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AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition CPU up for auction, sure to fetch a bundle
Remember that AMD Phenom II X4 TWKR processor that we saw overclocked and reviewed just over a fortnight ago? Don't you recall reading and wondering why you were even wasting your time given the scarcity of said chip? It took awhile, but it seems the justification you've been searching for has finally arrived. AMD only manufactured a smattering of these chips in order for select media outlets to showcase the company's potential, and somehow one has found its way onto eBay. Best of all, 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit a charity (Family Eldercare), so you can feel good about spending way, way too much on a slab of silicon. Tap the read link if you care to drive the price up even further (and you know you do).[Thanks, Alex]
Video: AMD's Phenom II X4 TWKR CPU for extreme overclocking lunatics
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 PreviewRead - AMD's Phenom II X4 TWKR: We Give It The LN2 Treatment Read - AMD Phenom II 42 TWKR Black Edition ProcessorRead - AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor
