AMD Phenom II X4 940 & 920 Processors Reviewed @ EOC!

[Jason]

EXTREME Overclocking has just posted their review on the AMD Phenom II X4 940 & 920 Processors!

It has been a little over a year since AMD released the original Phenom processor, publicized as the world's first "native" quad-core desktop processor. The original Phenom had a rough start with the TLB bug, and performance just wasn't what everyone was hoping for. With the new Phenom II however, the performance we have come to expect from AMD is definitely back in a solid product.

You can read the full review @ EXTREME Overclocking

Just a heads up, these chips are available now:

• Newegg
• ZipZoomFly
• Mwave
• NCIX
• Amazon
• TigerDirect

Here's a list of other sites that have reviews on these chips too:

• Anandtech
• bit-tech
• Bjorn 3D
• Elite Bastards
• ExtremeTech
• Firing Squad
• Guru 3D
• [H]ard|OCP
• Hardware Zone
• HEXUS
• Hot Hardware
• PC Games Hardware
• The Tech Report
• Tom's Hardware
• Tweak Town
• X-Bit Labs
• Club Overclocker

[ChocoTaco]

Thank you kind sir, did a quick skim gonna read it in depth after work, but looks like I may just go ahead and go with the 940BE after all.

[Maniac]

lol@ the Exteel ad on Newegg, that game would be fine if it weren't for all the auto-aim-fire-through-wall smg's.

Great review Jason, thanks!

[Jason]

*Just* updated the PCMark Vantage graph. I just finished running it on the Phenom X4 9950... Man I am tired....

The X4 9950 literally just showed up at my office yesterday and I've been benching it since then. I'm glad I did though as it really shows the performance increase between the old Phenom and the new Phenom II's.

Additional Comment:

I'm happy now I can post some benchmarks on hwbot!

[Orac]

just got reading, whats with the 1.8GHz HT speed.

[Fr0sty]

nice review jason ... gotta give credit to all that hard work youve put on to that.. and seems amd is hanging tough clock for clock

and nice oc there its the highest oc ive seen from reviews atm

[ether.real]

Originally Posted by Orac

just got reading, whats with the 1.8GHz HT speed.

They decreased it in order to get them to market ASAP, according to AMD the AM3 versions will be back to 2GHz.

[Nagoshi]

BTW. that's NCIX, not NCIZ

[Yahooy2U]

if people only understood how many man-hours went into that review

great job jason, now you can finally get some sleep

[Fr0sty]

Originally Posted by Yahooy2U

if people only understood how many man-hours went into that review

great job jason, now you can finally get some sleep

of course i understand.. that man poured is soul into a slepless night only to give us numbers se we could talk about it.. that's what i call dedication extreme dedication that is

[Josie Wales]

Wow!!! That was a superb review Jason. I just love a review that contains a comprehensive range of benchmarks, overclocking on phase, and clock for clock comparisons. What an impressive effort. Of course the outcome was also impressive. AMD now has two solid competitors in the mid range. I can't wait for AM3.

Props go out to ether.real as well for his review at ClubOC.

[levathar]

Fantastic review! Congratulations EOC and Mr. Jason!
I am just waiting for the deneb reach this part of europe and see how much will it cost...

[ether.real]

Originally Posted by Josie Wales

Props go out to ether.real as well for his review at ClubOC.

Thanks dude!

[MrObvious]

Great review Jason.

[Troglodyte]

Excellent read. We do appreciate the work and effort which the final review clearly illustrates.

As for phenom 2, not bad - much more within my grasp in terms of pricing and value. Hopefully AM3 won't be too far away (although part of what makes the phenoms so attractive is the ddr2 being so cheap). Maybe they'll throw in usb 3 and PCI-E 3 into those boards as well...

[levathar]

Prices finally show here...
Well!! The Phenom II 940 is almost half price of the i7 940!
And it is still cheaper than the i7 920!
The price is between the Q9300 and Q9400.

Quite a revolution!
I am very glad with the results. This is the best performance for the price!
AMD played smart here... AM2 people should get this FAST!

[Jason]

It's definitely cheaper than a Core i7 system, but if you are seriously considering a Core i7 then you probably aren't as concerned with price.

It's a no-brainer if your existing MB will support the chip, unless you have some really high OC on an Agena core. It's a cheap upgrade for good performance.

A new system on a budget... That's a really tough call. Intel's Q9400 ($270) is a solid chip too, but I think a lot of people if you are in the price range would go for the Q9550 ($320)... $50 more but you get double the cache (12MB vs 6MB) and the extra .5 multiplier. You can take a Q9550 to 3.4GHz (8.5 x 400) on stock voltage 9 times out of 10.

There's going to be plenty of demand for these chips in new builds too. I just don't think the hardcore enthusiast / overclocker will take heart to them unless we start seeing some higher OC numbers.

I've kind of been relaxing this weekend, I put my Phenom II back in the vapo and have been trying to get some decent numbers on HWBot.

[FreakStorm!]

I've been thinking about an upgrade for my system, and would need a new system. My reason for choosing the AMD over the Intel though is that with separate power planes, the cost of running it would be lower. When I'm not using all 4 cores the system switches some off, whereas on the Intel they'll be idling wasting power.

They're not as quick as the Intels, but they are quite close and I doubt I'll notice a huge difference between the two.