AMD has dropped its enthusiast-class dual-socket technology direction, for what is unclear at this time.

Via Tech Report: “When AMD introduced its Quad FX dual-socket enthusiast platform one year ago, the entire proposition was a tough sell, because Intel had a single-socket quad-core solution that combined superior performance with lower power consumption than AMD’s offering. The folks at AMD, however, played a couple of cards to sweeten the deal. The first of those was an unequivocal statement of resolve: the dual-socket enthusiast platform, they told us, was a long-term technology direction for AMD. They drew a distinct contrast to Intel’s “V8″ assemblage of vanilla workstation-class parts. Quad FX would be the beginning of a line of dual-socket products truly aimed at PC enthusiasts, with the sort of tweakable, gaming-ready hardware enthusiasts prefer.

To drive home that point, AMD played a second card: Quad FX systems would be easily upgradeable to dual quad-core processors once AMD’s next-generation CPUs became available. Users who purchased a Quad FX system now could count on an upgrade path to an eight-way system. The short answer is that while there are still engineering resources focused on future platform offerings that build off Quad FX, the current energy and effort has gone into programs and product initiatives like “Spider” and AMD has discontinued future planning and development of its eight-core enthusiast platform at this time.“

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It seemed like there was way more bark that bite when it came to the Quad FX program. With Intel debuting the newest Core 2 Quad generation with its highest end processor, it makes sense for AMD to leave behind this monstrous system and opt for cheaper and more traditional platforms. Their triple punch Spider initiative along with their bread and butter consumer - the budget-conscious kind - are what’s most important for AMD right now.

Source @ The Tech Report

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