AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Quad-Core Processor Review

Specifications and Lineup

We mentioned on the previous page that the Phenom II X4 980 ‘Black Edition’ was nothing more than a speed bump, but we’ll still give you a quick look at the basics of this processor. AMD says that the 980BE is a great general purpose CPU for enthusiasts and gamers alike because it has the cores, the cache and the frequency needed for a wide range of tasks. In fact, at 3.7GHz the AMD Phenom II X4 980 BE is the fastest clock frequency that AMD has ever released of any processor. AMD ‘Black Edition’ processors come with unlocked multipliers for easy tuning for overclocking, so getting this CPU over 4GHz should be very easy.

AMD Phenom II X4 980 ‘Black Edition’ Processor Specifications:

• Model Number & Core Frequency: X4 980 / 3.7GHz
• OPN: HDZ980FBK4DGM
• L1 Cache Sizes: 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (512KB total L1 per processor)
• L2 Cache Sizes: 512KB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
• L3 Cache Size: 6MB (shared)
• Total Cache (L2+L3): 8MB
• Memory Controller Type: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller
• Memory Controller Speed: Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
• Types of Memory Supported: Unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)
• HyperTransport 3.0 Specification: One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
• Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth w/ DDR3-1333: Up to 37.3GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 21.3 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR3-1333) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
• Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth w/ DDR2-1066: Up to 33.1GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 17.1 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR2-1066) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
• Packaging: Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)
• Fab location: GLOBALFOUNDARIES Fab 1 module 1 in Dresden, Germany (formerly AMD Fab 36)
• Process Technology: 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
• Approximate Die Size: 258mm2
• Approximate Transistor count: ~758 million
• Max TDP: 125 Watts
• AMD Codename: “Deneb”

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-Core Processor Pricing:

CPU Name	Cores	Clock	L2/L3 Cache	HT Bus	Socket	TDP	Price
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T	6	3.3GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$205
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T	6	3.2GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$185
AMD Phenom II X4 980 BE	4	3.7GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$185
AMD Phenom II X6 1065T	6	2.9GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$185
AMD Phenom II X6 1075T	6	3.0GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$181
AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE	4	3.6GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$175
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T	6	2.8GHz	3+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$165
AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE	4	3.5GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$155
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE	4	3.4GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	140W	$135
AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE	4	3.2GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	125W	$117
AMD Phenom II X4 840	4	3.2GHz	2+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	95W	$105
AMD Phenom II X2 565 BE	2	3.4GHz	1+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	80W	$102
AMD Phenom II X2 560 BE	2	3.3GHz	1+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	80W	$90
AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE	2	3.2GHz	1+6MB	4000MHz	AM3	80W	$90

The AMD Phenom II product stack is starting to look really good with prices starting out at $90 for the dual-core offerings and rising up to $205 for the six-core monsters at the top of the lineup. AMD clearly has budget friendly processors that have great features and clock frequencies. Let’s take a look at how the AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition processor does against some other processors.