AMD is to transition all its desktop processors to Socket M2 in H2 2006, following the upcoming connectivity system's introduction next year.

Both interconnects will also support dual-channel DDR 2 SDRAM, which would mean that rumours that AMD would skip DDR 2 and go straight to DDR 3 are unfounded.

Socket M2 will be initially supported by future Opteron 1xx parts, while the two-way and four-way versions of AMD's server chip family will use Socket F. M2 will use a 940-pin port, it seems, while F will use 1207 pins. Both interconnects will presumably pave the way for the quad-core processors AMD expects to ship in 2007, but they will also be used by single- and dual-core chips too.

M2 and F will replace AMD's current array of interconnects: Socket 754, used by Sempron and Athlon 64 parts; Socket 939, used by Athlon 64 and Athlon 64-FX; and Socket 940, used by Opteron 1xx, 2xx and 8xx processors. The chip maker is currently deprecating the old Socket A interconnect, and it is expected to migrate the Opteron 1xx line to Socket 939 later this year. ®

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