AMD Black Edition AMD Phenom X4 9600 / 2.3 GHz processor

Advantages: quad-core design handles data efficiently; cheaper than competing Intel quad-core chips.
Disadvantages: Expensive

...The good: "True" quad-core design handles data efficiently; cheaper than competing Intel quad-core chips. The bad: Not fast enough to justify the price savings compared to Intel's chips; next-gen Intel quad-core due out soon could further the performance gap. The bottom line: AMD's new Phenom quad-core CPU has little to recommend it over competing chips from Intel. The Phenom is marginally less expensive, but not enough to make up for its subpar performance. Unless AMD drops prices more aggressively, it looks like Intel will maintain its grasp on the CPU market for the foreseeable future. For raw performance, AMD's Athlon 64 X2 chips have lingered behind their Intel Core 2 Duo counterparts all year. Only aggressive pricing from AMD kept its old dual-core CPUs in systems and on store shelves. According to our testing, AMD... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fast, Quality and Easy install
Disadvantages: Price, Compatibility

...Overall i would definatley recommend the Phenom to anybody looking to upgrade there processor however i would advise that if you are looking into the upgrade you check the compatiblity of your motherboard and your graphics card as older motherboards wont have an updated bios or even not have a bios upgrade. I would suggest upgrades to both the processor and the motherboard at the same time and get a board with an 790FX chipset to be sure they're compatible. As for the price it may seam expensive but good searching could lead to you finding one for just over £100, and with AMD on your side you'll beat Intel hands down. I hope you find this review helpfully and for any other help on the Phemon just message me.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Fastest AMD Processor, easy to overclock, Cheap, Quad Core
Disadvantages: Not the best processor on the market, Runs hot

...Being a AMD fan i felt that Intel was wiping the market with there dual cores and quad cores. AMD was giving me no reason to stick by them. Until they release there new gfx card: HD 4870 (more on that in that review). Wanting to stick by them i saw this claiming to add 'True Quad core technology' i bought this. Probably the fastest processor AMD have. The Black edition lets you unlock the potential of the 'AMD overdrive'. Extremly user friendly any noob can overclock it. In the market its a above average processor only intels quad cores are faster but hey i bought mine for £129 which is good value compared too the intel processors. It does the jobs i need it to do such as run games and multitask at the same time!! It runs a tiny abit hot on intense activity a bigger fan will keep it down. But hey we're all not perfect :)... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful