In our review of AMD's Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, released today, we reckoned that it performed pretty much on a par with Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9550. Intel's mid-range chip currently costs £210, so it would make implicit sense if AMD's fastest quad-core came in at a touch lower. Indeed, we stated that 'The X4 955 BE is a good buy at £200 but a mediocre one if priced at £250.'

Taking a look at online etailers this morning, here's how the two new Phenom II's availability and price pans out for the UK market.

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition: 3.20GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache, retail

Etailer	Status as at 11:00 23/04/09	Price, including VAT
Scan.co.uk	In stock	£213.79
Ebuyer	In stock	£206.50
Dabs	Not listed	N/A

AMD Phenom II X4 945: 3.0GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache, retail

Etailer	Status as at 11:00 23/04/09	Price, including VAT
Scan.co.uk	Pre-order	£196.73
Ebuyer	Not listed	N/A
Dabs	Not listed	N/A

Ebuyer's Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition pricing is the keenest and closest to the magical £200 mark. We expect other etailers' pricing to move closer to that figure in a week or so's time. Interestingly, Novatech reckons it has stock when no-one else appears to.

The Phenom II X4 945 is listed at two places, both under £200, but it really needs to be below £180 for it to make sense, appreciating the current ~£168 cost of the Phenom II X4 940 AM2+.

Looking over the pond, Newegg is selling the 955 BE for $245, plus taxes, whilst the '945 isn't listed. The Intel Q9550 is priced a little more at $270.

With pricing being pretty much what we expected on the first day, the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition continues to be a decent buy.

*As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum.