AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Review: The New Six-Core Flagship

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New AMD Processors: December 2010

Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition

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Header Cell - Column 0 Phenom II X6 1100T BEPhenom II X6 1090T BEPhenom II X6 1075T
Codename:ThubanThubanThuban
Process:45 nm 45 nm45 nm
CPU Cores:666
Clock Speed (Max Turbo):3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz)3.2 GHz (3.6 GHz)3.0 GHz (3.5 GHz)
Socket:AM2+/AM3AM2+/AM3AM2+/AM3
L1 Cache:6 x 128 KB6 x 128 KB6 x 128 KB
L2 Cache:6 x 512 KB6 x 512 KB6 x 512 KB
L3 Cache:6 MB6 MB6 MB
HyperTransport:4000 MT/s4000 MT/s4000 MT/s
Thermal Envelope:125 W125 W125 W

The Phenom II X6 1100T is AMD’s new flagship model, displacing the Phenom II X6 1090T’s top spot. With a base 3.3 GHz clock and a maximum Turbo CORE speed of 3.7 GHz, this new CPU basically increments the X6 lineup by 100 MHz compared to its predecessor. The real news here is that the Phenom II X6 1100T is priced at $265, $30 cheaper than the 1090T's launch MSRP.

Even more impressive is that the Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition can be had for $230 on Newegg right now, and the Phenom II X6 1075T is available for a flat $200. This aggressive pricing drives the cost of six-core computing down quickly, and folks looking for a new workstation PC should be giving the Phenom II X6 line some serious consideration if you're comfortable with desktop-class components.

Phenom II X2 565 Black Edition

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Header Cell - Column 0 Phenom II X2 565Phenom II X2 560Phenom II X2 555
Codename:CallistoCallistoCallisto
Process:45 nm 45 nm45 nm
CPU Cores:2 22
Clock Speed:3.4 GHz3.3 GHz3.2 GHz
Socket:AM2+/AM3AM2+/AM3AM2+/AM3
L1 Cache:2 x 128 KB2 x 128 KB2 x 128 KB
L2 Cache:2 x 512 KB2 x 512 KB2 x 512 KB
L3 Cache:6 MB6 MB6 MB
HyperTransport:4000 MT/s4000 MT/s4000 MT/s
Thermal Envelope:80 W80 W80 W

As with the Phenom II X6 1100T, AMD's Phenom II X2 565 gets a 100 MHz speed boost, up to 3.4 GHz. The $115 MSRP buys 6 MB of L3 cache and the Black Edition’s unlocked multiplier for simpler overclocking endeavors.

As with all of the Phenom II X2 line there's a chance (not a guarantee) that some dormant CPU cores can be enabled, morphing this budget CPU into a triple-core Phenom II X3 or quad-core Phenom II X4.

Athlon II X3 455

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Header Cell - Column 0 Athlon II X3 455Athlon II X3 450Athlon II X3 445
Codename:RanaRanaRana
Process:45 nm 45 nm45 nm
CPU Cores:333
Clock Speed:3.3 GHz3.2 GHz3.1 GHz
Socket:AM2+/AM3AM2+/AM3AM2+/AM3
L1 Cache:3 x 128 KB3 x 128 KB3 x 128 KB
L2 Cache:3 x 512 KB3 x 512 KB3 x 512 KB
HyperTransport:4000 MT/s4000 MT/s4000 MT/s
Thermal Envelope:95 W95 W95 W

Guess how much faster the new Athlon II X3 455 is compared to the older 450 model? If you guessed 100 MHz, give yourself a cookie. While the speed bump is hard to get excited about, an $87 triple-core CPU at 3.3 GHz is far from a boring proposition. Once again, AMD has cemented its  lock on the sub-$100 processor market.

TOPICS
Don Woligroski
99 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Mark Heath
    I wish Intel would do something like this for all (or at least most) of their processors.(the speed bumps with same price model)
    Reply
  • fstrthnu
    A pretty good effort from AMD, but Sandy Bridge is only 2 or 3 months away by now. Of course, this is just a stopgap measure till Bulldozer comes; still, when AMD is only just catching up to Intel in terms of stock performance NOW (even though it has slightly better value)...
    Reply
  • sideshowbob32
    Great article I just ordered a 1090T for m old am2+ set up, I look forward to it and this article makes me want it more!! Glad to see amd is doing great.
    Reply
  • tacoslave
    im gonna wait for bulldozer
    Reply
  • stingstang
    AMD is most certainly not doing great if they have to rerelease all their chips. Here's what happens: They make a batch of chips and sell them all as 4 core processors at X speed. The ones they don't sell or are returned go into stress testing. Those batches are divided in to x2 or x3 piles depending on how stable they are with which cores enabled. The winners of the tests get promoted and branded as new, faster chips with x+100 MHz. The process then repeats.
    Now if you'll look, their third iteration of this process still doesn't match intel's entry-level i7 processors. It's just embarrassing is what that is.
    Reply
  • Could this be any more unremarkable or unnecessary a product? Might as well grab an i5, or one of the existing X6s, or wait for SB, or Bulldozer... this is just pointless.
    Reply
  • buzznut
    I'm waiting as well I think. I'd have to upgrade my mobo to run a X6 anyway since Biostar chose not to support it with my current board. I think the 1090T is a great value at $230 though. Pretty sweet.
    Reply
  • sudeshc
    thats more like it, increase those stock speeds and the we will have more chance to to get even more performance by overclocking :D
    Reply
  • FunSurfer
    It would be nice to see in the gaming benchmark games that have intensive use of all the CPU's cores like GTA4, BFBC2, RFG (@ large building destruction).
    Reply
  • dEAne
    With this data Sandy Bridge will not put pressure on AMD it will kill it. I think the only thing left for AMD is to lower the price much further.
    Reply