Read on to find out the details about AMD's push to a smaller fabrication process, an all-new Socket AM3 and the alluring potential of eight- and sixteen-core processors.

The push to 65nm

One of the chief advantages Intel wields over AMD is the ability to deploy new technology at a more rapid pace. This was made clear in the early part of 2006, when Intel pushed out a 65nm series of processors many months ahead of AMD.

In December, AMD finally caught up with the release of four new 65nm dual-core processors in its X2 line: the Athlon 64 X2 5000+, 4800+, 4400+ and 4000+. These processors operate at clock speeds of 2.6 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 2.3 GHz and 2.1 GHz respectively. Each has 1MB of shared L2 cache and support for AMD's virtualization and 64-bit technologies.

In the second quarter of 2007, AMD will release two more 65nm processors at the high end of this product series. The X2 5200+ will run at 2.7 GHz, while the 5400+ will operate at 2.8 GHz. Like the rest of the processors in this lineup, the 5400+ and 5200+ will support virtualization and 64-bit technology.