So what's new
Enhancing the six-pronged attackProcessor company AMD has used the backdrop of the recession to promote a range of value-orientated CPUs and GPUs. The processors run from single-core models through to six-core processing, and no consumer CPU costs you more than £225. AMD would rather charge you £500-plus for its top-of-the-line components, much as it did five years ago, but Intel's performance Core i7 chips, spanning £190-£780, keep AMD's pricing hemmed in.
So which AMD CPU should you buy, appreciating the vast range on offer? Looking towards the future with an aim of insulating yourself from continual upgrading, the Phenom II X6 chips make a compelling case. First uncovered two months ago, the 95W version of the Phenom II X6 1055T looks particularly tasty, coming in at £150.
Lower-power goodness
AMD first introduced the X6 1055T with a thermal design point (TDP) of 125W, keeping power-draw parity with the faster X6 1090T. Now with yields improving at a steady rate and computer manufacturers looking to place these six-core chips in ever-smaller chassis, bringing cooling and ventilation to the fore, AMD has been able to reduce the TDP by 30W, to 95W, without having to tamper with the chip's performance parameters. This means it operates at a native 2.80GHz and is able to boost frequency to 3.30GHz under ideal conditions.
Knowing that the 95W version of the 1055T is preferable from a power standpoint, how would you, the consumer, be certain that you're making the correct purchase? AMD helps out by having different stock codes for the 95W and 125W parts, where the newer chip is referred to as HDT55TWFK6DGR when purchased as an OEM part and HDT55TWFGRBOX if made available in retail form, including cooler and three-year warranty. Contrast this with a HDT55TFBGRBOX code for the 125W retail. Got it?
But you can't purchase it alone in Europe
AMD muddies the water outside of Japan by insisting that the 95W part is purchased as part of a fully-built PC or, at the very least, in a bundle form, together with a motherboard. We view this as a move to safeguard current 125W-rated stock, because we would see no reason to go for the higher-power chip at the same price point. In due course we hope that AMD phases out the 125W model and brings 95W goodness to all six-core chips.
Under the tenuous assumption that an enthusiast could get their mitts on a Phenom II X6 1055T 95W CPU, it would line up against its peers thus.
Specifications
| Model number | Cores threads |
GHz clock | Turbo Boost (max) | Process | Die size | Transistors | Cache | Interface | Memory
controller |
Official
memory support |
TDP |
Socket | Price (as of today) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phenom II X4 965 BE | 4/4 | 3.40 | N/A | 45nm (Deneb) | 258mm² | 758m | 2MB
L2 6MB L3 |
HT | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333+ | 95W | AM3 | £145 |
| Phenom II X6 1055T 95W | 6/6 | 2.80 | 3.30 | 45nm (Thuban) | 346mm² | 904m | 3MB
L2 6MB L3 |
HT | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,600+ | 95W | AM3 | £150 |
| Phenom II X6 1090T | 6/6 | 3.20 | 3.60 | 45nm (Thuban) | 346mm² | 904m | 3MB
L2 6MB L3 |
HT | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,600+ | 125W | AM3 | £225 |
| Core i5 661 (IGP) | 2/4 | 3.33 | 3.60 | 32nm (Clarkdale) | 81mm² | 382m | 512KB
L2 4MB L3 |
DMI | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333 | 87W | LGA1156 | £160 |
| Core i5 750 | 4/4 | 2.67 | 3.20 | 45nm (Lynnfield) | 296mm² | 774m | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
DMI | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333 | 95W | LGA1156 | £150 |
| Core i7 860 | 4/8 | 2.80 | 3.46 | 45nm (Lynnfield) | 296mm² | 774m | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
DMI | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333 | 95W | LGA1156 | £220 |
| Core i7 870 |
4/8 | 2.93 | 3.60 | 45nm (Lynnfield) | 296mm² | 774m | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
DMI | Dual-channel | DDR3-1,333 | 95W | LGA1156 | £230 |
| Core i7 920 | 4/8 | 2.67 | 2.93 | 45nm (Bloomfield) | 263mm² | 731m | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | DDR3-1066 | 130W | LGA1366 | £190 |
| Core i7 975 EE | 4/8 | 3.33 | 3.60 | 45nm (Bloomfield) | 263mm² | 731m | 1MB
L2 8MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | DDR3-1066 | 130W | LGA1366 | £700 |
| Core i7 970 | 6/12 | 3.20 | 3.46 | 32nm (Westmere) | 248mm² | 1,170m | 1.5MB
L2 12MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | DDR3-1066 | 130W | LGA1366 | £680 |
| Core i7 980X EE | 6/12 | 3.33 | 3.60 | 32nm (Westmere) | 248mm² | 1,170m | 1.5MB
L2 12MB L3 |
QPI | Triple-channel | DDR3-1066 | 130W | LGA1366 | £795 |
The lengthy table highlights that the obvious competitor to AMD's chip is Intel's Core i5 750. Purchasing a better Intel CPU would necessitate a larger budget - 46 per cent more for the Core i7 860 - and a sacrifice in power-draw if plumping for the long-established Core i7 920. In this regard, then, the AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 95W is ideally positioned from both performance and power-draw viewpoints.
