Phenom II X4 955: AMD's Dragon Platform Evolves

Features
By Chris Angelini
published

Test Setup And Benchmarks

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Test Hardware
ProcessorsAMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition (Deneb) 3.2 GHz, AM3, 2,000 MHz HT, 6 MB L3 Cache, Power-savings disabled
Row 1 - Cell 0 AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition (Deneb) 3.0 GHz, AM2+, 1,800 MHz HT, 6 MB L3 Cache, Power-savings disabled
Row 2 - Cell 0 AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition (Heka) 2.8 GHz, AM2+, 2,000 MHz HT, 6 MB L3 Cache, Power-savings disabled
Row 3 - Cell 0 Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S (Yorkfield) 2.83 GHz, LGA 775, 1,333 MHz FSB, 12 MB L2, Power-savings disabled
Row 4 - Cell 0 Intel Core i7 965 Extreme (Bloomfield) 3.2 GHz, LGA 1366, 6.4 GT/s QPI, 8 MB L3, Power-savings disabled
Row 5 - Cell 0 Intel Core i7 920 (Bloomfield) 2.66 GHz, LGA 1366, 4.8 GT/s QPI, 8 MB L3, Power-savings disabled
MotherboardsAsus M4A79T Deluxe (AM3) 790FX/SB750, BIOS 0902
Row 7 - Cell 0 Asus M3A78-T (AM2+) 790GX/SB750, BIOS 0903
Row 8 - Cell 0 Intel DX48BT2 (LGA 775) X48/ICH10R, BIOS 1902
Row 9 - Cell 0 Asus P6T (LGA 1366) X58/ICH10R, BIOS 0502
MemoryCorsair 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1600 8-8-8-24 @ DDR3-1333
Row 11 - Cell 0 Corsair 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15
Row 12 - Cell 0 Corsair 6 GB (3 x 2 GB) DDR3-1600 8-8-8-24 @ DDR3-1333
Hard DriveWestern Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300 GB 10,000 RPM SATA 3 Gb/s
GraphicsZotac GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896 MB
Power SupplyCooler Master UCP 1100W
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemWindows Vista Ultimate Edition x64, Service Pack 1
DirectXDirectX 10
Platform DriverCatalyst 9.4
Row 20 - Cell 0 Intel INF Chipset Update Utility 9.1.0.1012
Graphics DriverGeForce 182.50
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Benchmarks and Settings
3D Games
Stalker: Clear SkyQuality settings set to high, 1920x1200/1680x1050, Benchmark tool, average of all four scenarios
Far Cry 2Quality settings set to high, 1920x1200/1680x1050, latest Steam version, in-game benchmark (Ranch medium).
Left 4 DeadQuality settings set to max, 1920x1200/1680x1050, latest Steam version, timed demo.
World in ConflictQuality settings set to very high, 1920x1200/1680x1050, Patch 1.009, Built-in benchmark.
Grand Theft Auto 4Quality settings set to high, Anisotropic filtering: "High," 1920x1200/1680x1050, Patch 1.3, Built-in benchmark.
Audio Encoding
iTunesVersion: 8.1.0.52, Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min., Default format AAC
Lame MP3Version: 3.98 (64-bit), Audio CD ""Terminator II" SE, 53 min, wave to MP3, 160 Kb/s
Video Encoding
TMPEG 4.6Version: 4.5.1.254, Import File: "Terminator II" SE DVD (5 Minutes), Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9
DivX 6.8.5Encoding mode: Insane Quality, Enhanced Multi-Threading, Enabled using SSE4, Quarter-pixel search
XviD 1.2.1Display encoding status=off
Mainconcept Reference 1.6.1MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS), Profile: Tom’s Hardware Settings for Qct-Core
Applications
Autodesk 3D Studio Max 2009 (64-bit)Version: 2009, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV)
Winrar 3.80Version 3.80, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
Winzip 12Version 12, Compression=Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark VantageVersion: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores
PCMark VantageVersion: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
SiSoftware Sandra 2009 SP3CPU Test=CPU Arithmetic/MultiMedia, Memory Test=Bandwidth Benchmark
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
89 Comments Comment from the forums
  • inmytaxi
    Why call a 955 $255 plus 790GX mb $110 plus 4 gb ram $41 is $500, when it's actually $410 before shipping and rebates, which about cancel out? And that's just picking off the cheapest at newegg and not price shopping, which might knock it below $400.

    Not to mention the six months on the market the other set up has had to drop in price ...
    Reply
  • lanestew
    Fingers crossed for AMD. Intel needs a competitor!
    Reply
  • inmytaxi
    Of course, even at NewEgg, the i7 is still just a benny more, at $280 for the i7, $84 for 1600 6gb ram and $200 for a MB. What's, $564 before ship and rebates, knock $50 if you get the i7 at microcenter, and another $20 on real cost after nit picking out shipping and rebates ... and settle for 1333 ram ... you're within fifty bucks!!!

    If it wasn't for that Nvidia issue with the i7 ...
    Hell,
    Reply
  • inmytaxi
    Hell, you can knock seventy off the hundred dollar price diff. with an open box motherboard for one thirty instead of twoo hundred.

    Nice processor, but until the price drop comes the only reason to buy it is if you're upgrading. If you're doing a clean sweep it's the i7 all the way.

    Reply
  • gsacks
    inmytaxiHell, you can knock seventy off the hundred dollar price diff. with an open box motherboard for one thirty instead of twoo hundred.Nice processor, but until the price drop comes the only reason to buy it is if you're upgrading. If you're doing a clean sweep it's the i7 all the way.
    Not fair. Don't compare open box prices to new prices. If you want to buy used/refurb/reconditioned/open box, then compare the prices against the same used/refurb/reconditioned/open box equivalent for the other platform. Otherwise, you are fudging your numbers.
    Reply
  • trevorvdw
    "The only standout in this clumsy console port is AMD’s Phenom II X3 720, which lags at both 1680x1050 and 1920x1200. The rest of the processors serve up reasonably close performance, per what we’ve come to expect from Grand Theft Auto 4."

    Yeah that whole less than 10% behind the i7 920 is totally lagging and not close in performance... who writes this drivel?
    Reply
  • for gamers: seriously, get the 720BE and oc it to death. then spend your money on VIDEO CARD(S)... that's what's important here!
    Reply
  • hmph... -1. i said FOR GAMERS. nerd.
    Reply
  • cangelini
    Yup--any of these games will be fine with a 720 BE and more graphics muscle.
    Reply
  • lanestew
    If only those AM3 boards had SLI.....
    Reply