review AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU Review - Page 2

where the hell are you getting your information from? the 955 is 3.2 Ghz. the fastest AMD processor is the 965, at 3.4 Ghz. there is no processor for sale that runs on 3.8 Ghz at stock speeds. and dont tell me that that any AMD processor is better than the i5 750. the 750 has a lower clock speed, but the newer architecture of the i5 means that it runs faster than a phenom at 3.4 Ghz.

there is no set limit as t ohow high it can go, just because it is a certain cpu. here are the limitations on overclocking:

heat
voltage
chip imperfections
stability of motherboard

i believe thats it. heat is bad, because once you hit a certain temperarure, the chip gets unstable. solution? cool it. voltage decreases the maximum unstable temperature (if i understand it correctly), so you need better cooling that can dissipate heat faster. as for the other two, chip imperfections are nothing you can do about - it will be pure luck if you get, for instance a 965 that can hit 5 Ghz, while another can only hit 4. both work as advertised (ie, at their stock settings), so the manufacturer has no obligation to tell you what it can overclock up to. as for the stability of the motherboard, this comes from getting a higher quality motherboard, but the difference in the final speed is minimal unless youre on extreme cooling.

quote hiigaran

there is no set limit as t ohow high it can go, just because it is a certain cpu. here are the limitations on overclocking:

heat
voltage
chip imperfections
stability of motherboard

i believe thats it. heat is bad, because once you hit a certain temperarure, the chip gets unstable. solution? cool it. voltage decreases the maximum unstable temperature (if i understand it correctly), so you need better cooling that can dissipate heat faster. as for the other two, chip imperfections are nothing you can do about - it will be pure luck if you get, for instance a 965 that can hit 5 Ghz, while another can only hit 4. both work as advertised (ie, at their stock settings), so the manufacturer has no obligation to tell you what it can overclock up to. as for the stability of the motherboard, this comes from getting a higher quality motherboard, but the difference in the final speed is minimal unless youre on extreme cooling.

965's cannot hit 5Ghz. That is a certainty on air or water.

woo x4 965 BE. i has me one of these. great little gaming CPU for the money. i have mine @ 4ghz @ 1.392v according to cpu-z, air cooled w/ a cheapo gigabyte mobo.

i was hoping for at least 4ghz, so i cant complain.

only problem is it lacks a certain instruction set (has SSE4a, but i need SSE4 itself i think to do a particular software emulation )

quote PureOCJim

965's cannot hit 5Ghz. That is a certainty on air or water.

i was using arbitrary numbers to make my point that even between supposedly same processors, there are still differences.