AMD Phenom II TWKR Edition CPU Preview - PAGE 1

On May 22nd, I shared with you what I have seen at the AMD Overclocking Event in Austin, Texas. K|ngp|n & others had achieved quite respectable scores, beating some of the world records. AMD now updated us with a new video that summarizes the whole event. Read carefully what is written at 3min 55sec and you will understand why this video is relevant.

Did you see? In fact, the processors used were diguised TWKR Editions, since it was written "Phenom II X4 955" on their heatspreaders. But it is only 21 days later that we learn about the TWKR Edition. We did not have any idea about its nature. I thought it could have been a new flagship, even if I already saw what it was able of, without knowing it.

Well, AMD was very kind; a few days ago, one of these limited edition processors showed up at Neoseeker's labs doors so we got the chance to play with this little jewel. But before jumping on benchmark scores, let's investigate what it looks like and what it really is.

It arrived in a nice little metal box that opened like a jewel box, thanks to its hinge on its back.

Upon opening it, I discovered a chip that had some traces of thermal paste remaining, which changed the way light reflected on the heatspreader, hence making it much more apparent in the picture than in reality. In the second picture, a fade fingerprint can be seen on it.

This is how I clean my processors after usage. So here it is, the TWKR Edition in all its beauty!

As you have probably seen, this processor is "Not for Sale". Only a few of them were made, targeted to the extreme overclocking community in appreciation for their record performance feats with the new AMD Phenom II processors at the heart of the Dragon Platform. AMD will distribute these units through promotional means only, and there won't be any on sale on popular e-tailers.

So in what different are the internals compared to the Phenom II X4 955? Since it is geared toward the extreme overclocking crowd, it is a high SIDD chip. This is an engineering term which means it has a high leakage. In simpler words, the TWKR processors can be supplied more voltage, thus power, and handle it without any glitch. Since the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we all know that Phenom IIs scale very well at low temperatures. This is why a high leakage is a great step up on a Phenom II chip, because it can then achieve über high frequencies. All in all, the X4 42 really shows the technology and sound engineering that is hidden under each of the Phenom II's heatspreaders. So, it is time to slap it in a motherboard and see what it can do.