AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition
The Black Edition processors target overclockers in the same way that Intel's Extreme Edition processors do.
An unlocked multiplier allows you to push this processor to its limits
Ratings Breakdown
Editor's Rating:- Performance:
- Features:
- Value for money:
- Overall:
Key Specs
Cache memory: 512KB L1, 2MB L2, 6MB L3
Clock speed: 3GHz
Number of cores: 4
Power consumption: 125-Watts
Price: $166
Just as Intel offers its expensive, multiplier unlocked ‘Extreme Edition' processors, AMD offers its ‘Black Edition' chips to those that have the need for extra speed.
At standard operating frequency this chip has all four cores running at 3GHz and carries 512KB of L1 cache, 2MB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache. The CPU runs on a x15 multiplier factor and this can be increased or decreased depending on how you
want to overclock your processor. In our case we were able to effortlessly push the Black Edition chip to a mighty 3.5GHz and this is quite a solid overclocking achievement.
As this is a 125-Watts TDP CPU however, we needed to use a high-end AMD heatsink to maintain stability when overclocked. And even using this, the chip ran at idle and load temperatures of 52- and 58-degrees Celsius. That said the machine ran 100% stable at this speed for days on end.
Coming back to standard frequency the Black Edition returned decent numbers but it was no match for the two Intel processors in this grouptest. In fact the Core i5 750 which runs at a lower clock frequency of 2.67GHz but retails for a slightly higher price left it completely in the dust in all of our benchmarks. The difference was easy to see in gaming particularly where the Intel Core i5 scored an amazing 307.8fps and 79fps to the Phenom II's 234.6fps and 45fps in Street Fighter IV and World in Conflict.
Verdict: Although not exactly the best value in this group AMD's Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition has solid overclocking potential.
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