Final thoughts and rating
AMD's Phenom II processors represent solid technology that has stood the test of time, mainly through inveterate price cutting. Now clocked in at 3.7GHz for a quad-core part, the 980 Black Edition represents the pinnacle of the Deneb line, first introduced in February 2009.
But AMD and Intel haven't stood still in the two years since the Deneb launch. Phenom II is now headlined by a six-core chip, fitting into the same thermal envelope and price, while sporting some nifty Turbo CORE technology. Intel, meanwhile, has brought in a slew of value-orientated Sandy Bridge chips that offer excellent performance in the sub-£250 market.
So while the Phenom II X4 chips were decent when first introduced, the market has moved on enough to make the X4 980 BE, at best, an average buy, because there are simply better processors for the same money.
Got £150 to spend on a chip? We recommend you opt for either a Phenom II X6 1075T or Intel Core i5 2500(K).
The Good
Forces down the prices of other Deneb chips, one would hope
The Bad
Intel's Sandy Bridge and AMD's Thuban six-core Phenoms are plain better
HEXUS Rating
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition
HEXUS Where2Buy
TBC.
HEXUS Right2Reply
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