Phenom 965 vs 955

[Nashsafc]

I heard someione say something about the phenom 965 that had a repaired error compared to the 955 processor. Could someone tell me what it is about. Is it worth getting a phenom 955 instead of a 965 if it is 35 pounds cheaper?

 

[Cryslayer80]

Well I have a 955 and I haven't noticed any errors, it is a super fast processor. And the thing about 965 is that they overclocked it to 3.4 and increased the voltage to 1.4, which possibly drew a 140 watt consumption with itself. That is why it seems to be a better overclocker, it has a higher stock voltage. But you can do that with 955 easily and save $50. But still, I'd go for 965 when even it's price is incredibly low.

 

[Nashsafc]

so increasing the stock voltage means that it has more overclocking head room? So that is an advantage then. If i overclocked the 965 to 3.8ghz would it be faster than a 955 clocked to 3.8ghz?

 

[jennyh]

No they'd be the same speed, except the 965 would probably be able to overclock to 3.8ghz at a lower voltage. Nothing is guaranteed, except what you get when you buy it.

Example - My 940 BE overclocks to 3.8ghz with an extra 0.2v. A 965 BE would probably overclock to 3.8ghz with just an extra 0.1v, maybe less.

Also, TDP is relatively meaningless. It's there as a safety measure because it is just about possible that the 965 BE could draw more than 125w. In reality, it won't draw anything near 140w, even with insane overclocks.

 

[radnor]

I have a 955 at 3.5 Stock voltage. So far so good. 57º tops after a few days of seti@home. ussually on the 53º under load.

 

[jennyh]

That sounds about right. You generally get 400mhz for 'free overclocking' ie without touching voltages, then it starts to rise sharply for the next 400mhz.

 

[wacky7]

wel I got my 965 125watts at 1.2 volts 3.4ghz to 3.6ghz and the vs 955 125 watts at 1.280 at 3.2 to 3.4ghz i couldn't even lower the volts compare the 965 but the 955 can overclock more compare the 965. AMD 965 3.9ghz 1.4v overclock vs AMD 955 overclock 4.2ghz 1.6 I did even got alittle mad about the 965 compare the 955 so for the money 955 is the better cpu in CPU wise the way it handle things. I wish this chips have 16mb cache.

 

[Nashsafc]

i'm looking forwards to these new energy efficient amd cpus, the 955 should become 95 watts, so it compares well with the old core 2 quad q9550. Although it's a bit embarassing because AMD cpus will still not be as good as old Intel technology clock for clock. Still AMD seem good for the money, and i bought a Phenom ii 720 in the end (long time ago). I have it overclocked to 3.2ghz i think it's better to just keep cpus overclocked only on stock voltage on a very stable frequency. Only overclock them and overvolt them for benchmarking and checking out how powerful they can get, but only for short periods.

 

[crazygamer95]

I have a choice 955 and 965 which one should i choose?

 

[FALC0N]

I heard someione say something about the phenom 965 that had a repaired error compared to the 955 processor. Could someone tell me what it is about. Is it worth getting a phenom 955 instead of a 965 if it is 35 pounds cheaper?

That someone was misinformed. There was no such error. They are both available in C2 and C3 steppings. Meaning they are identical except multiplier and possibly binning.

 

[werxen]

There is no point in a 965. 955 all the way. You will not notice the difference between either processor and use the money you save to invest in a GPU or a after market heatsink.

 

[enzo matrix]

except the 965 would probably be able to overclock to 3.8ghz at a lower voltage.

I doubt that if they are both C3 stepping.
Then again, this could be true if AMD choses to use better batches for 965s

wel I got my 965 125watts at 1.2 volts 3.4ghz to 3.6ghz and the vs 955 125 watts at 1.280 at 3.2 to 3.4ghz i couldn't even lower the volts compare the 965 but the 955 can overclock more compare the 965. AMD 965 3.9ghz 1.4v overclock vs AMD 955 overclock 4.2ghz 1.6 I did even got alittle mad about the 965 compare the 955 so for the money 955 is the better cpu in CPU wise the way it handle things. I wish this chips have 16mb cache.

What stepping were both these CPUs?

i'm looking forwards to these new energy efficient amd cpus, the 955 should become 95 watts, so it compares well with the old core 2 quad q9550.

You are thinking of the upcoming Phenom II 960t. But if what we've heard so far is right, it will not be a black edition and only be at 3GHz.

I have a choice 955 and 965 which one should i choose?

955. Make sure it is the C3 stepping
HDZ955FBK4DGM
or
HDZ955FBGMBOX

 

[crazygamer95]

I doubt that if they are both C3 stepping.
Then again, this could be true if AMD choses to use better batches for 965s



What stepping were both these CPUs?



You are thinking of the upcoming Phenom II 960t. But if what we've heard so far is right, it will not be a black edition and only be at 3GHz.



955. Make sure it is the C3 stepping
HDZ955FBK4DGM
or
HDZ955FBGMBOX

What is that?

 

[enzo matrix]

What is that?

The part numbers for the C3 stepped processors.

Processors have minor changes made over time. Older processors may come out with new "steppings" or very minor changes. In the case of C3 stepping, the results is slightly lower voltage requirements. I believe the 955 will overclock just as well as the 965 if they are the same stepping. Reviews of the 955 were written before the C3 stepping. So were reviews of the 965 but there were also reviews of the new 965 C3 stepping. There was a big deal about that because it brought the 965 down from 140W TDP to 125W TDP.