Difference bettwen Phenom II X4 Black edition CPU

[ljubo700]

I want to ask a question regarding Phenom II X4 955,965,970,975,980 BE.
Which is the best price/performance, stock and OC-ed ? I'm going for a new build and idk which X4 BE to get...

 

[thently]

Well it is odd they made all these black editions basicly they are diffrently "binned" proccessors all with unlocked multipliers. they want the procs to run say 1.3 volts and and at diffrent speeds the procs that can do higher speeds at lower volts get marked as faster model numbers. All black aditions are unlockes so can do basicly the same speeds when over clocked but higher end ones can most of the time be pushed further as they have lower voltage loss. and while you at it look into the 1090t they are cheap on ebay got one for $149 lower temps and better overclocking not sure why but true look it up.

T

 

[ljubo700]

well i will use my PC for gaming (at most) and as much as i know games don't profit from 6-cores. For the X4 so mid range would be best price/performance ? X4 975 BE ?

 

[beenthere]

The 965 BE is pretty cheap right now and it will likely OC as high as any of the Phenom II Deneb models so it's probably the best value/performance.

 

[magnesiumk]

Go with the 955 or 965BE. I bought the 955BE for $120. I managed to overclock it with an aftermarket cooler to around 4.15Ghz on air. I can go faster, but i've run a series of benchmarks and see no performance difference with the raised clock speeds. So, I just keep it at 4.15Ghz. I recon that any quad core at around 4Ghz will run nearly the same performance anyway. You also want to focus on your chipset, and ram. The ram typically caps out at 1600Mhz-1700Mhz on the Phenom II.

Go with a 970 or 990 chipset

If you go any higher in quad core, you won't see a performance different, not until bulldozer. The 6 cores are slightly faster in applications, maybe gaming i'm not sure, but i haven't noticed much of a difference. For now $120 is a good deal with an AM3+ Socket ready for bulldozer.

 

[ljubo700]

thx for the help

 

[Onus]

Check the charts at Anandtech. For some reason, the 970BE uses notably LESS power than the 965BE, even though it is faster. That's why I chose the 970 myself.

 

[FtsArTek]

955BE. Easy to overclock and you can get it to 980 speeds on stock cooler.

 

[casualbuilder]

question about OC'ing this 955BE. I recently purchased it, but my temps are getting to a very hot level, where i can't even see it cap out before i close Prime95. I hav eno idea why, as my aftermarket cooler is a Zalman 9900. Idle temps are hovering around 36c...not great imo either, but i would think that it should keep my cpu temps running well within its means of 62c or less. i have this cpu OC'd to 4.0GHz, and can't see why i am having a problem. Previously ran a 555BE at 4.35GHz and it was running 48c at load. I know there is a huge difference with watts used, but am i silly in thinking my cooler should have troubles keeping this cpu under control?

 

[beenthere]

The faster the CPU runs the more electrical power it uses and the more heat it makes. More watts consumed = more heat. You may need better case airflow.

 

[casualbuilder]

im running a CoolerMaster HAF X with a 2nd 200mm top case fan. If i need better airflow...there is something wrong. Im also using Arctic Silver MX-2 thermal grease. I do realize that the 955BE is a 125W cpu, but to be going from 36c idle to 90c+ ( i have had to close down P95) makes absolutely no sense to me. i would expect mid 60's to even 70's depending on ambient temps, which are around 24c or lower in my house, but 90c+ seems either a nasty lemon of a cpu for OC or something i've missed. i have cool n' quiet turned off, as well as the smart fan option disabled (hsf and chassis fans are running 80%-100% all the time). Could it be a bad cpu that doesn't want to OC?

 

[mouse24]

i think it might be a bad cpu, but the chances that you put on to much/little of the thermal paste or your voltages are wayyy to high is a more likely option, bring the OC back down and see where your temperatures are at

 

[casualbuilder]

voltages are stock at 1.42v, and the thermal paste is an even coating, as much as i have put on all my systems. Will it just need to "set" as i have just recently installed this component this past week. the thermal grease is still pretty gooey. So i am ok though, what is considered "just the right amount" of thermal grease? i have heard many opinions on this, ranging from as long as it doesn't run over the edges, to as little as possible to cover the imperfections on the cpu. i like to run in the middle, giving it a a nice even coating, nowhere near overrunning the edge of the cpu, but a noticeable amount more than the bare minimum.

 

[mouse24]

hmmm, what stepping is your cpu? you can find this out with CPU-Z, the reason i ask is because i found this thread - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/280607-28-phenom-voltage

and also according to this http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=532

the max voltage of that proc is 1.5v, (not sure if thats correct for all that steppings) ... also did you input the voltages manually or was it auto set in the bios? for some reason my bios sets my x3 at 1.4 which is the absolute max

 

[casualbuilder]

hmmm, i believe it is a C-3? does this sound correct? i am at work right now, so i cant check until around 2:30pm Eastern for sure. also, the voltages are set manually. Ill check these sites you posted and get back to you.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

not all cpu's overclock the same, just get it to the highest stable clock and be done with it. Dont base your expectations of what others are able to get, not all CPU's of the same model/stepping will be able to reach the same speeds.

 

[casualbuilder]

i do realize this, but it is frustrating. If i was only going to OC this much, i would have saved myself $20 and went with a Deneb for $100. Ill do more research in the matter, and make sure that everything is triple and quadruple checked.
Stock speeds even push the temps to mid to high 50's, which in my mind, for a great case and aftermarket HSF, this is incredibly unacceptable. Idle is around 43c. Sorry if i sound like a snob...but i expect more from high end equipment.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

^what is the ambient temperature in the room? the equiment can only cool a certain amount below the ambient temperature of the room. Also, make sure you have the case fans set up correctly, intake at the lower front, echaust at the rear and upper of the case.

 

[casualbuilder]

case fans are set up as intake: side, front. exhaust: dual top, rear. Ambient temp in room varies between 21c-24c.

 

[casualbuilder]

HSF is pointed directly out the top rear fan as well.