MX-518

21st November 2008, 9:50 AM	#5
AEKaBeer Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: North Melbourne Posts: 2,061	Confirmed 4GHz on air is what's doing it for me. I'll be content with a 3.6ghz clock, 1GHz faster than my current opty (which is still handling itself well I might add) and twice the cores = Mmmm! __________________ Phenom II X3 720BE @3.4GHZ, 4Gb G.Skill 1066 Pi, GB GA-MA780G-UD3H, AC Freezer Xtreme, ECS 8800GT, Accelero S1, DELL U2410, Antec Titan650, WD 640GB Caviar Black, Seagate1.5TB, Samsung500GB, X-FI Fatal1ty Champion, LG 20x.

21st November 2008, 10:39 AM	#6
AEKaBeer Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: North Melbourne Posts: 2,061	Is this what the NDA is not letting you put out? 6GHz! Holy Shit __________________ Phenom II X3 720BE @3.4GHZ, 4Gb G.Skill 1066 Pi, GB GA-MA780G-UD3H, AC Freezer Xtreme, ECS 8800GT, Accelero S1, DELL U2410, Antec Titan650, WD 640GB Caviar Black, Seagate1.5TB, Samsung500GB, X-FI Fatal1ty Champion, LG 20x.

21st November 2008, 12:33 PM	#10
sandeep Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3,955	I can tell you at they won't be fully stable at 3.9Ghz or 4Ghz. They might be stable at 3.8Ghz. I think AMD is back in action since the release of 9850 BE. __________________ {AMD Phenom II QUAD 965 BE @3.9Ghz}{Asus M3A79-T-Deluxe}{Ballistix Tracer PC6400 42 Gig@1066}{HIS 5870 1Gig*}{Silverstone OP1000W}{HP w2408h}

21st November 2008, 9:48 AM	#4
mAJORD Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: North Lakes , Brisbane Posts: 4,659	no coldbug... if that's true - AWESOME

21st November 2008, 12:27 PM	#8
pantner Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Perth, WA Posts: 1,103	so, any performance numbers at these speeds??? or is that what is under the NDA???

21st November 2008, 1:17 PM	#12
dinos22 Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 9,794	shame that we dont have any cheerleader smilies cause they are sooo appropriate right now go AMD __________________ dinos22 - Team.AU OCAU Fishing Club Member

21st November 2008, 2:54 PM	#14
doghouse Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,725	This is brilliant news, maybe its time to flog off my Kentsfield, when does the NDA get lifted? I want Penryn but I miss AMD. __________________ Getting Married ? www.rococoink.com.au