Last month, AMD revealed its plans to add triple-core versions of the upcoming Phenom processor to its lineup. The move is driven largely by market positioning, as the triple-core Phenom fills in some price points on AMD's roadmap. At the time of the announcement AMD declined to disclose further details, but DigiTimes' sources at motherboard makers in Taiwan have apparently leaked codenames and features of the upcoming tri-core CPUs:
"Toliman adopts a 65nm process, supports socket AM2+ motherboards, and supports HyperTransport 3.0. The CPUs will have 2MB L3 cache and will be launched by the end of March 2008."
According to the sources, second-generation tri-core Phenoms will be available in the first half of 2009, when they will be upgraded to a 45nm production process, HyperTransport 3.0-enabled Socket AM3 interconnect and the ability to use DDR 3 memory.