AMD may still be playing catch up to Intel, but the fact that it plans to introduce it's first 45nm quad-core processor this quarter (which ends 30th June) is a glimmer of good news. The first chip to get the 45nm treatment should be the Phenom X4 9750, follwed by a couple more before the end of the year. The die shrink will bring drops in power consumption (from 125W to 95W) and allow clockspeed increases as well as additional L3 cache (from 2MB to 6MB). The upcoming X4 9850 and 9950 chips should also hit the 45nm process before Jan 2009, as well as low-power 45nm quad-cores expected in the first half of next year. Let's hope for AMD's sake that there aren't any delays.