Appearance and thoughts
We've got two brand-new CPUs. We've spoken about their characteristics at length. Let's break up the monotony with some pictures!. Click on them to get larger pictures.
It's heavy, it's fast, and it costs a lot. The FX-55 is rumoured to spank your wallet to the tune of £600. There's nothing meaningful that one can really glean from the codes on the large heatspreader. Expect all initial FX-55s to have the same basic code: ADAFX55DEI5AS. Our sample was put together in the 33rd week of this year and still runs off an operating voltage of around 1.5v. AMD shipped us both processors along with an absolutely gargantuan cooler, replete with heatpipes and a copper bottom. The spec. sheet indicates that the FX-55 pushes out around 110w TDP, so cooling is an obvious and immediate concern.
Slightly, and that's purely comparative, cooler is the 2.4GHz Model 4000+ which is essentially the older FX-53 with new number designation and locked multiplier.
Rather obviously, all S939 CPUs share a common pin structure. Just don't go trying to push it into a S940 motherboard with the hope that it works; it won't. Whilst the Model 4000+ plays second fiddle to the FX-55, it's certainly not a slow or cheap CPU. Your favourite e-tailer will divest you of at least 530 of the finest British pounds before handing over a retail 4000+. Both processors are positioned in strictly deep-pocketed enthusiast territory, right alongside a few Extreme Editions from Intel.
2.6GHz, courtesy of good yields and the CG Clawhammer stepping.
Pretty much the same formula here, albeit run with 200MHz less juice. Let's now see how this illustrious couple shape up against the competition.
