Is AMD's Phenom Black Edition Competing with the Phenom FX?

Chip manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices seems to bury the Phenom FX processor series, in order to focus on the more affordable Black Edition series. The differences between the FX and the Black Edition versions are lying beyond the classy black box the Black Edition ships in. These differences reflect in performance and overclocking capabilities.

The Phenom Black Edition chips are carefully selected after the manufacturing for best performance. This is no surprise, since it is a normal practice when it comes to overclockable parts. The CPUs are thoroughly tested against flaws and are pushed "over the safety railing" in a quick endurance test. The process is similar to what happens with dual-kit memory modules, when tested for maximum compatibility. The most important feature of the Black Edition Phenoms is the fact that chips come with the frequency multiplier unlocked for hassle-free overclocking.

According to AMD sources, the company managed to design the Black Edition chip in six weeks only. The fact that it can not compete for the "most overclockable CPU" title is motivated by its rushed core design and manufacturing process.

The second quarter of the year will bring us the third revision of the quad-core Phenom silicon. Having all the TLB errata issues fixed, the Phenom 9700 and 9900 will hit the market accompanied by the "ditched" Phenom FX. There are no juicy details available for the FX series, since the company did not care to specify the frequencies the FXes will be released at.

However, the new Phenom FX processors are likely to sit on an AM2+ socket. Moreover, it seems to come with unlocked multipliers just like the Black Edition counterparts, but "buzzing" at higher frequency clocks (at least 2.6 GHz – the Phenom 9900 standard core frequency). There is no word on pricing, but expect the FX to come with a challenging price tag.