AMD Socket AM2 and AM2+: The Complete CPU List

This table lists every processor AMD released for Socket AM2 and AM2+, from the first Athlon 64 X2 and Sempron chips of 2006 to the Phenom and the AM2+ versions of the Phenom II X4, plus the single-socket Opterons built for the same socket. Use the filters to narrow it down by socket, family, core count or TDP, or type a model number or the OPN code printed on the CPU into the search box.

AM2 vs AM2+: one socket, two sets of rules

AM2 and AM2+ are physically the same 940-pin socket, so every chip in the list fits every board. AM2 arrived in May 2006 with the DDR2 versions of the Athlon 64, Athlon 64 X2 and Sempron. It replaced Socket 939, whose DDR chips don’t fit AM2 boards; they are covered in our Socket 939 CPU list. AM2+ followed in November 2007 together with Phenom and added three things: a faster HyperTransport 3.0 link to the chipset, a separate power plane for the CPU’s northbridge and L3 cache, and official DDR2-1066 support.

In practice the processor and the board meet halfway:

An AM2 chip in an AM2+ board simply runs as it would in an AM2 board. The reverse is the risky case: a Phenom in an AM2 board needs a BIOS that knows it, runs its HT link at 1 GHz and can’t get a separate northbridge voltage. When Phenom launched, Tom’s Hardware tried one in ten AM2 boards and most of them would not run it, so check the CPU support list for your exact board and revision.

Cores and how to tell them apart

The socket went through two generations. The Athlon 64 family uses the K8 architecture, the Phenom family the newer K10. Within each generation the core decides more than the model number.

• Windsor (90 nm). The original Athlon 64 X2 and the FX-62, with 256 KB, 512 KB or 1 MB of L2 per core. The 2 × 1 MB models are the fastest K8 chips per clock.
• Brisbane (65 nm). The die-shrunk X2, with 2 × 512 KB of L2 (2 × 256 KB in the Sempron X2) and slightly slower L2 cache than Windsor, so it loses a little per clock. In return it runs cooler. The Athlon X2 BE, e and B models and the Sempron X2 are Brisbane too.
• Orleans and Lima. Single-core Athlon 64 and Athlon chips on 90 and 65 nm.
• Manila and Sparta. Single-core Semprons with 128–512 KB of L2. Unlike the Athlons, most of them lack AMD-V virtualization.
• Santa Ana. The Opteron 1200 series: a Windsor X2 with 2 × 1 MB of L2, sold for single-socket servers.
• Agena, Toliman and Kuma (65 nm). K10 with 512 KB of L2 per core and 2 MB of shared L3: four cores in the Phenom X4 and Opteron 1300 (Budapest), three in the Phenom X3, two in the Athlon X2 7000 series.
• Deneb (45 nm). The Phenom II X4 920 and the 940 Black Edition, with 6 MB of L3, plus the rare Phenom II X3 715 Black Edition with one core switched off. These are the only Phenom IIs made in the AM2+-only package, without DDR3 support.

The model rating doesn’t tell the core: an Athlon 64 X2 4000+ can be a 2.0 GHz Windsor with 2 × 1 MB of L2 or a 2.1 GHz Brisbane with 2 × 512 KB, and the 6000+ exists as a 125 W Windsor, an 89 W Windsor and an 89 W Brisbane. The OPN code on the heat spreader does tell. On the Athlon chips, the third letter is the power class (the common ones: X = 125 W, A = standard, O = 65 W, H = 45 W, D = 35 W, J = 22 W, G = 15 W), and the digit before the last two letters is the total L2 size (4 = 512 KB, 5 = 1 MB, 6 = 2 MB). Type the full code into the search box above to find the exact row.

Will it run in my board?

• BIOS. Every CPU newer than the board needs a BIOS that knows it. Board makers’ CPU support lists are the best guide, and many boards from big PC brands such as Dell never got Phenom support at all.
• Power. Many boards are rated only for 89, 95 or 125 W processors. The 125 W Windsor X2 6000+ and 6400+, the Phenom X4 9850 and the 140 W first version of the 9950 Black Edition are the chips most likely to overload a budget board. If the support list doesn’t name a CPU, take its 95 W or 65 W version.
• Chipset. Boards built for AM2+ (AMD 770, 780G, 785G, 790X, 790GX and 790FX, nForce 720a to 780a) run Phenoms as intended. Older AM2 chipsets such as the AMD 690G, the nForce 500 series and VIA K8T890 can’t run the link faster than 1 GHz, even after a BIOS update.
• Opteron. The Opteron 1200 and 1300 are single-socket server versions of the Athlon 64 X2 and Phenom X4. They run in desktop boards whose CPU support list includes them.

Phenom B2 and the TLB bug

The first Phenoms, stepping B2, have an erratum in the translation lookaside buffer (TLB) that can freeze the system in rare cases. Boards fix it with a BIOS patch that costs about 10% of performance on average, and a lot more in some tasks. AMD fixed the bug in hardware in the B3 stepping in spring 2008 and marked those chips with model numbers ending in 50: the 9150e, 9350e, 9450e, 9550, 9650, 9750, 9850 and 9950, and the Phenom X3 8×50 models.

The 9100e, 9500, 9600, 9600 Black Edition, 9700, 8400 and 8600 are B2 chips. The 9600B, 8600B, Opteron 1352 and 1354 came in both steppings: an OPN ending in BGD is B2, one ending in BGH is B3. A B2 chip is fine for a cheap build, and many boards can turn the patch off, but given the choice take a B3.

AM3 processors in AM2 and AM2+ boards

AM3 processors (Phenom II, Athlon II and Sempron 100 series) have 938 pins and fit the 940-pin socket, and their memory controller supports both DDR2 and DDR3. With a BIOS update that adds them, many AM2+ boards run them, and for most of these boards an AM3 chip is the best upgrade available: a Phenom II X4 955, 965, 970 or 980 Black Edition, or an Athlon II X4 for less money. Some 790X, 790GX and 785G boards also got BIOS support for the six-core Phenom II X6. Watch the power rating here too: the first Phenom II X4 965 is a 140 W chip, and the X6 1090T and 1100T are 125 W.

On plain AM2 boards AM3 support is rare and depends entirely on the board maker. The FX processors for AM3+ have a DDR3-only memory controller and don’t work in AM2 or AM2+ boards at all.

Every AM3 and AM3+ processor, with clocks, TDP and OPN codes, is in our AM3 and AM3+ CPU list.

Which CPU to choose

• AM2+ board: the fastest native chip is the Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, followed by the 920. Among the 65 nm Phenoms, take any B3 model. The 9850 and 9950 Black Edition are the fastest, if the board can handle 125–140 W. The Athlon X2 7750 and 7850 Black Edition are cheap K10 dual-cores with an unlocked multiplier. Stories about unlocking them into a Phenom X4 have never been reliably confirmed.
• AM2 board with Phenom support: a 95 W B3 Phenom X4 (9550, 9650, or the 95 W versions of the 9750 and 9850) is the safe choice.
• AM2 board without Phenom support: the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or 6400+ Black Edition (Windsor, 2 × 1 MB L2) if the board takes 125 W, otherwise a 65 W 5200+, 5400+ or 5600+. The Opteron 1220 SE and 1224 SE are the same Windsor chips at 2.8 and 3.2 GHz, also rated at 125 W. For overclocking, the 5000+ and 5400+ Black Edition have an unlocked multiplier.
• Low-power builds: the 45 W Athlon X2 BE-2400, 4850e and 5050e, the 22 W Athlon X2 3250e, or the single-core Athlon 2650e at 15 W.
• Sempron and single-core Athlon 64: only for getting an old board running. A used Athlon 64 X2 costs about the same.

Building an Intel machine from the same years instead? Our LGA775 CPU list covers the Core 2 and Pentium D chips the same way.

FAQ

Can an AM2 or AM2+ CPU go in an AM3 board?

No. AM2 and AM2+ processors only support DDR2 and don’t fit the AM3 socket. Only the reverse works: AM3 processors in AM2+ boards.

Which Windows runs on Socket AM2 and AM2+?

Every CPU in the list runs 64-bit Windows 10, though Microsoft ended its support in October 2025. Windows 11 is not supported on any of them, and from version 24H2 it won’t even start, because it requires SSE4.2 and POPCNT. K8 chips have neither, and K10 chips have POPCNT but no SSE4.2. Most Linux distributions run on all of them. The exceptions are RHEL 9 and its clones such as AlmaLinux and Rocky, which also require SSE4.2.