Global Tech News – AMD to Drop “Athlon” Moniker on the High End

Over the next two weeks AMD will slowly begin to introduce its new brand name for high end desktop CPUs.  The brand, Phenom, will succeed Athlon on all K10 offerings.  Dual-core Agena processors will be labeled as Phenom X2; quad-core Agena as Phenom X4.  The halo products, Agena FX and its family, will receive the brand name Phenom FX.

Phenom is pronounced as an abbreviated version of the word “phenomenal.” AMD’s  guidance states that the company will promote its Phenom X4 and X2 processors under the premise that Phenom allows its users to “experience the Phenomenal.”

The company will still retain its Athlon and Sempron brand names — Athlon on its mid-range products and Sempron on up the low-end.

Brand image is not the only nomenclature changing with AMD’s next-generation processors. This summer, the company will start to phase out its descriptive SKU system for something a little more esoteric.  “Athlon 64 X2 4000+ 45W 1MB L2 Brisbane,” for example, will be renamed the “AMD BE-2400.”

AMD representatives would not reveal the naming strategy for its Agena, Kuma and Rana processors, though they were able to confirm the K10 family would get names similar to the rollout ocurring on the low-power 65nm processors.