PCWizKid has reviewed earlier the Phenom II X4 810, today we review the latest Flagship model from AMD, the Phenom II X4 955 CPU.  This unlocked black edition has a default core speed of 3.2Ghz with a multiplier at x16 with lots of room for overclocking.   One thing to keep in mind is that AMD's intent is to give the best price for the performance you can get comparing it to the Intel core 2 Quad 9550.   PCWizKid reviews and tests this CPU to validate the Phenom II 955 strengths.

The Review

Watch PCWizKid's detailed video review of the Phenom II X4 955 CPU

Video Notes:

PCWizKid's Test system uses the latest Dragon Update Congiguration.  This consists of the AMD Phenom II processors, AMD 790FX based motherboards, and the well known ATI HD Radeon 4800 series graphics cards, specifically the HD4890 is used in our case along with the latest DDR3 memory.  This combination is referred to as the "Dragon Update" platform.

DRAGON Update TEST SYSTEM SPECS used by PCWizKid

- Phenom II X4 955 Overclocked to 3.83 Ghz vCore 1.504v - Bus speed 202Mhz x 19 Multiplier. 
- Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P Motherboard
- OCZ DDR3 12800 Platinum AMD Edition (at default bios timings)
- Diamond ATI Radeon HD4890 Overclocked at 950Mhz Core , 1060Mhz Memory clocks
- WD Caviar Blue SATA HDD 500GB
- Tuniq Ripper 1000 Watt Power Supply
- Cooler Master Scout Case
- Cooler Master V10 CPU Cooler
- Windows Vista Ultimate + SP1
- Ambient room temperature 20C or 68F

- All tests are performed at 1280x1024 and 1680x1050 resolution for consistency in results and comparisons with other system tests.  These are benchmarking resolutions which is commonly used.

• Game settings for benchmarks are always maxed out AA at either Very High or Enthusiast levels when available.
• 3dmark06, 3dVantage, SiSandra 2009, Everest,CPU-Z , OCCT, Prime95 and many other tools and utilities were used in the benchmarking process and were repeated and ran many times to validate results.

Other Benchmark results (aditional to the ones shown in the video review)
Winrar Benchmark Score - 2133
AMD Overdrive Benchmark Score - 8350

Specifications

• Processor Frequency & L3 Cache:
  • X4 955 Black Edition = 3.2 GHz / 6 MB L3
  • X4 945 = 3.0 GHz / 4 MB L3
• L1 Cache Sizes: 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (512KB total L1 per processor)
• L2 Cache Sizes: 512KB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
• L3 Cache Size: 6MB (shared between cores)
• Total Cache (L2+L3): 8MB
• Memory Controller Type:ype: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller*
• Memory Controller Speed: Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
• Types of Memory Supported:
  • PC2-8500 / DDR2-1066MHz
  • PC3-10600 / DDR3-1333MHz**
• HyperTransport 3.0 Link: One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
• Total Processor Bandwidth: Up to 37.3 GB/s total bandwidth
• Packaging: Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)
• Fab location: FGlobal Foundaries Fab 1 Module 1 in Dresden, Germany (Formerly AMD Fab 36)
• Process Technology: 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
• Approximate Transistor count: ~ 758 million (45nm)
• Approximate Die Size: 258 mm² (45nm)
• Max Temp: 62° Celsius
• Nominal Voltage: 0.875 - 1.5 Volts
• Max TDP: 125 Watts
• Code Name: Deneb

Conclusions

As seen in the video review the Phenom II X4 955 has made a stand and a mark for PC enthusiats on a budget looking to get the best value and performance for the buck.  You can tell also by the results demonstrated in the video review that the 45nm chip has a lot of potential for enthusiats looking to overclock and squeeze every once out of it.  For the price point again AMD has proven it is capable to deliver performance that rivals and beats in many cases the Intel Core 2 Quad 9550! Best thing about this Phenom II CPU is that for those that already own an AMD socket AM2+ motherboard and simply want to move up to the latest quad-core processor this is the smart choice.  This is defenitely an alternative to spending more on a Intel Core i7 with a new X58 motherboard and DDR3 RAM.  Its a no brainer AMD comes through with an affordable choice for your next upgrade or new gaming rig.