AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE
Introduction
Published: 17th August 2009 | Source: AMD | Price: £185 |
AMD's release new quad core processor!

So you'd think that after making so much progress after over two years of falling considerably short of Intel's offerings, AMD have some scope to feel a little smug? Sadly, far from it I'm afraid. They may have Intel's line up attended to, right up to the Core 2 Quad Q9650 with it's Phenom II X4 955 3.20GHz Black Edition but only in a matter of weeks, there'll be a new kid on the block who goes by the name of Lynnfield. To be more precise, Lynnfield is Intel's mainstream variant of the existing Nehalem Core i7 but on a new socket, LGA1156. Boasting the same architecture as the number crunching LGA1366 Core i7's, minus Triple Channel Memory, Quickpath Technology, the upcoming lineup is expected to pack a considerable punch within a smaller and less complex package which will inevitably cost the consumer considerably less. It remains to be seen how well these processors will perform and how well they will overclock but if one thing is for sure, now of all days would be the worst time for AMD to sit back with their favourite glass of single malt, watch some television then perhaps go for a nap. After all, if one fail's to prepare then one must prepare to fail and this is exactly what happened when the previous performance champion, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 series received a punch in the face by the well received Core 2 Duo "Conroe" core...And on that bomb shell I wish to present to you the latest addition to the Phenom II family. Meet the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition.
Model | Clock Speed | L2 Cache | L3 Cache | Voltage | TDP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition | 3.4GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.875 - 1.5v | 140w |
Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition | 3.2GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.875 - 1.5v | 125w |
Phenom II X4 945 | 3.0GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.85 - 1.25V | 95w |
Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition | 3.0GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.875 - 1.5v | 125w |
Phenom II X4 920 | 2.8GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.875 - 1.5v | 125w |
Phenom II X4 910 | 2.6GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.875 - 1.425v | 95w |
Phenom II X4 905e | 2.5GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.825 - 1.25v | 65w |
Phenom II X4 900e | 2.4GHz | 2MB | 6MB | 0.850 - 1.25v | 65w |
Phenom II X4 810 | 2.6GHz | 2MB | 4MB | 0.875 - 1.425v | 95w |
Phenom II X4 805 | 2.5GHz | 2MB | 4MB | 0.875 - 1.425v | 95w |
So here it is. Another AMD Phenom II based on the Deneb core. 6MB of unified Level 3 cache, 512kB of Level 2 Cache per core and a frisky 2000MHz on the Northbridge Clock. Aside, a 200MHz clockspeed increment, it is no different to the previous Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition. Ah, though it does have a 140W TDP, a 15W increase from the 955BE. From what I gather so far, it's essentially the existing Phenom II with a clockspeed hike along with an increase in reference CPU Voltage to compensate for varying yields on the production line. Going by my previous experiences with overclocking AMD Phenom II processors, I would hope that this is more of a precaution rather than a requirement and that the yields of the Deneb core are improving quite nicely. All should soon be revealed when we get round to overclocking our sample.
So here's a couple of questions that need answering. How much of a performance gain can be had from another 200MHz increment? Is this processor worth the £175 price tag? We'll soon find out.
As usual at Overclock3D, to ensure all reviews are fair and unbiased, a standard set of hardware and software is used when ever it is possible. The systems we will be using today will consist of the following;
AMD Phenom II Systems

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P
Cooling
OCZ Gladiator MAX
Memory
4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1333 Corsair Dominator
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX260 896MB
Hard Disk Drive
500GB Maxtor DiamondMax 22 (SATA 3Gb/s)
Power Supply
Tuniq Ensemble 1200w
Graphics Drivers
Geforce WHQL 190.38
Operating System
Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 (x64)
Intel Core I7 System
Processors
Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz
Motherboards
Biostar TPower X58A
Cooling
OCZ Gladiator MAX
Memory
6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1333 Corsair Dominator
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX260 896MB
Hard Disk Drive
500GB Maxtor DiamondMax 22 (SATA 3Gb/s)
Power Supply
Tuniq Ensemble 1200w
Graphics Drivers
Geforce WHQL 190.38
Operating System
Windows VIsta Ultimate SP2 (x64)
Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz
Motherboards
Biostar TPower X58A
Cooling
OCZ Gladiator MAX
Memory
6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1333 Corsair Dominator
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX260 896MB
Hard Disk Drive
500GB Maxtor DiamondMax 22 (SATA 3Gb/s)
Power Supply
Tuniq Ensemble 1200w
Graphics Drivers
Geforce WHQL 190.38
Operating System
Windows VIsta Ultimate SP2 (x64)
Intel Core 2 Duo System
Processors
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz
Motherboards
ASUS ROG Maximus II Gene P45
Cooling
OCZ Gladiator MAX
Memory
4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-1066 Buffalo Firestix
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX260 896MB
Hard Disk Drive
500GB Maxtor DiamondMax 22 (SATA 3Gb/s)
Power Supply
Tuniq Ensemble 1200w
Graphics Drivers
Geforce WHQL 190.38
Operating System
Windows VIsta Ultimate SP2 (x64)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz
Motherboards
ASUS ROG Maximus II Gene P45
Cooling
OCZ Gladiator MAX
Memory
4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-1066 Buffalo Firestix
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX260 896MB
Hard Disk Drive
500GB Maxtor DiamondMax 22 (SATA 3Gb/s)
Power Supply
Tuniq Ensemble 1200w
Graphics Drivers
Geforce WHQL 190.38
Operating System
Windows VIsta Ultimate SP2 (x64)
Now let's move on to the results...
Most Recent Comments
Well thought out set of phrases.
Nice review all though the cpu is not just yet my cup of tee, how ever i will sing a song of Boom Boom Boom Let me way Eh Oh !!!!!! Or was it just a fizz and pop when it blew
nice to see you pushing it to its own demise .. are you going to get a new sample to play with.Quote
Nice review all though the cpu is not just yet my cup of tee, how ever i will sing a song of Boom Boom Boom Let me way Eh Oh !!!!!! Or was it just a fizz and pop when it blew

nice to see you pushing it to its own demise .. are you going to get a new sample to play with.Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by name='mayhem'
nice to see you pushing it to its own demise .. are you going to get a new sample to play with. |
It was very unfortunate that it bit the dust so prematurely. I was surprised because I and many others have pushed AMD Phenom II CPU's past 1.50V on air without any sign of it causing any damage. Overclocked performance would have been something particularly interesting to see as I've found that these processors scale rather well with clock speed increases especially with ramped up northbridge frequencies and DDR3. As I mentioned before, it's also quite well known for the Phenom II to overclock as much as 200MHz less on a 64bit operating system than on a 32bit OS.Quote
It's a little more unfortunate that the E8400/ROG-P45/DDR2 was used as the C2D comparison.
Not that it'd obviously stake any claims to outperform anything, but mentioning a Q9550 - that would have been nice. And a X48 DDR3 sporting mobo too, atleast a P45 DDR3 - particularly when emphasis is made on artificial benchmarks.
I personally see 775 as still a viable option.Quote
Not that it'd obviously stake any claims to outperform anything, but mentioning a Q9550 - that would have been nice. And a X48 DDR3 sporting mobo too, atleast a P45 DDR3 - particularly when emphasis is made on artificial benchmarks.
I personally see 775 as still a viable option.Quote
Good review