VR-Zone

Looks like AMD is going all out in the War of Cores, while everyone might be worried about the platform compatibility. No worries - it is backward compatible with AM3 and AM2+ boards

According to source, AMD’s chip is codenamed Thuban and will feature all six cores on single 45nm die. Also, it will feature an integrated DDR3 controller. The chip will most probably have 3MB of L2 and 6MB of L3 cache.

No specific branding or clock speed was revealed by AMD to the source, until then, you may call it a "Phenom X6". However, Thuban is derivative of the six-core Opteron chip which made its earlier this summer.

Getting excited ? Thuban is not due until sometime next year though.

Quoting source,

“We are all about platform longevity and long-lived upgrade paths,” and AMD spokesman said in a sideways ding at its competitor Intel which has a penchant for requiring new sockets for its CPUs. Intel currently has three different socket infrastructures on its desktop computers – all incompatible. The confirmation also comes one day before Intel’s three-day IDF conference which usually blots out all news from competitors for days.

Backward compatibility is definitely good news here, lets see how AMD's Thubian will contest against Intel's Gulftown.