Early Phenom II benchmarks have been using DDR2 memory instead of DDR3 and one of our sources have come up with a couple of explanations as to why AMD has gone down this route.

First of all, from what we've been told, AMD is having some issues with its DDR3 memory controller, we weren't given any specifics, but this might be part of the reason behind the disappointing DDR3 benchmark numbers that have turned up recently. Since the memory controller is the only difference between the DDR3 and DDR2 Phenom II platforms, it's easy to upgrade in steps, so you could get a processor now to with your AM2+ DDR2 board and then later upgrade to a DDR3 motherboard when they become available.

We're also hearing that the RS880 chipset has been delayed until April and as this is the first chipset from AMD with official DDR3 support (other chipsets can be retro fitted), it seems like the big push of the new Phenom II platform will be delayed until the RS880 is ready. This is also when AMD should be launching more Phenom II processors, including a 140W TDP Black Edition Phenom II processor.

Finally our source is also suggestion that AMD might be ready with some new graphics solutions at about the same time, although this seems to be more open to speculation. We really hope that AMD can improve the performance of its processors with DDR3 memory support, since the early numbers aren't exactly encouraging.