AMD Dragon is a platform engineered for gamer

Gamer

Historically, the term "gamer" usually referred to someone who played role-playing games and wargames. Since they became very popular, the term has included players of video games...

s, designed for use with the AMD

Advanced Micro Devices

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...

 Phenom II

Phenom II

Phenom II is a family of AMD's multi-core 45 nm processors using the AMD K10 microarchitecture, succeeding the original Phenom. Advanced Micro Devices released the Socket AM2+ version of Phenom II in December 2008, while Socket AM3 versions with DDR3 support, along with an initial batch of...

 X4 processor

Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...

 family. The goal for the platform is to offer the user a powerful gaming system.

Having a level 3 cache memory of 6 megabytes and support for the latest DDR3 memories, AMD claims the Dragon platform will allow for up to 20 percent faster performance than previous platforms.

The first versions are available for mainboards offering a AM2+ socket, supporting DDR2

DDR2 SDRAM

DDR2 SDRAM is a double data rate synchronous dynamic random-access memory interface. It supersedes the original DDR SDRAM specification and has itself been superseded by DDR3 SDRAM...

 memories, but the AM3 socket using DDR3 memory will be the primary socket type for the Dragon platform.

A system conforming to the platform specification is said to be a combination of a Phenom II X4 processor and a mainboard using a chipset from the AMD 700 chipset series

AMD 700 chipset series

The AMD 700 chipset series is a set of chipsets designed by ATI for AMD Phenom processors to be sold under the AMD brand...

, along with a graphics card of the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series. Pre-built systems using the platform are offered by Dell

Dell

Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...

, HP and Alienware

Alienware

Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidary of Dell, Inc. It mainly assembles third party components into desktops and laptops with custom enclosures for high-performance gaming. These products also support graphically intense applications such as video editing, simulation, and audio editing...

among others.

The HD 4800 series of graphics cards are now outdated, but the Phenom II x4 processors are still competitive and with their support for DDR3 allow for capable gaming platforms (when used in conjunction with a newer graphics card from the HD 6900 series or incoming 7800 series).

External links

• AMD Dragon - New Platform for Gamers (Swedish)
• AMD Dragon website (English)