The launch of Phenom was a Spartan affair that gave us two models in the shape of the 2.3GHz 9500 and the 2.4GHz 9600. Both models of Phenom are quad-core, as the selling point of Phenom is that it is the first native quad-core processor. Intel's Core 2 Quad packs a pair of dual-core dies into a single processor, which doesn't seem to hold it back, but let's not spoil AMD's story.

With the announcement of the triple-core Phenom X3 8000, AMD has changed its numbering system so the triple-cores are Phenom X3 8000 and the quad-cores become Phenom X4 9000.

AMD has also updated the Phenom with a B3 stepping that is supposed to quash the TLB errata. Original Phenoms have a model code that ends in 00 while the B3 Phenoms have a 50 suffix.

The revised 2.2GHz Phenom X4 9550 is on sale at £130, the new 2.4GHz X4 9750 is £145 and the unlocked 2.5GHz Black Edition X4 9850 is priced at £160.

All models of Phenom X4 have a TDP of 95W and use a HyperTransport speed of 3.6GHz. The X4 9850 is the exception as it runs on a HyperTransport bus of 4.0GHz and has a TDP of 125W.