AMD has plans to kill off its Phenom II and Athlon II processors by the end of the first quarter of 2012. However, the Sempron based CPUs will last a lot longer according to reports across the web. The reason behind AMD’s decision is quite simple: for the cost of a single Sempron CPU it makes more sense to purchase a new one rather than buy a whole new system, whereas for the cost of a Phenom II or Athlon II CPU it makes more sense to upgrade to an FM1 or AM3+ platform. Therefore by offering Sempron CPUs up until mid-late 2012 budget PC owners can replace any faulty units for a small cost. The units that will remain in circulation will be the:
- Sempron 140 till Q2 2012 (1 core at 2.7GHz)
- Sempron 145 till Q2 2012 (1 core at 2.8GHz)
- Sempron 150 till Q3 2012 (1 core at 2.9GHz)
Although this isn’t really a breakthrough for AMD in any way it will still mean if AMD cannot win on performance it can still win on sheer value for money in that lowest end segment of the market. With regards to Phenom II and Athlon II CPUs they will stop shipping by the time 2011 is over but you will still be able to buy them well into 2012 as long as retailers have stock left over.
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