Three New Phenom X4 Processors Tested

Recently announced were 3 new Phenom X4 CPUs: 9950 Black Edition (2.6GHz, US$235), 9350e (2.0GHz, US$195), and 9150e (1.8GHz, US$175).

All 3 processors feature:

• 4 cores
• (64KB + 64KB) x 4 L1Cache
• 512KB x 4 L2 Cache
• 2MB L3 Cache
• Integrated Dual Channel (up to DDR2-1066) memory controller
• AM2+ packaging
• 65nm SOI process technology
• "Agena" processor codename

The 9950 Black Edition consumes 140 Watts maximu, while the 9350e and 9150e, being the energy-efficient Phenom X4s, consume no more than 65 Watts.

AnandTech.com tested the Phenom X4 9950, 9350e and 9150e processors:

"... AMD's CPU division is finally competitive again. The return to competition isn't because of an increase in performance or architectural changes, it's simply through very aggressive pricing. ... The Phenom X4 9950 BE and 9850 BE are reasonably competitive with the Q9300 and Q6600, although we would still opt for the Intel solutions thanks to lower power consumption and significantly better overclocking potential. ... The Phenom X4 9550 is the sweet spot of AMD's product line and it does do well against Intel's dual-core E8400, as do the X3 8650/8450 against Intel's E7200. " [AnandTech | AMD's Phenom X4 9950, 9350e and 9150e]

HardwareZone.com tested the Phenom X4 9350e and 9150e , and found them to be 'Energy Efficient'at the expense of performance :

"... we can only think of one scenario where the new Phenom entrants would be of potential value and that's when you consider AMD's balanced system slogan, exemplified by AMD's mainstream Cartwell platform. Such a platform would marry an AMD 780G motherboard with a low TDP quad-core processor like these new Phenoms and make for a powerful, yet compact little system to play your Blu-ray movies or equivalent HD video content, with decent gaming potential thrown in. ... As we found in our real-world games testing, the minute you consider discrete graphics for better game performance, an AMD-based system would only hinder your overall graphics performance. So for the performance-concerned enthusiasts, you would do well to stick with an Intel processor. " [HardwareZone | Energy Efficient CPUs Ahoy!]

If you are looking to build a new quad-core system, and care less with overclocking, the Phenom X4 9950 BE looks to be a good processor, being at par with the Q9300 and Q6600 Intel CPUs.

Technorati : 9150, 9350, 9950, amd, black, cpu, edition, phenom, processor, review, test, x4