"AMD's tri-core Phenom X3 processor aims to fill the void between dual-core and quad-core. Does it succeed?"

"Overclocking the AMD Phenom X3 8750 was a task. I tried everything I could to push this processor, but it just would not budge. I dropped the HT multiplier to 7x and increased the voltage to 1.4v and still could not get the HT bus to go beyond 215MHz, no matter what. Anything beyond 215MHz would cause the board to lock up and blue screen seconds after booting into Windows. As everyone knows, AMD processors are not good overclockers and since the Phenom X3 has a locked maximum multiplier of 12x, there is was hope to push it much further."

"When AMD first announced plans to introduce triple-core processors back in September of last year, reaction to the news was mixed. Some felt that AMD was simply planning to pass off partially functional Phenom X4 processors as triple-core products, making lemonade from lemons if you will. Others thought it was a good way for AMD to increase bottom line profits, getting more usable die from a single silicon wafer and mitigating yield loss. We were somewhat perplexed by the first reaction. This is an age-old strategy in the semiconductor space and after all, the graphics guys have been selling GPUs with non-functional units for years. AMD was simply borrowing a play from ATI's playbook."

"While the X4 is the more costly option (though in today’s world the cost of a $250 processor isn’t really that expensive), AMD is going to start shipping a cheaper option based on the same K10 architecture, and yes it keeps the Phenom branding, it’s a direct descendant of the X4, but with a few modifications.

On the chopping block today we have the new kid on the block designed to take over where the Athlon 64 X2’s price range is set. Help us welcome to the Phenom family the triple core X3. How well does it perform? Stick around while we find out!"

"AMD's triple-core processors are finally available to the public and are based on the B3-stepping that no longer has the dreaded TLB and performance issues. Can these sub-$200 processors convince you that three cores are better than two? When is getting that fourth core more valuable? And will the X3 8750 be the new overclocking darling for the enthusiast?"

"Good things often come in powers of two, especially in computers. Two, four, eight, or sixteen copies of a common resource--rendering pipelines, megabytes of memory, processors, what have you--are instantly recognizable quantities that will most assuredly lead to additional goodness.

But three? Not so much.

Oh, sure, you have the odd exceptions, like a three-disk RAID 5 array or three-way SLI, but these are exceptions, and they are quite literally odd. Even less common is the case of three CPUs. I've been racking my brains for a few days trying to come up with past examples of three-way multiprocessor configurations in PC history, and I've been coming up blank. Now that I've said that, some old-timer will post in the comments about the Univac EP-3333, to which he fed punch cards back in the day. Bully for you, Methuselah, but my point remains: triple-processor configurations are exceptionally rare in the PC world.

They are, however, about to get a whole heckuva lot more common thanks to AMD's new triple-core Phenom X3 processors. These are essentially just quad-core chips with one core disabled, sacrificed for the cause of product segmentation. Can't you just hear millions of tiny transistors screaming out in pain and then going silent? The core-botomy has happy side-effects, though, not least of which is extending the Phenom lineup to under 150 bucks.

The advent of these triple-core specimens raises some intriguing questions. Can AMD gain ground on Intel's very potent dual-core CPUs by disabling a core and slashing its prices? Will the Phenom's relatively low per-core performance be offset by the presence of a third core? What's the right tradeoff here? We've taken these questions as an excuse to run way too many benchmarks on the new Phenom X3 chips. Then we made up some answers. Keep reading to see what we found. "

"From a strict performance point of view the AMD Phenom X3 8750 CPU is not going to win any awards in most cases. From a platform point of view, AMD is announcing their new "Cartwheel" platform centered on Phenom CPUs and the 780G graphics platform which has the great HD3200 class graphics."

"With the incremental increase in multi-core computing AMD last year surprised pretty much anybody in the world when information leaked regarding a roadmap showing CPUs with not 1,2 or 4 cores on them .. no three cores. That's right, a triple core processor based on the Phenom architecture.

So then, recently AMD released their Phenom X4 50-series processors, with an all new fixed B3 core, with which they can now leave the past behind them and move forward with processors that can actually start competing with the competition. Today we'll look at a B3 based Phenom X3 xx50-series processor, the Phenom X3 8750."