AMD Phenom II X4 975BE and 840 CPU Reviews

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

AMD has released two new processors in the wake of Intel’s Sandy Bridge splash just to make sure everyone knows they still have competitive CPUs dollar for dollar. With the realization that Intel’s Core i5 661 and Core i5 750 are both $199 or more, we begin to see how AMD’s price points really hit the competition for the mid-range and value-level markets. While it may not be worth upgrading to the Phenom II X4 975 BE if you already have a X4 Black Edition processor, it should definitely be on your short list of mid-range processors when bleeding-edge speed is not a factor.

The same goes for the new Phenom II 840. While it seems more like an “Athlon II X4 650” as far as hardware specifications go, AMD made the call to give it the Phenom II brand even though it does not have the L3 cache enabled. Even though this may confuse some consumers, it will no doubt help push the prices of the Athlon II X4 processors even lower. If you are looking for a value-level processor with a $100 price point, don’t forget about the Phenom II X4 840 when you are looking at the Athlon II product line.

CPU Name	Cores	Clock	L2/L3 Cache	HT Bus	Socket	TDP	Price
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE	6	3.3GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$280
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE	6	3.2GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$249
AMD Phenom II X6 1075T	6	3.0GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$200
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T	6	2.8GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$180
AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE	4	3.6GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$195
AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE	4	3.5GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$185
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE	4	3.4GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	140W	$159
AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE	4	3.2GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$145
AMD Phenom II X4 910e	4	2.6GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	65W	$184
AMD Phenom II X4 840	4	3.2GHz	2MB	4000MHz	AM3	95W	$102
AMD Phenom II X2 565	2	3.4GHz	1+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	80W	$116
AMD Phenom II X2 560	2	3.3GHz	1+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	80W	$100
AMD Phenom II X2 555	2	3.2GHz	1+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	80W	$89

This chart shows market prices of AMD’s current Phenom II product line with the X4 975 BE and X4 840 included with their expected price-points. Once these chips are available and on the market, they will no doubt lower the prices of the existing chips a little further. Given the fact that the release of the Phenom II X4 975 BE is just a speed-bump, the main goal here is to drive further competition in the value and mainstream markets by further lowering prices. This has been AMD’s style as of late and it continues to serve them well.

Legit Bottom Line: If you are in the market for a mid-to-low range system and don’t need or care about what the fastest and most expensive CPU is on the market, then the AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE and X4 840 CPUs could be of interest even in the wake of Intel’s Sandy Bridge. However, if you already have a Phenom II X4 970 BE, the extra 100 MHz will likely not be of interest at the moment.