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AMD's Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition wears the gigahertz crown

Terrence O'Brien — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:09:00 EST

At only $195, it's hard to deny that AMD's new Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition desktop chip is a bargain. Its four cores hum along at 3.7GHz, the fastest base clock speed of any consumer CPU, and the unlocked multiplier should make it trivial for overclockers to push this beast to 4GHz and beyond. The 980 slides right into the same price point as the previous champ, the Phenom II X4 975, and knocks a few bucks off the former clock-frequency king. All of this seems like great news for AMD fans. Of course, if you're starting from scratch and not just looking to upgrade an aging AM3 rig, keep in mind that only $30 more scores you the mid-range Core i5-2500K that consistently outperforms the 980, consumes less power, and also has an unlocked multiplier. Guess there's always the graphics market if you care to see AMD being competitive. For the nitty-gritty on how its latest central processing unit stacks up, see the source links.

AMD's Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition wears the gigahertz crown originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD announces speedy new quad-core, six-core Phenom II processors

Donald Melanson — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:36:00 EST

AMD's already gotten official with its Atom-challenging Fusion processors that promise a whole host of benefits for mobile users -- namely 10+ hour battery life and significantly improved GPU performance -- but the chipmaker isn't about to leave its desktop CPUs behind here at CES. The company has also just announced its new 3.6GHz Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition and 2.9GHz Phenom II X6 1065T processors, the former of which is AMD's fastest quad-core processor to date, while the latter promises to combine high performance with a low 95W TDP (relatively speaking), and AMD's own Turbo CORE technology. What's more, unlike the Fusion processors, these are apparently both available immediately, and they've already garnered a few early reviews. Hit up the links below to check a few of those out, and head on past the break for the official press release.

Continue reading AMD announces speedy new quad-core, six-core Phenom II processors

AMD announces speedy new quad-core, six-core Phenom II processors originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP unveils new Pavilion desktop lineup, packs new Intel and AMD chips

Paul Miller — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:08:00 EST

It's a song as old as rhyme, as Mrs. Potts would say: new AMD and Intel chips are out, and there are new desktops to take advantage of them. HP's playing its part with three new budget-friendly Pavilion desktop series: the p6700 (starting at $300), s5700 ($330), and HPE-500 ($600). They all offer a wide range of configurations, with the standard-sized p6700 starting out at a Pentium E5700 proc and ranging up to an Athlon II 445 triple-core processor, the slim s5700 ranging from Athlon II 260 dual-core up to Phenom II 511 dual-core, and the HPE-500 blazing away with Phenom II 1045T six-core chips and discrete Radeon HD 6450 graphics, on up to Phenom II 1090T six-core and Radeon HD 6770 graphics. All of the desktops have "Beats Audio," an Envy feature that HP is spreading out across its product line. Other than that little perk, there are few surprises in any of these when it comes to specs and options: prepare to be generally nonplussed. Still, with these new (cheap!) chips from AMD and Intel, budget buyers should get a lot more power for their buck when these desktops land on January 9th... until the next round of procs comes out, of course.

Gallery: HP unveils new Pavilion desktop lineup, packs new Intel and AMD chips

HP unveils new Pavilion desktop lineup, packs new Intel and AMD chips originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phenom II X6 1100T review roundup: AMD's fastest desktop processor to date

Darren Murph — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:14:00 EST

When it comes to GPU and CPU releases, there are quantum leaps, and then there are baby steps. Based on the web's collective views on AMD's newest slab of silicon -- the Phenom II X6 1100T -- it seems as if this chip is a better example of the latter. According to TechSpot, the device "does little to improve upon the performance of AMD's hexa-core CPU series, [but] it does help improve the value of these high-end desktop processors by making the 1090T BE model even cheaper." By and large, that sentiment was mirrored throughout. Hot Hardware found that while it was easily "the fastest desktop processor released from AMD to date," it still couldn't topple Intel's (admittedly more expensive) six-core chips in terms of performance. But of course, AMD rarely competes strictly on benchmarks -- the 1100T lists for just $265, making it one of the more affordable desktop CPU options for this level of oomph. Those really looking for a bargain could snap up the now-deflated 1090T or 1075T, and while the bulk of the reviews below focus primarily on today's new flagship, the 3.4GHz Phenom II X2 565 Black Edition ($115) and 3.3GHz Athlon II X3 455 ($87) are also touched on.

Read - AnandTech
Read - Hot Hardware
Read - TechSpot
Read - HardOCP
Read - Firing Squad
Read - Hexus
Read - Legit Reviews
Read - PC Perspective

Phenom II X6 1100T review roundup: AMD's fastest desktop processor to date originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell's AMD offerings go mainstream with Inspiron M501R, M5030

Donald Melanson — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:41:00 EST

We had a pretty clear indication that Dell would soon be rolling out an AMD-based Inspiron M501R, and it looks like it's now finally available along with a new AMD-based M5030 model. Both are 15.6-inch systems, with the M501R packing a Phenom N930 processor and ATI Mobility Radeon HD550 graphics, while the M5030 boasts an AMD Athlon II P320 processor and Mobility Radeon HD425 graphics. Otherwise, you can expect 4GB of RAM and either a 320GB or 500GB hard drive on each (in the standard configs), along a six-cell battery, a DVD burner, among other standard fare -- the M501R also boasts a slightly thinner and lighter design. As you can see above, prices range from $529.99 to $799.99, and both models are available right now.

Dell's AMD offerings go mainstream with Inspiron M501R, M5030 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 get AMD's latest, start at $549

Joanna Stern — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:55:00 EST

We don't yet have much insight into the performance of the many laptops now being powered by AMD's new mainstream CPUs, but we can say we're big fans of the prices they're ringing up. Starting at $549, Lenovo's rolling out the Edge 14 and 15 with big A's latest Athlon II X2 P320, Turion II X2 P520 and Phenom II X3 P820 processors on June 22. They won't be available with discrete graphics options, but the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 IGP should at least go easy on the 4- and 6-cell battery options. Other than that the Edge is the same machine we have come to know and love over the past few months -- now let's just hope that AMD power lives up to its promise.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 get AMD's latest, start at $549 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell sticks AMD's latest crop inside new Dell Studio XPS 7100 line

Paul Miller — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:01:00 EST

Dell's wasting no time appropriating AMD's new Phenom II X6 chips, pushing out a brand new Studio XPS line to deal with the new top of the line (and a few quad cores as well) from "that other processor company." While AMD can crow about having more cores at a mid-range price, Dell isn't trying to pass these off as pure competition for Intel's brood: the Studio XPS 7100 line is AMD-only, while the Core i-based Studio XPS 8100 desktops are a clear step up model number-wise. The 7100 baseline system, with integrated graphics, goes for $699, but Dell's doing this with an enthusiast slant, packing in a 460 watt power supply to power up some fancy graphics and giving hardcore users room to grow.

We got to check out a $1,199 system running the AMD Phenom II X6 1050T, which is supposed to be somewhat comparable to an Intel Core i5 760, and paired up with ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics and 6GB of RAM the machine makes for a pretty tight gaming rig. Unfortunately, AMD's top-of-line 5970 graphics are being held for the Studio XPS 8100, and AMD's best new X6 chip, the 1090T (roughly a Core i7 870), won't be available from Dell until this summer. Still, if you're looking for a nice balance between price and performance, AMD and Dell might have something to offer with this new understated desktop setup.

Gallery: Dell Studio XPS 7100 hands-on

Dell sticks AMD's latest crop inside new Dell Studio XPS 7100 line originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD comes real clean with 2010 desktop platform: Phenoms, Athlons, Radeons, oh my!

Darren Murph — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:01:00 EST

AMD got serious with its VISION guide to buying PCs last September, but we've yet to see it actually put into practice until today. In addition to a new spate of laptop chips, the company is finally coming clean with the desktop CPUs that we've seen whispered about, touched and even benchmarked for weeks now. Frankly, there's not much here we didn't know already, but we're guessing that AMD's just aligning its official launch with the plans of Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and all the other big names that'll be introducing rigs based on this silicon in short order. Regardless, bargain gamers should greatly appreciate having the dual- and quad-core Athlon II range as well as the quad- and six-core Phenom II crew hitting the scene in official fashion, offering plenty of performance (for most, anyway) at a fraction of the cost of Intel's swankest Core i7 chips. And yeah, we're pretty stoked to see AMD getting its chips into so many desktops -- it's been awhile since there was even a semblance of an AMD / Intel balance in the customize-to-order sections of the world, and it's about time that changed.

Continue reading AMD comes real clean with 2010 desktop platform: Phenoms, Athlons, Radeons, oh my!

AMD comes real clean with 2010 desktop platform: Phenoms, Athlons, Radeons, oh my! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS CrossHair IV Extreme mainboard supports mix-and-match GPU setups

Darren Murph — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:41:00 EST

Scouting a new mainboard for that fancy new Phenom II X6 CPU you just picked up? You might want to hold off a minute, particularly if you're also planning on shopping for a few new GPUs as well. Hot Hardware has managed to get their paws around an upcoming motherboard from ASUS, the CrossHair IV Extreme. Much like the Maximus III Extreme that we spotted last November, this one also ships with the RoG Connect feature, enabling a secondary Bluetooth device (like a netbook or smartphone) to tweak overclocking settings from the sidelines. What really makes this one stand out, however, isn't the compatibility with all Socket AM3 Phenom and Athlon CPUs, nor the fancy new 890FX chipset. No -- it's the inclusion of Lucidlogix's nearly-forgotten Hydra solution, which allows users to mix-and-match GPUs (makes and models are no matter here) in order to create the most from whatever graphics cards you have sitting around. There's no mention of when this fellow will ship, but we'll be keeping an eye out at Computex just in case.

ASUS CrossHair IV Extreme mainboard supports mix-and-match GPU setups originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire 5553G showcases AMD's quad-core Phenom II N930 in early review

Vlad Savov — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:36:00 EST

As with most good things, this comes from Bulgaria. Laptop.bg have finagled themselves a prototype unit of Acer's forthcoming Aspire 5553G and taken it on a benchmarking adventure to see what it's made of. Their first impressions relate to the case, which comes in a familiar Timeline-inspired design, including a fingerprint-loving glossy lid and Acer's particular take on the island keyboard, but they quickly move on to analyzing the quad-core Phenom II N930 heart beating within. Sadly, this particular unit was held back in gaming by its anemic Mobility Radeon HD 4250 GPU, but the news wasn't all that flattering in CPU-isolating comparisons either. Cinebench 10 found the N930 outperforming Intel's previous generation chips in multicore workloads, but falling behind on single-threaded tasks. AMD seems intent on pricing its latest Phenoms aggressively, and if you're not too hung up on getting great battery life these will look appealing, but we can't help feeling disappointed that Intel's Core i7s aren't being given more to worry about. Hit the source for the full review.

Acer Aspire 5553G showcases AMD's quad-core Phenom II N930 in early review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire 5551G, 5553G and 7551G keep the Phenom II X3 and X4 leaks flowing

Darren Murph — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:23:00 EST

Ah, now we get it. Clearly AMD has a few mobile chips in the backroom that it has yet to inform us about, and unfortunately for the fine folks in Sunnyvale, it seems as if their partner firms aren't being quite so hush-hush. Just hours after discovering a quad-core Phenom II X4 within Dell's new Inspiron M501R, along comes a spate of Acer Aspire machines with -- you guessed it -- Phenom II X4 and X3 chips within. The 15.6-inch 5551G / 5553G and 17.3-inch 7551G are all listed now at Amazon's German portal, with the X3 N830 clocked at 2.1GHz and the X4 N930 chip humming along at an even 2GHz. The cheapest of the bunch is listed at right around €668 ($870), though you'll have to dig into that source link for specifics. Fret not -- we get the impression that each of these will be headed stateside just as soon as AMD sees fit to officially unveil its not-so-secret stash of new silicon.

[Thanks, TheLostSwede]

Acer Aspire 5551G, 5553G and 7551G keep the Phenom II X3 and X4 leaks flowing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Inspiron M501R seen packing quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 CPU, ATI 550v GPU

Darren Murph — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:44:00 EST

Well, would you look at this? Dell's not-at-all-boisterous launch of numerous R-rated Inspirons left us with far more questions than answers (you know what we mean, J.J. Abrams?), but now things are starting to come together somewhat. We're guessing some of the mystique surrounding the M501R has to do with the power plant within, because so far as we can tell, AMD has never shipped a Phenom II X4 within a laptop. Sure enough, this here machine can be ordered up with a quad-core X4, and while prices and the like aren't yet available (the order process seems to be borked for now), we do know that this particular model will ship with a 720p 15.6-inch display, Windows 7, an optional 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 550v (another new one to us), WiFi, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, four color options and a total weight of 5.83 pounds. C'mon Dell / AMD -- why not just spill the beans already? Our trigger finger can only itch for so long.

Dell Inspiron M501R seen packing quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 CPU, ATI 550v GPU originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower reveal Phenom II X6 1090T-based bargain desktops

Darren Murph — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:47:00 EST

It's akin to clockwork, as they say -- Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower have all decided to pump out new and / or revised gaming desktops based on AMD's latest and greatest (and cheapest, some would argue) six-core processor, barely waiting 24 hours to do the honors. The Phenom II X6 1090T certainly has the whole low-price thing going for it, enabling this trio of PC builders to offer up complete systems starting at under $1,000. Maingear's new Limited Edition Vybe packs a $999 price tag, USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps support, ATI's Radeon 5000 series graphics, a DVD burner, 640GB WD Caviar Black SATA 6G hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. Over in CyperPower land, users can select a variety of 1090T-based rigs starting at just $699, while iBuyPower is revamping the Chimera 2-Q, Gamer Fire and Gamer HAF systems to include the new silicon and an all-too-tempting sub-$1k starting point. The whole lot is available to be customized right this moment, but we're in no position to help you choose between options A, B, C, D, E or F. And G is looking mighty promising, too.

Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower reveal Phenom II X6 1090T-based bargain desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD's 3.2GHz hexacore Phenom II X6 1090T comes out for a review roundup

Vlad Savov — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:08:00 EST

How's your memory today? Specifically, can you remember the last time AMD had a legitimate claim to the desktop performance crown? Don't hold your breath, the latest and greatest Phenom II still can't steal the spotlight from Intel's spectacular top-of-the-line Core i7-980X, but if prices actually matter to you, you'll wanna read on. Whereas you'd need to shell out $999 to get six cores from Intel, AMD is offering you its flagship 3.2GHz 1090T model at a reasonable $285, or an even more affordable option with the 2.8GHz 1055T at $199. The T in those names stands for Turbo Core, which automatically downclocks half the cores in order to provide a little extra speed (up to 500MHz more) to the other three. Reviewers agreed that its inclusion helped significantly improve single-threaded performance, to the point where the faster (in default clock speed) 3.4GHz Phenom II X4 965 was falling behind in benchmarks. The general opinion by the typically jaded journalists was that AMD has finally regained some pep in its step and that these new 6-core CPUs are going to give Intel's upper midrange offerings something to worry about. Lest we forget, the 1090T and 1055T also retain socket compatibility with current AM2+ and AM3 motherboards, making upgrades a cinch too. The full reviews await below.

Read - AnandTech
Read - HotHardware
Read - PC Perspective
Read - Hexus
Read - Legit Reviews
Read - TweakTown
Read - TechSpot

AMD's 3.2GHz hexacore Phenom II X6 1090T comes out for a review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD's hexacore Phenom II X6 will offer Turbo Core automatic overclocking

Vlad Savov — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:49:00 EST

AMD might be playing catch-up with Intel at the moment, but at least it's keeping the distance fairly close. Intel has yet to fully transition its desktop line over to its Turbo Boost-boasting Core 2010 series, yet its competitor has already announced its own, imaginatively titled, competing technology in the form of Turbo Core. It's a less sophisticated auto-overclock, whereby three of the six cores are decelerated in order to give the other trio some extra voltage and speed for more serialized workloads. The truly impressive thing is that operation under the Turbo Core mode and the default hexacore arrangement will fit within the same power envelope as current Phenom II X4 CPUs, while AMD also reassures its loyal users that the new Phenom II X6s will be compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ sockets. Nice. The table above, provided by AnandTech, confirms the models we heard about a couple of weeks ago, though we'll have to wait a little bit longer to get confirmation on pricing.

AMD's hexacore Phenom II X6 will offer Turbo Core automatic overclocking originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shuttle gets serious with Pro Series, teases hexacore-ready SFF for June

Vlad Savov — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:52:00 EST

Say hello to Shuttle's finest toaster-sized workstations yet. The G2 7600P (above right) is the AMD-loving variant that can be yours for $899 with a dual core 2.93GHz Athlon II CPU and low-end ATI FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro graphics options, or you can crank it up to a quad-core Phenom II X4 at 2.6GHz and up to 8GB of RAM. Switching over to the Intel channel -- with the J1 4100P, above left -- you'll find a pretty sweet $999 package built around a Core 2 Quad Q8300 running at 2.5GHz, as well as the option to upgrade to a super duper Radeon HD 5850 GPU. Should those specs be just that little bit too far from the cutting edge for you, heed Shuttle's teaser that a third Pro Series model is coming up this June, with an LGA 1366 socket that counts among its supported CPUs Intel's latest Xeons and the famed beast that is the Core i7-980X. Not bad, eh? Click past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Shuttle gets serious with Pro Series, teases hexacore-ready SFF for June

Shuttle gets serious with Pro Series, teases hexacore-ready SFF for June originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD six-core CPU prices and clock speeds unearthed

Joseph L. Flatley — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:16:00 EST

The gang at DigiTimes have always struck us as processor obsessives -- constantly out on the streets, roughing up mobo manufacturers, getting them to spill their secrets (they probably look like Gene Hackman in Night Moves). And they've sure been busy, this time digging up some dirt on AMD's six-core Phenom II line. Hitting shelves as soon as the second quarter this year, the X6 1035T will clock in at 2.6GHz, the 1005T at 2.8GHz, and the 1075T at 3GHz. There is also a Phenom II X6 1095T possibly coming to fruition in the fourth quarter of the year, but we don't have any data on that one yet. According to Alien Babel Tech (where we did our undergrad, by the way) the 1055T is will retail for $199, while the as-of-yet unknown 1090T black edition will retail $295. As always, we recommend that in lieu of an official announcement you take all this with a grain of salt.

[Thanks, Blurib]

AMD six-core CPU prices and clock speeds unearthed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD and Intel's six-core CPU plans revealed by mobo makers

Vlad Savov — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:35:00 EST

You have to love DigiTimes and those loquacious sources it seems to keep finding. The latest word from the Taiwanese grapevine suggests that both Intel and AMD will be bringing out six-core CPUs to the consumer market by the middle of this year. We're using the term "consumer" rather loosely here as Intel's first Gulftown chip is expected to be priced north of $1,000. The Core i7-980X is slated for a March release, which just fits inside the Q1 window that earlier rumors had suggested. If you butter your bread on the AMD side, you'll have to wait a while longer as those 45nm Thuban chips -- hereafter to be known as the Phenom II X6 1000T series -- won't be landing until at least May. The usual caution when dealing with anonymous sources is advisable, but this sounds like a roadmap with a high likelihood of being accurate.

AMD and Intel's six-core CPU plans revealed by mobo makers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD launches new Phenom II and Athlon II CPUs right onto the test bench

Darren Murph — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:54:00 EST

Hot on the heels of its first quarterly profit in three years (thanks to Intel, strangely enough), AMD is launching a new pair of desktop processors today that hit for under a buck twenty (amongst a few others). The $99 Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition is the company's quickest dual-core desktop CPU to date at 3.2GHz, while the Athlon II X4 635 is expected to be one of the least expensive quad-core chips around. Both slabs of silicon hit the test bench over the weekend, and as you may expect, no one was particularly blown away. Of course, AMD never set out to shock and awe with this duo, but the performance-per-dollar ratio was downright beautiful. We'll spare you the nitty-gritty details (all the bar charts you can handle are just below), but suffice it to say, these two are certainly worth a look if you're fixing to build a low-end, low-cost tower for... um, your mother. Yeah, her.

Read - Hot Hardware
Read - AnandTech
Read - Computer Shopper
Read - Tom's Hardware
Read - Overclocker's Club
Read - ExtremeTech

AMD launches new Phenom II and Athlon II CPUs right onto the test bench originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Packard Bell imedia lineup gets an Acer-inspired refresh

Vlad Savov — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:47:00 EST

Packard Bell recently overhauled its logo in an effort to keep up with the times, but are its offerings up to the same task? The new imedia lineup immediately recalls the recently announced M-series desktops from Acer, and that's no accident. The innards are remarkably similar too, with the top models sporting Core 2 Quad or AMD Phenom II X4 processors, a 1.5GB GeForce GT230, HDMI out, Blu-Ray combo drive and a maximum of 8GB DDR3 memory and 1TB of storage. While none of the specs are on the blistering edge of innovation, there's plenty of power there and keen pricing could make them an attractive proposition. The entry-level Celeron-based units start at £299 ($490) in the UK.

Filed under: Desktops

Packard Bell imedia lineup gets an Acer-inspired refresh originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: AMD's Phenom II X4 TWKR CPU for extreme overclocking lunatics

Joseph L. Flatley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:14:00 EST

AMD has recently cooked up a little something they like to call the Phenom II X4 TWKR Black Edition, a hand-picked, limited edition processor that is designed to be overclocked "to the extreme." Currently labeled "Not for Sale," with no serial numbers and only one hundred of these bad boys in existence, just a few lucky folks have got their hands on one, so we've dug up some reviews (and previews) so you can see what the fuss is all about. According to the company, one of these guys could be pushed by 100MHz with air cooling, which doubles to about 200MHz with "extreme cooling." As far as impressions go, the reviewer at Neoseeker quickly decided that the units aren't meant to be overclocked on air only, and that dry ice isn't much better. Hot Hardware says pretty much the same thing. Though they weren't able to test with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium (the only way to get real speed) they did put a Koolance LN2 pot (and about 20lbs of dry ice) to the test for 4.73GHz. For best results, according to Tom's Hardware Guide, bench the processor at -190°C or cooler. But for the real overclocking experience you simply must check out the video of the "world renowned overclockers" K|ngp|n, chew*, and Gomeler as they run the gamut of "extreme overclocking techniques" after the break.

Read - AMD Phenom II TWKR Edition CPU Preview
Read - AMD's Phenom II X4 TWKR: We Give It The LN2 Treatment
Read - AMD Phenom II 42 TWKR Black Edition Processor
Read - AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor

Continue reading Video: AMD's Phenom II X4 TWKR CPU for extreme overclocking lunatics

Filed under: Desktops

Video: AMD's Phenom II X4 TWKR CPU for extreme overclocking lunatics originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs

Darren Murph — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:00:00 EST

If you're AMD, you've got to be feeling pretty good right now. Intel's busy handling a lawsuit bigger than the left half of Russia, you're finally free of that dreaded manufacturing business and you've got a new pair of mainstream CPUs debuting at Computex. The first of the two is the dual-core 45nm Athlon II X2 250, which features a TDP of 65-watts and can whittle power consumption down to 50 percent when handling just "basic tasks." Then there's the first-ever dual-core AMD Phenom II, the X2 550 Black Edition. Built from the ground-up for its 'Dragon' platform, this here chip also supports OverDrive 3.0 and should provide some higher-end features on a budget. Unfortunately, details beyond that are inexplicably scant, but we'll be sure to pass on whatever surfaces at the show. Full release is after the break.

Gallery: AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs

Read - HotHardware review
Read - AMDZone review
Read - OverclockersClub review
Read - PC Perspective review
Read - LostCircuits review
Read - BenchmarkReviews review
Read - TechSpot review
Read - X-bit Labs review
Read - Legion Hardware review

Continue reading AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs

Filed under: Desktops

AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liquid helium trumps liquid nitrogen at AMD's Phenom II overclocking love-in

Tim Stevens — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:38:00 EST

Remember late last year, when AMD poured out the liquid nitrogen to boost its new Phenom II X4 to a ridiculous 5GHZ? The company's factory overclockers apparently had a lot of leftover LN2, so they invited a crew of others to come over and splash some around on a set of new Phenom II X4 955 Black processors. After burning through a ridiculous 80 gallons of the stuff they rolled out the even colder liquid helium, which led to a maximum benchmark of 6.89GHz -- more than twice the quad-core processor's 3.2GHz rated speed. In these tough economic times it's good to see that one company at least is still willing to take things to great excesses at the expense of Earth's natural resources.

Filed under: Desktops

Liquid helium trumps liquid nitrogen at AMD's Phenom II overclocking love-in originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 May 2009 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD Phenom II X4 955 and 945 benchmarked to high heaven

Paul Miller — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:06:00 EST

Just when you though you'd had your fill of insanely detailed benchmarks of processors you may or may not have ever heard of, AMD's new Phenom II X4 955 and 945 hit the scene to get those overclockers all in a tizzy. The top of the line is the 955 "Black Edition" at 3.2GHz, while the 945 plays with a petty 3GHz. And the verdict? They're clearly AMD's fastest so far, but that might not be fast enough. AMD offers great value, but only really matches Intel's Core 2 offerings on performance -- Core i7 is still out in front. There is the fact that Phenom II offers a nice upgrade path for certain people who already do the AMD thing and are looking to upgrade, along with "enthusiasts" who are "enthused" by easy-access overclocking, but overall it looks like AMD is still playing catch-up with Intel.

Read - HotHardware
Read - Neoseeker
Read - PC Perspective
Read - Tech Report
Read - TechSpot
Read - EXTREME Overclocking

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AMD Phenom II X4 955 and 945 benchmarked to high heaven originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell's Phenom II-equipped XPS 625 benchmarked to the hilt

Darren Murph — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:27:00 EST

Yeah, we already heard that Dell's Phenom II-equipped XPS 625 was a solid value, but what does that really mean? The testing fiends over at HotHardware sought to find out, and after putting this gaming beast through more tests than it ever wanted to endure, they mirrored most of the earlier (positive) sentiments. In fact, it was found to boast one of the best price-to-performance ratios out there, and the "minimalist" software installation definitely earned brownie points in our book. One thing that bothered critics, however, was the excessive amount of noise. We too have noticed that Dell's ginormous XPS towers -- which, by the way, reviewers also found to be unnecessarily heavy and unwieldy -- can emit some serious decibels under heavy loads, but you'd think the engineers in Round Rock would've figured out a solution by now. Still, those quirks are probably small hassles to deal with given the savings compared to similar rigs, but we'd highly recommend digging into the read link just to be sure.

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Dell's Phenom II-equipped XPS 625 benchmarked to the hilt originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD's triple-core Phenom II X3 goes quad-core via BIOS hack

Darren Murph — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:35:00 EST

Here's a little known secret for you to chew on: that triple-core AMD Phenom II X3 you purchased actually has four cores. The last one's just locked down for pricing purposes. A Korean site has disclosed information that enables owners of select motherboards to unlock that fourth core, and apparently, all you need is a Biostar mobo and / or a BIOS that has an option labeled Advanced Clock Calibration. When said selection is flipped to "Auto," the fourth core is loosed from its shackles and able to ever-so-slightly up your frame rates and overall level of excitement. Of course, you're taking a big risk by running a chip in a fashion it was never intended, but what fun is life without a little edge-side living?

[Via Slashgear]

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AMD's triple-core Phenom II X3 goes quad-core via BIOS hack originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IBuyPower dishes Dragon-based gaming desktops under $1,500

Darren Murph — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:54:00 EST

Yet again, IBuyPower is stepping out with a few new gaming rigs for the bargain-minded among us. The most recent duo to be outed by the company is the Gamer HAF 91B and the Gamer Fire, both of which are based on AMD's latest Dragon platform and Phenom II CPU. The former gets going at just $999 and includes the Phenom II X4 920 processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 500GB SATA II hard drive, a dual-layer DVD writer, ATI's 512MB Radeon HD 4850 graphics card, a CoolerMaster HAS 932 case and a 550-watt power supply. The more fiery sibling ups the ante with a Phenom II X4 940 CPU, a 750GB HDD, LG GGC-H20L Blu-ray drive and an NZXT Guardian 921 chassis. 'Course, you'll be paying $1,439 for that one, but either way you'll be keeping things below the evidently magical $1.5k mark. Order away, should you be so inclined. Full release is after the jump.

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IBuyPower dishes Dragon-based gaming desktops under $1,500 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD ushers in five new Phenom II CPUs, benchmarking ensues

Darren Murph — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:42:00 EST

Just a month after AMD launched its Phenom II CPUs and Dragon desktop platform, the chip maker is hitting back with five new processors in the quickly expanding line. The newcomers include the planet's first 45nm triple-core CPU and three more quad-core siblings, all of which can operate in either AM2+ or AM3 sockets. As for performance? We hope your expectations haven't been set too high, as the chips were generally found to be just "a logical extension of [the company's] piecemeal upgrade plan and a fill in [the] gap to its lineup." Reviewers across the web were generally pleased but underwhelmed by test results, with HotHardware noting that "overall, Intel still has the performance edge clock-for-clock and core-for-core." In fairness, these chips were found to be good for overclocking, and for the right price, we could certainly see a few gamers giving them a go. For the full spill, dive on into the deep, intricate reviews below.

Read - Official AMD announcement
Read - HotHardware benchmarks
Read - PCPerspective benchmarks
Read - DesktopReview's review

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AMD ushers in five new Phenom II CPUs, benchmarking ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD's Phenom II pushed to 6.5GHz, 3DMark record demolished

Darren Murph — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:10:00 EST

Ha, and you thought a 3DMark06 score of 5,086 was intense when AMD's Phenom II was overclocked to a blistering 3.85GHz. Just after CES, a team of hardcore speed freaks with access to liquid nitrogen and liquid helium created an environment for OC'ing one of AMD's latest Phenom II X4 chips in -232 degrees Celsius weather. Once the silicon was appropriately chilled, they proceeded to push the clock speed to a staggering 6.5GHz, which proved nimble enough to deliver a patently absurd 45,474 3DMark05 score. The best part? The adoring public was there to bear witness, and every nail-biting second of it is hosted up in the video just past the break.

[Via Digg]

Continue reading AMD's Phenom II pushed to 6.5GHz, 3DMark record demolished

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AMD's Phenom II pushed to 6.5GHz, 3DMark record demolished originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell's XPS 625 reviewed already, found worthy

Tim Stevens — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:03:00 EST

We're well into the throes of CES and things are happening hot and heavy; Dell's Phenom II-packing XPS 625, announced just hours ago, has already been given a full once-over by DesktopReview.com, finding it to be a solid machine -- and even a good value. (When's the last time you read that conclusion about a gaming rig?) The review admires the machine's sophisticated looks, well-designed case, and easy expandability, but found that AMD's latest couldn't quite keep up with the i7 (as we'd heard earlier). Given the price point here that shouldn't exactly be a surprise.

[Thanks, Patrick]

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Dell's XPS 625 reviewed already, found worthy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD talks up mildly ambiguous graphics supercomputer

Darren Murph — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:17:00 EST

It's not entirely clear what the purpose of AMD's newest supercomputer is, but it's pretty safe to say that the company is making it out to be something better than it is. All harshness aside, the so-called Fusion Render Cloud will reportedly be the planet's fastest graphics supercomputer. It sounds like the machine will be good for farming out tasks, and more specifically, for "real-time rendering of film and visual effects graphics on an unprecedented scale." Evidently AMD's hoping that gaming firms tap into the beast in order to develop and deploy next-generation game content, so that probably means it's worthless for you. But hey, it sounds awesome, right?

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AMD talks up mildly ambiguous graphics supercomputer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD finally launches Phenom II and its Dragon desktop platform

Paul Miller — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:49:00 EST

It was a struggle getting it "officially" out the door, and the reviews are already lackluster, but AMD's 45nm, quad-core Phenom II has finally arrived. It's available in two flavors, the 2.8GHz X4 920 and the 3.0GHz X4 940 Black Edition, going for $235 and $275, respectively. AMD's naturally touting the ostensible cost savings of the chips -- they're supposed to split the difference between Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core i7 processor -- but in reality they seems to trail Intel's offerings pretty soundly on the price / performance curve. The accompanying Dragon platform includes a Phenom II proc, 4800-series Radeon HD graphics and a 790-series motherboard, all of which should combine for low power consumption -- up to 40 percent compared to Phenom processors. Where the Phenom II definitely wins is the fact that some AMD folks will be able to drop in the chip to existing motherboards, but otherwise it looks like value hounds and performance junkies aren't being served by this new chip -- at least until unreasonable overclocking activities make all the pain go away.

Read - AMD PR
Read - PC World review
Read - HotHardware review

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AMD finally launches Phenom II and its Dragon desktop platform originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD's Phenom II CPU goes on sale online in a curious, quiet fashion

Darren Murph — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:30:00 EST

Uh, AMD? We know most of your staffers are probably throwing back a glass of Egg Nog right about now, but you might want to get out something akin to a simple press release acknowledging the release of your dual-core Phenom II processor. For those keeping track, we've now seen the CPU announced via an outlet other than AMD, purchased by a normal citizen without access to AMD's labs and now, for sale on the world wide web. Word has it that the units will start shipping on December 27th, which will probably be prior to an actual confession of their existence in the retail channel by AMD. Not that we're complaining about the distinctly different than usual approach here, but our heads are certainly spinning.

[Via PC World]

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AMD's Phenom II CPU goes on sale online in a curious, quiet fashion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD Phenom II processor bought, benchmarked, coveted

Tim Stevens — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:40:00 EST

AMD, a company not exactly known for meeting its own deadlines, seemed to be trying to avoid news of painful delays for the Phenom II by simply not letting anyone say when the thing would be available. Now the chip is apparently in the hands of one lucky gamer at the HardOCP forums, Table21, who was kind enough to run it through its paces. The Phenom II 940 running at 3GHz scored a 4,091 on 3DMark06 and, once OC'd up to 3.85GHz, delivered a score of 5,086. It's rather too early to draw any conclusions from these numbers, and we don't know what he paid for the thing, but that performance does fall well behind Intel's Core i7 Extreme that was similarly benchmarked last month, scoring 6,608 at the same clock speed. That's quite a gap -- but nothing a little liquid nitrogen won't fix.

[Via PC Perspective]

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AMD Phenom II processor bought, benchmarked, coveted originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD Phenom II CPU roadmap foreshadows potent Spring

Darren Murph — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:18:00 EST

Not that AMD's being overly secretive about its forthcoming Phenom II processor, but it hasn't exactly been forthcoming with model names / estimated ship dates, either. And that folks, is why we look to leaks. A recent writeup over on Chinese site HKEPC details the impending chip family by listing over a dozen new CPUs (including two Phenom II X3s and seven Phenom II X4s) that are destined to be announced between CES and June 2009. Not surprisingly, some of the model names aren't -- shall we way, completely original -- with the 3GHz Phenom II X4 940 and 2.8GHz Phenom II X4 920 sharing eerily similar naming schemes with Intel's fresh Core i7. Of course, we're not sticklers for silly things like that -- we just want to see a few slabs of silicon get out the door on time. Is that really too much to ask, AMD?

[Via CNET]

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AMD Phenom II CPU roadmap foreshadows potent Spring originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD overclocks the snot out of Phenom II processors

Tim Stevens — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:47:00 EST

No, you're not looking at some high-precision, multimeter-laden kegerator; the above is a picture from a recent AMD event in which things apparently got a little out of hand. The company started by talking up its upcoming Dragon platform (Phenom II X4, Radeon 4800 graphics, and 7-series chipset), took a few moments to discuss how its new 45nm chips will use 30-50 percent less power than their predecessors, and then threw all notions of sensibility out the window in an attempt to see just how fast the darned things could go. A Phenom II X4 managed 4GHz with air-cooling, 4.4GHz with a refrigerated setup, and finally a "stable" 5GHz on liquid nitrogen. That's mighty fast, but will the chips be quick enough to tackle Intel's mighty Core i7 when stripped of their fancy-pants cooling appendages? We'll see when they ship early next year.

[Image courtesy of Legit Reviews]

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AMD overclocks the snot out of Phenom II processors originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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