wbmw, Re: They didn't add two more pipeline stages to increase frequency. That's a misunderstanding that I see propagated frequently on message boards. If AMD wanted to increase frequency, they would have added maybe 6 or more pipeline stages. Instead, I've seen indications that the extra pipeline stages relieve a bottleneck in the decode logic.
Do you have any links to support these observations?
I think you'd agree that all of us here have our biases to one side or the other.
Given that, references help make the discussion much more meaningful. Sure, the sources have biases too, but they're helpful nonetheless.
thanks,
Doug