AMD Phenom II X4 965 Available to Buy

Sniper Ash6 · 12-08-2009, 5:52 PM

Available to buy now at Overclockers UK

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail

Looks pretty sweet

Alan CD · 12-08-2009, 7:51 PM

Ah good. Will be interested to see how it compares with the Intel i7 920. I hope it runs cooler.

Looking forward to the reviews.

Sniper Ash6 · 12-08-2009, 8:20 PM

Im looking forward to the reviews as well, hopefully the other Phenom II CPUs will drop in price as well

jdmoyers · 13-08-2009, 9:20 AM

Is it worth the extra £60 or so over the 955?

Sniper Ash6 · 13-08-2009, 9:36 AM

i guess the reviews will show us

AnthonyG · 13-08-2009, 10:00 AM

How is this for a conclusion

AnandTech: AMD's Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition

Quote:

Originally Posted by anandtech

Without a doubt the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is faster than anything you can get that fits into an LGA-775 socket at a remotely similar price point. AMD has done its duty well there, the 965 is clearly a better option than the Q9550 or Q9650 for that matter.

As a gaming CPU, it's actually competitive with the i7s. If you exclude the FarCry 2 results, which I hardly believe are representative of most games, the Phenom II X4 965 is easily just as good of a gaming CPU as an i7 in today's titles.

Sniper Ash6 · 13-08-2009, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony1uk

How is this for a conclusion

AnandTech: AMD's Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition

Cheers, will have a full read of it

Alan CD · 13-08-2009, 12:22 PM

Hi

This does'nt look so good after reading the link in Anthony's post.

No way the AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE will run cooler, it has 140W TDP and system power consumption of 118.8W idle and 223W under load. That is very high.

The Intel Core i7 920 is 203W under load, so much more efficient.

I was hoping for better results from the new AMD.

Alan

AnthonyG · 13-08-2009, 1:40 PM

I don't think any of the Phenom II's are designed to even try to compete with the CoreI7.

They are designed as Skt 775 beaters, and from the review this does it very well and at less price.

Furthermore AMD usually release a 125w/140w TDP Black edition and then 6 months later when they have perfected the design re-release it as 95w TDP.

If I were building a new system and could only afford either this or the same priced Core2Quad. I would hands down buy this.

So AMD have done well in that regards.

jdmoyers · 13-08-2009, 1:46 PM

Is there any disadvantage to using the 95W processor?

AnthonyG · 13-08-2009, 1:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdmoyers

Is there any disadvantage to using the 95W processor?

Not sure what you are asking. The 95w upgraded version of the same processor is just running on a lower voltage. Thus has a lower TDP.

Or do you mean comparing the fastest current 95w TPD processor (which I think is the Phenom II 925), and this 140w P2 965?

jdmoyers · 13-08-2009, 2:06 PM

Ah sorry. I meant I there any performance disadvantages to using the upgraded processor running at 95W compared to the same processor that runs at 140W? It's just that I've seen some places where they sell the 955 or 945 processor (can't remember which) where the 95W version is the same price or possibly cheaper than the 140W. It just strikes me as strange as surely you'd go for the 95W one every time.

AnthonyG · 13-08-2009, 2:11 PM

The only thing I can think of is sometimes the 125w/140w original release will be a Black version with unlocked multiplier for easier overclocking.

But I would go for the 95w TDP version everyime.

Alan CD · 13-08-2009, 6:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony1uk

I don't think any of the Phenom II's are designed to even try to compete with the CoreI7.

That may be so, but it's selling for about the same price as the i7 920 - if not more expensive!

Sniper Ash6 · 13-08-2009, 6:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan CD

That may be so, but it's selling for about the same price as the i7 920 - if not more expensive!

Arent the other components cheaper though when compared to the i7s though?

Mobo and RAM?

I think it looks really good (and still hold that opinion after reading the review linked above through), hopefully the prices drop soon though as im skint...

AnthonyG · 13-08-2009, 7:02 PM

Yep I'm with SniperAsh on this, if you have an old AM2+ board and DDR2, you can just chuck this in to get a huge performance increase and give your PC a new life.

With the CoreI7, the X58 board is the limiting factor, plus you cannot get mATX on the X58.

Alan CD · 14-08-2009, 4:50 AM

Yeah - that's true. But you will possibly have to replace the PSU to cover the increase in power consumption!

Er... is'nt there a problem in dropping an AM3 processor into an AM2+ motherboard? I vaguely remember reading about it somewhere.

Alan

AnthonyG · 14-08-2009, 8:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan CD

Er... is'nt there a problem in dropping an AM3 processor into an AM2+ motherboard? I vaguely remember reading about it somewhere.

As far as I am aware, and I would like someone to correct me if they know otherwise, all you need to do is update the bios and you are good to go.

Sniper Ash6 · 14-08-2009, 8:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony1uk

As far as I am aware, and I would like someone to correct me if they know otherwise, all you need to do is update the bios and you are good to go.

Thats all i heard you had to do, seeing as its backwards compatible with certain supporting mobos and has a DDR2 controller

Arent there some mobo's that dont like 140W CPUs though?

AnthonyG · 14-08-2009, 8:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniper Ash6

Arent there some mobo's that dont like 140W CPUs though?

Yep that could very likely be what Alan has read. There were problems I remember reading last year with some AM2+ boards and the old Phenom I's with 125w TDP.

But usually your motherboard manufacturer gives a list of newly supported CPU's when it states a bios update has offered newer CPU compatibility, so if you are considering upgrading looking at this would be essential.

Sniper Ash6 · 14-08-2009, 9:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony1uk

Yep that could very likely be what Alan has read. There were problems I remember reading last year with some AM2+ boards and the old Phenom I's with 125w TDP.

But usually your motherboard manufacturer gives a list of newly supported CPU's when it states a bios update has offered newer CPU compatibility, so if you are considering upgrading looking at this would be essential.

i know mine can take the 955 but i havent checked about the 965

Prices are meant to be dropping on them all and so the 955 could be a good investment

Is it just the TDP and Increased multiplier to hit 3.4GHz as in difference between the 955 and 965?

*Paul Shirley* · 14-08-2009, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdmoyers

Ah sorry. I meant I there any performance disadvantages to using the upgraded processor running at 95W compared to the same processor that runs at 140W?

It looks like my 550BE was binned as an X2 because its actually most stable .1V undervolted and 2 cores are unstable at stock volts. I effectively already have a semi low power version and the only difference is voltage, so no performance loss at all.

Sniper Ash6 · 15-08-2009, 11:50 AM

It has already dropped to 179 @ OCuk (see OP for OCuk link)

IIRC it started at 210

AnthonyG · 15-08-2009, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniper Ash6

It has already dropped to 179 @ OCuk (see OP for OCuk link)

IIRC it started at 210

Its £181.69 in Scans Today only offer.

Personally I would pay the extra £2 to get it from them than OCuk.

Sniper Ash6 · 15-08-2009, 11:55 AM

yeah but £31 in the past few days drop in OCuk

Its still preorder only at ebuyer though

Some are saying that it doesnt clock very well, hopefully the 955 drops a bit more and ill see about grabbing one eventually

Alan CD · 15-08-2009, 3:16 PM

Price of the 965 has dropped rapidly!

The 955 also looks good but the power consumption figures are also very high - this would appear to be an AMD problem!