I'm not sure how this would make sense at all (and we have been hearing this same thing for a long time, so it's not like a new rumour), according to The Inquirer, AMD will release two versions of the Athlon 64 CPU this September, that is, a 754 pin model and a 940 pin model as well.

You might remember in the early Athlon and Pentium III days, Slot and Socket processor lines were released in parallel. Back then, it made sense to keep compatibility with an older platform that was to be phased out and a new platform that could gain popularity and become the standard eventually.

We are not talking of the same case here, as Athlon 64s will launch with a new platform for itself, and Opteron boards do not match the same core audience... for me, this translates into troublesome upgrades in the long-run, whichever is the socket that stays.

Update: TS reader, Scott Reams, sent an email shortly after I posted this story, mixing some of his views with the rumours regarding an Athlon 64-based 'Duron'.

According to those rumours, the lower pin-count A64 would constitute a lower-end, budget single-channel model, while 940 pin Athlon64s will be dual-channel which give us a good hint on how close and related A64s are to Opterons.

Mail sent by TS reader, Scott Reams:

Here’s my guess…

It’s been said that the 940pin Athlon64s will be dual-channel… and the 754pin Athlon64s will be single-channel.

Obviously… it is less expensive to manufacture a CPU with almost 200 fewer pins. This allows the low end to be reached as well.

I have a feeling that the 745pin Athlon64s will drop right into 940pin sockets.

So… if you get a socket940 board from the get-go, there will be no problems with upgrading in the future. Socket754 boards will be aimed at the low end… where upgrading isn’t all that common anyway.