AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Review - PAGE 1

When is it going to end? AMD keeps increasing the base frequencies of its Phenom II processors, and today it has reached new heights at 3.7GHz with the Phenom II X4 980. What's impressive is that AMD's Deneb die manages to do so while staying within the same 125W TDP (thermal design power). At first only the X4 955 could do that, as the 965 required more juice at 140W TDP, so we're already jumping into this review seeing progress on AMD's part.

In the whole history of x86 processors at this speed level, only the Intel Pentium 4s can lay claim to a higher frequency. That was back when the pipelines were very large though; the Intel Prescotts for example went as high as 31 stages. Breaking the instructions into smaller, independent operations allowed each to be completed faster, thus allowing decreases in cycle time - or increased frequency. Long pipelines do have their downsides, though, with increased latency is the most predominant. The Phenom II X4 980 we're looking at today is still the same unchanged architecture.

Obviously, this increase in frequency will enhance overall performance, but to what point? Since the last Phenom II release, there are new contenders in the form of Intel's Sandy Bridge, which are also clocked quite fast especially considering their lower 95W thermal envelope. Two new architectures are also expected to launch soon, namely the AMD Bulldozer and the LGA2011 processor platform from Intel. Can the Phenom II X4 980 still attract consumers with a two year old AMD die? To be sure, this launch is accompanied with some price drops. This seems as good time as any to thoroughly examine the segment of the market in question:

11/05/03:One sure thing is that AMD faces much stronger competition now that Sandy Bridge is out. That began with the X6 1100T BE, which directly faced the Core i5-2500K. At the same frequency, Sandy Bridge promises a much stronger single-thread performance. According to Neoseeker's previous analysis on the matter, no AMD processor can match the Intel offering in gaming.

When it comes down to encoding or anything of the likes, the Thuban can go as low as 3GHz and still win the battle, so it all depends on the programs used. Next, there are some Clarkdale offerings which, oddly enough, have not fallen in price even after the arrival of the next architecture. For a lighter bill, one can buy the equally fast Core i5-2400. The 3.6~3.7GHz Deneb dies are also in this ballpark.

As for the X4 970 and X6 1055T, they are somewhat alone in their price range, considering that the Core 2 architecture is not in the game anymore. A bit lower, the Core i3-2120 certainly promises an impressive single-thread performance for the price. It's surrounded by two Denebs though, which offer twice as many cores and an unlocked multiplier. Finally, the last sample of Sandy Bridge, a 3.1GHz dual-core, faces off the 3GHz Phenom II quad-core and the top dual-core from AMD. Here the X2 565 isn't really in the best position, as the Core i3-2100 promises much more performance. Can an extra 600MHz put the Phenom II X4 980 BE on top? That's what this article will reveal.

One should consider that the motherboard prices for the different platforms are not the same too; there are a few models of AM3 motherboards at the $50 mark, whereas the socket LGA1155 motherboards begin at $60 with only two offerings. Overall, AMD has a tough competition nowadays, which hopefully Bulldozer and Llano will be able to deal with. But for now, it is time to focus on its new quad-core flagship.

Update 11/06/22: It took more than one month for the Phenom II X4 980 to be available on popular e-tailers. Now that is it, the prices in the above table have been updated, and clearly, AMD understood that it had to lower its prices to remain competitive. The Thubans are much cheaper, however the X4 980 is still pretty expensive at $190.