According to
Chinese website HKEPC, AMD is considering the addition of a new low-end part
in its dual-core Athlon 64 X2 lineup. Dubbed Athlon 64 X2 3600+, the chip is
said to be available now as an OEM-only part for Socket 939, but an official
launch on Socket AM2 could help AMD better compete against Intel's price-slashed
Pentium D lineup. Indeed, according to previous leaked roadmaps, Intel plans to
launch a new 2.8 GHz Pentium D in July for $133. Another 3.0 GHz flavor is
expected to follow at the same $133 price point in the fourth quarter, bringing
the 2.8 GHz model's price down to just $113. The rumored Socket AM2 X2
3600+ could show up in the fourth quarter, as well. The chip's price would
likely be somewhere below $169.
Update (June 29): DailyTech has managed to get a
hold of an AMD engineering chip labeled 'Athlon 64 X2 3600+ for AM2.'
According to CPU-Z, the processor is a 2.0GHz CPU, the same as the Athlon 64
Windsor 3800+.
However, half of the L2 cache has been disabled effectively making this
AMD's first dual-core processor with a total of 512KB of L2 cache.