Gives enthusiasts something new to play with

Aug 13, 2009 06:51 GMT  ·  By

Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices, the world's second largest vendor of computer processors, has announced today the launch of its latest desktop computer processor, part of the company's growing line of Phenom II CPUs. The highly anticipated Phenom II X4 965 is part of the chip maker's Black Edition series of high-performance processors, meaning that it has been designed as a choice for computer enthusiasts and gamers, providing them with an increased clock speed and the same features as the company's previous flagship model, the Phenom II X4 955.

The launch of the new CPU has been expected for some time now, as the model has been leaked on the Internet on several occasions, making an appearance in various AMD product roadmaps or other sources. As far as technical specifications go, the new CPU isn't very far from its previously released counterpart, the aforementioned Phenom II X4 955. However, users will be able to take advantage of an increased clock speed, factory-set at an impressive 3.4GHz, a 45nm-based quad-core architecture, 8MB of cache and a 2GHz HT Link.

As it's part of AMD's line of Black Edition processors, the new chip has been designed for computer enthusiasts, meaning that it can provide support for some overclocking, taking the CPU's core speed to increased frequencies. In addition, thanks to the more efficient 45nm manufacturing process, the new processor can deliver an impressive performance boost over the company's previous generation of high-end Phenom chips, but with lower power requirements.

AMD's latest Black Edition processor is compatible with both socket AM2+ and AM3 motherboards, providing users with a choice for an affordable upgrade of their AMD-based desktop system. As far as prices go, the new processor is expected to hit the retail channel for US$245.