Say what you will about
AMD, but don't you dare call it lazy. Within a matter of weeks, the outfit has launched a
2GB FirePro for um, pros, a
785G integrated chip for laypeople and now a new Phenom II X4 for the gamers in attendance. The all new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is the "highest clocked quad-core processor for desktop PCs," checking in with a stock frequency of 3.4GHz and support for DDR3 and AMD OverDrive 3.0. Based on the Dragon platform, the chip is actually identical to the
955 it replaces at the top save for the clock speed, and during the collective web's testing, it easily outpaced every other AMD option out there. Unfortunately, it still couldn't put the hurt on a smattering of Intel chips, with the Core 2 Extreme QX9770 and Core i7 920 besting it in all but a few tests. All told, the chip was found to be an incremental (albeit fun) update, but given that it's currently priced between Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9550 ($219) and the aforesaid Core i7 920 ($279), it's not a clear-cut bargain at $245. Still, give it a lil' shelf time, let the MSRP sink and it just might be worth another look in due time.
Read - HotHardware review
Read - Tom's Hardware review
Read - Anandtech's review
Read - PC Perspective's review
Read - Elite Bastards review
Read - Neoseeker review
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