AMD overclocks the snot out of Phenom II processors
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1UDhH0PCxlY1ivkc0Hhx2Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/zRLsbJqV7_NLCWQ00XEbDQ--~B/aD00NTE7dz02MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/11/amd-overclocking-600.jpg)
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]