Processor AMD Phenom II. Features AMD Phenom II X4 940, AMD Phenom II X4 945, AMD Phenom II X4 955, AMD Phenom II X4 965. Overview and overclocking of processors AMD Phenom II X4

AMD is known as a supplier of high-performance, technological, and at the same time affordable processors for various types of PCs. Very popular in Russia and in the world was a line of chips AMD Phenom II, produced by this brand. In turn, the modification of the X4 processors related to the corresponding line has become more widespread. These chips are characterized as high-speed, universal and also optimally suitable for overclocking. What are their main characteristics? What do modern IT specialists say about the efficiency of Phenom II chips in the X4 version?

General information about the microcircuit line

Processors of the AMD Phenom II family are based on the high-tech micro architecture of the K10 type. In the corresponding line of the chip there are solutions equipped with a number of cores from 2 to 6. The X4 chips belonging to the family under consideration belong also to the AMD platform developed by AMD. Those chips that have 6 cores belong to the Leo platform.

AMD company produces AMD Phenom II chips in several brand modifications: Thuban, Zosma, Deneb, Heka, and also Callisto. All of them are united by a technological process - 45 nm. But the differences between them can be traced very significant.

Thus, the processors in the modification of Thuban are equipped with 6 cores and 904 million transistors, have an area of 346 square meters. Mm. The size of the cache memory of the third level on the chips of this type is 64 GB, the same amount is reserved for instructions. The second level cache - 512 KB, the third - 6 MB. The processors are compatible with RAM modules such as DDR2 and DDR3. The power consumption of the chips is between 95 and 125 watts. Processors related to this company line can operate at frequencies from 2.6 to 3.3 GHz, with the Turbo Core option enabled - up to 3.7 GHz.

Chips AMD Phenom II in the modification of Zosma have 4 cores. The cache memory in them is the same as that of the Thuban processors. The same is true with support for RAM modules. Regarding energy consumption - within the line of Zosma there are chips that work at 65 watts, but there are those that consume power of 140 watts. The processors in this modification operate at a frequency of 3 GHz, in Turbo Core mode can be accelerated to 3.4 GHz.

The Deneb chips also have 4 cores. They are equipped with 758 million transistors and have an area of 258 square meters. Mm. Cache readings are the same as in the modifications of the chip discussed above. The same can be said about the level of support for memory modules and key technologies. Processors related to the modification of Deneb, can operate at frequencies from 2.4 to 3.7 GHz.

Chips within the line of Heka chips actually correspond to the main characteristics of Deneb chips, however, they only have 3 cores. From a technological point of view, they are Deneb processors with a 1-m disconnected core. It can also be noted that the frequencies supported by Heka chips are in the range from 2.5 to 3 GHz. In addition, among the processors of this line are not those that have a consumption of more than 95 watts.

Another modification of AMD Phenom II chips is Callisto. In turn, the chips that refer to it are also virtually identical to Deneb processors, but work on 2 cores. That is, they represent a Deneb chip with 2 cores turned off. The processors of this line operate at frequencies from 3 to 3.4 GHz, consume 80 watts of power.

Among the most common types of Phenom II processors in Russia are those that belong to the Deneb line.

The chips of AMD Phenom II, which are related to this technology range, are produced in the following popular modifications: X4 940, X4 945, X4 955, X4 965. There is also a flagship model of the X4 line - the X4 980 processor.

Characteristics of the processor X4 940

The first processor, which we will study - AMD Phenom II X4 940. The characteristics of this chip are as follows.

The processor in the modification X4 940 operates at a frequency of 3 GHz when using a multiplication factor of 15 units. The chip is equipped with 4 cores. The technological process, within the framework of which the microcircuit is made - 45 nm. The amount of cache memory level 1 processor AMD Phenom II is 128 KB, the second - 2 MB, the third - 6 MB. A set of instructions supported by the chip: MMX, SSE in versions 2, 3 and 4, 3DNow! The processor is compatible with technologies such as AMD64 / EM65T, as well as NX Bit. The maximum operating temperature of the chip AMD Phenom II - 62 degrees. The socket type supported by the chip is AM2 +.

It can be noted that the AMD Phenom II X4 945 processor has almost the same characteristics. The only difference is that the X4 945 chip can work on the AM3 socket.

Characteristics and capabilities of the chip in version X4 955

We now study the specifics of the AMD Phenom II X4955 chip. The characteristics of this chip are as follows.

The processor in this modification operates at 3.2 MHz with the multiplier factor 16. It has a built-in memory controller - its bandwidth is 21 Gbit / s. The amount of cache memory of the processor does not differ from that of the ones we have considered above, in particular, AMD Phenom II X4 945. The chip characteristics in terms of supporting the main multimedia and computing technologies are the same as those of the younger processors. The maximum operating temperature of the chip is also 62 degrees. Among the most significant advantages of the AMD Phenom II processor in the modification X4 955 - compatibility with RAM modules type DDR3.

What are the practical capabilities of the chip? You can pay attention to the results of some tests of this processor. Note that these were achieved provided the chip is used in combination with such components as:

- motherboard type ASUS M4A79T, supporting sockets AM3;

- 4 GB of RAM in the modification of DDR3.

As the tests carried out by IT experts show, the AMD Phenom II processor in combination with DDR3 memory modules is significantly ahead of similar chips that are installed in PCs equipped with DDR2 RAM. Therefore, a significant factor in using the capabilities of the chip in practice is its addition to other high-performance and technological hardware components.

Overclocking X4 955

Consider another aspect of the use of the AMD Phenom II X4 955 processor - overclocking. Experienced IT experts recommend to use the multifunctional utility Overdrive in version 3.0 for its implementation.

Of course, you can overclock through the BIOS, but using the marked program allows you to solve the tasks without rebooting the PC. Among the most notable features of the utility are BEMP. Its use makes it much easier to configure the processor in overclocking mode. This function involves linking the Overdrive program to an online database that contains lists of optimal values for clock speeds and other options necessary to speed up the operation of the chip. Very useful is the option Smart Profiles, which is in the program Overdrive. With its help, the user can fine-tune the process of overclocking the chip.

Overdrive also allows you to adapt the overclocking of the AMD Phenom II X4 processor to the various applications running on the computer. So, for example, if a program operates in a single-threaded mode, then the user can use the corresponding software to reduce the frequencies of 3 of the 4 core chips in order to increase the speed limits for the 4th processor while maintaining the optimal operating temperature.

Comparison of X4 955 with competitors

How competitive is the version of the AMD Phenom II X4 processor under consideration? The review we are doing on comparing the capabilities of the chip with analogs may not be sufficiently detailed, but we, again, can examine the results of comparative tests of the chip conducted by IT specialists. The nearest competitor of the processor in question is Intel Core 2 in the Quad Q 9550 modification.

As the tests of the performance of chips show, the solution from Intel is faster than the chip from AMD, but not much at all. Practical significance for the launch of games and applications identified by experts difference is likely not to be. In turn, solutions such as Intel Core i7 in version 920, noticeably outperform both the solution from AMD, and the Q9550 processor. In this case, all 3 chips in general have a comparable market value. It can be noted that in multimedia tests the AMD Phenom II processor in this modification is significantly more competitive than in arithmetic ones. Thus, in testing, it is important to measure the performance of the compared solutions in different modes - in order to have a more objective view of the capabilities of the microchips.

Characteristics and capabilities of the chip in version X4 965

Let's study now the capabilities of the chip AMD Phenom II X4 965. The characteristics of this chip are as follows.

The standard processor frequency is 3.4 GHz. The voltage on the chip is 1.4 V. Other parameters of the processor, in general, are identical to the younger models of the X4 line. It can be noted that the chip can be used on 2 types of sockets - AM3 and AM2 +. The memory controller, which is installed in the processor, is compatible, in turn, with 2 RAM standards - DDR2 and DD3.

Overclocking the chip X4 965

Let's study how successful AMD Phenom II X4 965 can be overclocked. It can be noted that the processors of the line in question are well adapted to adjusting the voltage level. So, for example, if some of the advanced solutions from Intel can work unstably at a rate of 1.65 V and higher, then AMD chips function in such modes to be fully stable.

As the tests of AMD Phenom II X4 show, overclocking the chip in the considered modification allows reaching the frequency of 3.8 GHz. By the way, about the same result can be achieved with the acceleration of the processor in the modification of X4 955. As noted by IT specialists, it is theoretically possible to speed up the X4 965 chip to the frequency of 4 GHz, at which the stability of the computer remains. But in case of exceeding this index the processor can work in some modes unstably. According to experts who tested the current version of AMD Phenom II, overclocking of this chip allows not only to fix the advantages of the chip in the tests, but also to significantly speed up the work of the PC in practice.

It can be noted that overclocking of the processor in the X4 965 modification is possible not only through experiments with basic coefficients. Experienced IT specialists also apply a technique in accordance with which the chip acceleration is achieved due to the increase in the frequency of the north bridge. This can be brought to the figure corresponding to 2.6 GHz. It is important that the motherboard on which the processor is installed supports the required operating modes of the chip.

An extremely important aspect of overclocking any chip, including AMD Phenom II, is the characteristics of the cooling system. The one that does a good job working with the processor in its normal mode may not be able to ensure stable operation of the chip, and hence the whole PC as a whole. Therefore, it may be necessary to install a cooling system with higher RPMs.

When experimenting with overclocking chips, it is also useful to have programs that allow monitoring the temperature of the processor in real time. Even the most efficient chip cooling system can be unstable at some moments - it is important for the user not to miss such moments and fix the chip overheating in time.

The work, which is directly related to the increase in the frequency of the processor, should be carried out systematically, avoiding drastic changes in the values of the relevant parameters. If the chip works without errors and with acceptable heating at a given frequency, you can slightly increase it, and so on until the maximum performance of the chip working stably is reached.

Flagship model - X4 980

Perhaps the closest attention should be paid to the flagship model of the X4 line - the AMD Phenom II X4 980 processor. Very popular is its BE modification, which has an unlocked coefficient and is therefore especially attractive for fans of overclocking chips.

In principle, the key technological capabilities of this processor coincide with those that have, for example, AMD Phenom II X4 945. The characteristics of the chip in terms of the amount of cache and supported standards are basically the same as those of the younger models of the X4 line. The chip, at the same time, has a rather high level of power consumption - 125 watts. But for a high level of the processor frequency - 3.7 GHz - this figure is considered quite optimal.

The flagship of the Phenom II X4 line: testing

The testing of the chip in question shows that its performance is quite consistent with that of the leading models of the competing brand - Intel, made, in particular, based on the microarchitecture Sandy Bridge. Moreover, in some tests, for example, in multimedia, the chip outperforms some powerful analogs - such as, for example, Intel Core i5-2500. If we talk about effective tools for measuring the speed of chips like the AMD Phenom II X4 980, then you can pay attention to a program like Everest. This program is a package in which a large number of synthetic tests are presented. Among them - CPU Queen, CPU Photoworx, CPU Zlib. These tests allow you to evaluate the performance of the chips in the complex.

It is noteworthy that the benchmarks that are part of the Everest program are perfectly suited to testing the speed of processors in the mode of simultaneous use of several flows of computations. That is, in the course of tests the core of the chip can be fully loaded. The more of them, the higher the actual processor performance will be.

The IT experts consider the results of measuring the performance of the X4 980 chip in the mode of floating-point operations quite indicative. In the corresponding tests the solution from AMD, as experts say, confidently outperforms the competing processors from Intel. Another notable tool for measuring the speed of the work of chips is the PC Mark program. It is also characterized by the complexity in the study of the capabilities of the processor. In this case, the testing modes of chips are as close as possible to their actual conditions of practical use. For example, the given program can provide testing of processors, activating a mode of viewing of web pages, or conversions of one type of a file in another.

Testing the capabilities of the AMD Phenom II chip in this modification shows excellent results. Another popular test in the environment of IT-experts is 3D Mark. It allows you to evaluate the capabilities of processors in a mode corresponding to the degree of loading of 3D games. As experts note, the chip X4 980 - among the absolute leaders in its market segment on the basis of testing the speed of work in the program 3D Mark. Moreover, the experts fixed the superiority of this processor in 3D Mark modes over some Thuban chips, which are equipped, as we noted at the beginning of the article, with 6 cores.

There is no problem with the stability of the X4 980 chip when working in basic screen resolutions. But as regards the playback speed of frames - in some modes, solutions from AMD, as experts say, still look preferable to AMD processors. However, in the real game process, the difference in the processing speed between the Intel and AMD chips observed in the tests is unlikely to be noticeable.

Summary

The first thing that should be said about the Phenom II line we examined, whether it's the X4 965 or the younger, AMD Phenom II X4 940, - the characteristics of the chips represented in it are very similar. The chips differ mainly in frequency, in some cases - in the type of supported socket. All modifications of the X4 line processors are easily overclocked and look more than competitive against the background of Intel's counterparts. With regard to the technological capabilities of the AMD Phenom II X4 chips, the characteristics of the chips, the standards they support allow us to conclude that AMD has brought to the market fully advanced solutions that can be considered among the most sophisticated in the corresponding segment of microchips. The processors related to the X4 line are equally optimal both for solving ordinary user tasks and for running demanding computer games.