AMD Ups The Ante In The CPU Battle

Almost four months ago, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) released a pair of processors to its 45nm Phenom II lineup, including the flagship 3.2-GHz X4 955 Black Edition. On Thursday, the company is upgrading the series with the 3.4 GHz X4 965 Black Edition.

Aside from minor changes (most notably, an increase from 125 watts to 140 watts maximum TDP), the X4 965 BE is essentially the same CPU as the X4 955 BE, only 200 MHz faster. As with previous AMD processors, the X4 indicates quad core, and the Black Edition label signifies an unlocked multiplier.

The CRN Test Center reviewers evaluated the Black Edition X4 965 in the same system as the prior X4 955; a Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P motherboard, installed in an NZXT Tempest chassis, with an ATI HD 4650 graphics card and an Antec TruePower Quattro 850 power supply. Using 4 GB of Corsair CM3X2G1600C9DHX DDR3 RAM, our operating system this time was Windows 7 RTM Ultimate (previously we used Windows Vista).

When testing with Primate Labs' benchmarking software Geekbench2, the default BIOS settings yielded a nice score of 6317. This wasn't surprising given the 3.2 GHz X4 955 scored 5960 in the same rig. While we didn't have as much time to overclock as we would have liked, we managed to quickly push the CPU to 3.9 GHz just by increasing the multipliers alone. Since we were able to aggressively get the former processor up to 4.0 GHz (using standard cooling methods), there is no reason to doubt the X4 965 can reach at least that speed.

Interestingly, the company itself (which officially does not condone or warrant the unit for overclocking) has stated that during its internal testing, the X4 965 processors were found to be "better overclockers than the 955s in general." There doesn't seem to be any particular reason for this to be the case, but there is no cause to doubt it either.

Selling at the same price at which X4 955 launched, the X4 965 Black Edition is priced at $245. In essence, AMD has increased the top end Phenom II processor speed by 200 MHz, while maintaining the price. As with previous AMD chips, the socket AM3 CPU can still be used in socket AM2+ motherboards, making for a relatively inexpensive upgrade for those with compatible motherboards.

With Intel expected to be releasing the less expensive Core i5 CPUs next month, AMD has made a pre-emptive strike in the market, with its fastest Phenom II processor to date.