AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Review
There is nothing wrong with an incremental update—especially an update that adds performance without affecting pricing. Such is the case with AMD’s new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, which arrived at our performance lab running at 3.4 GHz—200 MHz faster than its predecessor, the Phenom II X4 955 BE. Everything else is exactly the same as the Phenom II X4 955, reviewed back in April 2009.
So, if the latest Phenom II is predictably faster than AMD’s former flagship, why is today’s launch so significant? In short, it comes just a few weeks ahead of Intel’s upcoming LGA 1156-based P55 platform debut—an event that’ll almost certainly play a bigger role in the adoption of Nehalem-based machines than either the LGA 1366 Core i7 or Xeon 5500-series CPUs have thus far. After all, LGA 1156 is going to be the interface that purportedly makes Intel’s latest architecture accessible to the mainstream, supplanting the Core 2 family at a number of affordable price points.
No doubt, those new Core i5/i7 CPUs will be faster than the Core 2 Quads they replace, and at competitive prices. Just when AMD looked like it had achieved performance parity with the top end of Intel’s Core micro-architecture, LGA 1156-based platforms seem almost certain to set the bar higher.
Thus, today’s Phenom II X4 965 BE introduction is actually a fairly important one for AMD. On one hand, it could earn the company its mainstream performance crown—at least for a few weeks. On the other, it could be the last time Phenom II looks as competitive as it does now. Of course, that’s going to depend mightily on how the upcoming Intel chips perform.
Up Against Core i5
Of course, we’re not able to publish performance numbers with the pre-production Core i5 processors currently running in the lab, so it’s hard to officially quantify how Phenom II will size up. But we can make best guesses using today’s Core i7s as rough test subjects.
You’ll find all of our usual benchmarks on the pages that follow.
First, however, we wanted to set up Phenom II X4 965 BE against a hypothetical Core i5-750—a processor expected to cost less than $200 when it launches. We simulated the 2.66 GHz offering with a Core i7-920, which runs at the same clock rate. Of course, we had to pull out a single channel of memory (yielding two channels of DDR3-1333) and disable Hyper-Threading, since Core i5 won’t have that feature. The one variable we couldn’t reproduce was Core i5’s enhanced Turbo Boost, which is expected to accelerate clocks to 3.2 GHz when a single core is active. Core i7-920 only benefits from a single bin of Turbo Boost, yielding 2.8 GHz instead.
The only other platform capability setting LGA 1156 apart from LGA 1366 is the use of on-die PCI Express 2.0, which we’ve tested extensively and can say that, in single-card configurations, has almost zero impact on performance versus the X58’s chipset-based connectivity.
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Introduction
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Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom’s Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
AMD Phenom II X4 965 vs AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition: What is the difference?
25points
AMD Phenom II X4 965
31points
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
Comparison winner
vs
66 facts in comparison
AMD Phenom II X4 965
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
Why is AMD Phenom II X4 965 better than AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition?
- 2.19x faster CPU speed?
4 x 3.4GHzvs2 x 3.1GHz - 2 more CPU threads?
4vs2 - 1.91x higher PassMark result?
4306vs2258 - 256KB bigger L1 cache?
512KBvs256KB - 2 higher clock multiplier?
17vs15
Why is AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition better than AMD Phenom II X4 965?
- 80W lower TDP?
45Wvs125W - 0.
5MB/core more L2 cache per core?
1MB/corevs0.5MB/core
Which are the most popular comparisons?
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
Intel Core i5-3470
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
AMD A6-5400K
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
AMD Athlon II X2 270
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
AMD FX-8320E
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
AMD FX-8350
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
Intel Celeron N4000
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
Intel Core i5-3330
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
Intel Core i5-13600K
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
AMD FX-6300
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
Intel Core i3-2100
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3350G
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
Intel Core i3-3220
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
Intel Pentium Gold G6400
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
AMD Athlon II X3 460
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
Intel Core i5-2400
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
AMD FX-8800P
AMD Phenom II X4 965
vs
AMD FX-4300
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
vs
AMD Athlon X4 880K
Price comparison
User reviews
Overall Rating
AMD Phenom II X4 965
1 User reviews
AMD Phenom II X4 965
10.
0/10
1 User reviews
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
0 User reviews
AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
0.0/10
0 User reviews
Features
Value for money
10.0/10
1 votes
No reviews yet
Gaming
10.0/10
1 votes
No reviews yet
Performance
10.0/10
1 votes
No reviews yet
Reliability
9.0/10
1 votes
No reviews yet
Energy efficiency
8.0/10
1 votes
No reviews yet
Performance
CPU speed
4 x 3.4GHz
2 x 3.1GHz
The CPU speed indicates how many processing cycles per second can be executed by a CPU, considering all of its cores (processing units). It is calculated by adding the clock rates of each core or, in the case of multi-core processors employing different microarchitectures, of each group of cores.
CPU threads
More threads result in faster performance and better multitasking.
turbo clock speed
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
When the CPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
Has an unlocked multiplier
✔AMD Phenom II X4 965
✔AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
Some processors come with an unlocked multiplier which makes them easy to overclock, allowing you to gain increased performance in games and other apps.
L2 cache
A larger L2 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
L3 cache
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
A larger L3 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
L1 cache
A larger L1 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
L2 core
0.5MB/core
1MB/core
More data can be stored in the L2 cache for access by each core of the CPU.
L3 core
1.5MB/core
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
More data can be stored in the L3 cache for access by each core of the CPU.
Benchmarks
PassMark result
This benchmark measures the performance of the CPU using multiple threads.
PassMark result (single)
This benchmark measures the performance of the CPU using a single thread.
Geekbench 5 result (multi)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
Geekbench 5 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor’s multi-core performance.
(Source: Primate Labs, 2023)
Cinebench R20 (multi) result
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
Cinebench R20 is a benchmark tool that measures a CPU’s multi-core performance by rendering a 3D scene.
Cinebench R20 (single) result
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
Cinebench R20 is a benchmark tool that measures a CPU’s single-core performance by rendering a 3D scene.
Geekbench 5 result (single)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
Geekbench 5 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor’s single-core performance.
(Source: Primate Labs, 2023)
Blender (bmw27) result
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
The Blender (bmw27) benchmark measures the performance of a processor by rendering a 3D scene. More powerful processors can render the scene in less time.
Blender (classroom) result
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
The Blender (classroom) benchmark measures the performance of a processor by rendering a 3D scene. More powerful processors can render the scene in less time.
performance per watt
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
This means the CPU is more efficient, giving a greater amount of performance for each watt of power used.
Integrated graphics
GPU clock speed
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
The graphics processing unit (GPU) has a higher clock speed.
GPU turbo
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
GPU execution units
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
A graphics processing unit (GPU) with a greater number of execution units can deliver better graphics.
supported displays
Unknown.
Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
Using multiple displays you can create a larger workspace, making it easier to work across multiple apps.
DirectX version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
DirectX is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
OpenGL version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
OpenCL version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing.
Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.
texture mapping units (TMUs)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene. More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.
render output units (ROPs)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.
Memory
RAM speed
1333MHz
1333MHz
It can support faster memory, which will give quicker system performance.
maximum memory bandwidth
21.3GB/s
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.
DDR memory version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
DDR (Double Data Rate) memory is the most common type of RAM. Newer versions of DDR memory support higher maximum speeds and are more energy-efficient.
memory channels
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
More memory channels increases the speed of data transfer between the memory and the CPU.
maximum memory amount
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
The maximum amount of memory (RAM) supported.
bus transfer rate
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
The bus is responsible for transferring data between different components of a computer or device.
Supports ECC memory
✖AMD Phenom II X4 965
✖AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.
eMMC version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
A higher version of eMMC allows faster memory interfaces, having a positive effect on the performance of a device. For example, when transferring files from your computer to the internal storage over USB.
bus speed
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
1800GHz
The bus is responsible for transferring data between different components of a computer or device.
Features
uses multithreading
✖AMD Phenom II X4 965
✖AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
Multithreading technology (such as Intel’s Hyperthreading or AMD’s Simultaneous Multithreading) provides increased performance by splitting each of the processor’s physical cores into virtual cores, also known as threads. This way, each core can run two instruction streams at once.
Has AES
✖AMD Phenom II X4 965
✖AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
AES is used to speed up encryption and decryption.
Has AVX
✖AMD Phenom II X4 965
✖AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
AVX is used to help speed up calculations in multimedia, scientific and financial apps, as well as improving Linux RAID software performance.
SSE version
SSE is used to speed up multimedia tasks such as editing an image or adjusting audio volume. Each new version contains new instructions and improvements.
Has F16C
✖AMD Phenom II X4 965
✖AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
F16C is used to speed up tasks such as adjusting the contrast of an image or adjusting volume.
bits executed at a time
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
NEON provides acceleration for media processing, such as listening to MP3s.
Has MMX
✔AMD Phenom II X4 965
✔AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
MMX is used to speed up tasks such as adjusting the contrast of an image or adjusting volume.
Has TrustZone
✖AMD Phenom II X4 965
✖AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition
A technology integrated into the processor to secure the device for use with features such as mobile payments and streaming video using digital rights management (DRM).
front-end width
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Phenom II X620 Black Edition)
The CPU can decode more instructions per clock (IPC), meaning that the CPU performs better
Price comparison
Which are the best CPUs?
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