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The Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition has been AMD's fastest quad core CPU for almost exactly one year now. Though a new C3 revision was introduced in November 2009, AMD's Phenom II X4 line-up has remained largely unchanged, as other products have been regularly refreshed. The Phenom II X4 960T - Thuban (X6) with two cores disabled - was relegated to a limited OEM product.

AMD is finally preparing to unveil a new quad core CPU - the Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition in September. It will be a minor 100 MHz speed bump over the 965 BE, clocking in at 3.5 GHz. Interestingly, rumours suggest two variants of the 970 - based on Deneb and Zosma respectively.

The commercially available variant will be based on Deneb, just like the 965 BE. However, a variant based on Zosma is planned for the OEM markets, with chances of reaching retail eventually. While a difference in clock speeds between the two 970 CPUs remains unknown, a Zosma opens up the possibility of being unlocked to a full six core Thuban CPU.

The Phenom II X4 970 BE is expected to release on September 21st for $200 - the same price as the 2.8 GHz Phenom II X6 1050T. The 970 BE will almost certainly be the last CPU based on Deneb, as AMD prepares to release Fusion Llano in Q1 2011. There's no news on an updated Phenom II X6 CPU either. Of course, Llano will continue to use an enhanced version of the K10 architecture.

Reference: Xbitlabs