Benchmark Results: 3DMark Vantage
When Tom's Hardware reviewed the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition back in April, the Dragon Platform scored an overall total of 9,587 points (GPU score: 9,182, CPU score: 11,052). With the TWKR running at only 5.3 GHz and dual Sapphire Radeon HD 4890s in CrossFire, we were able to achieve a total score of 20,217 points. Comparing that to the TWKR's CPU score of 18,332, which is approximately 66% faster than the stock 955 processor.
Quad-GPU Setup
Here is a little picture of what Team IRONMODS has in store for the TWKR when the next shipment of LN2 arrives. We will be aiming for scores with the Phenom II running at over 6 GHz on all benches, with a quartet of Radeon HD 4890s in CrossFire. What type of benchmarking damage will this Dragon platform cause? Tom's Hardware will be posting an update just as soon as this goes down!
Overclocking Aftermath
With our LN2 Dewar completely empty, we leave you with a picture of the Venom CPU pot all iced up. What have we learned from AMD's latest Phenom II X4 42 Black Edition TWKR processors? If you are an extreme overclocker and enjoy benching at -190 C or colder, the TWKR processor is definitely for you. AMD is satisfying a dream for extreme overclockers all around the world. With a combination of skill and very good cooling, enthusiasts will be able to hit some crazy clocks with this chip. Now that we have used up our LN2 Dewar, we anxiously await the next refill to really push this limited-edition CPU to its limit.
And so we have the million dollar question: if these things aren't for sale, why on earth is Tom's Hardware teasing you with them? Well, it just so happens that we actually have another pair of processors (not the ones that were just beaten up) to give away.
As mentioned in the story, these are 2 GHz CPUs not covered by any warranty and destined to die an early death if you try to use them with air cooling, so we'd like to make sure these find their way into the hands of enthusiasts who want to use them for what they do best. For the complete rules (including how to register for the contest, the duration of the contest, and how winners will be picked), please click here.