Advanced Micro Devices still doesn't have any 45nm parts to throw our way but it will be updating its offer next month by introducing three 'new' 65nm processors. The top dog(g) of the next release wave is a Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition that got a shrink in TDP and instead of 140W, it has a 125W rating. Other than that, the quad-core has the same specs of the 140W model - 2.6 GHz clock, 2MB of L3 cache and 4000 MHz HyperTransport, and will cost $186 (price is for 1000-unit tray quantities).

Next up, AMD will offer a Black Edition Phenom X3 8730 with a 2.4 GHz clock, a 95W TDP and an unlocked multiplier for $139, the $105-priced Athlon X2 6500 Black Edition and the energy efficient Athlon X2 5050e ($90). Excitement definitely eludes us this time.