Despite the economic downturn, AMD is still releasing new processor interfaces, and the new generation of AM3 interfaces is upgrade friendly. AMD has announced an AM3 motherboard interface that supports DDR3 memory for the first time. Because AMD processors integrate memory managers, it's safe to assume that the new line of Phenom II processors will be compatible with DDR3 memory. But to the delight of users, the new Phenom II processors are also compatible with DDR2 memory, because the new CPU and AM3 interface are pin-compatible with the current AM2+ interface, and you can install the new AM3 compatible CPU on your existing AM2+ motherboard. That means you can just upgrade your CPU without having to replace your motherboard or buy expensive DDR3 memory.