Customer Reviews

AMD HDZ965FBGIBOX Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHZ Central Processing Unit (Black)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After buying pre-built systems for several years, I finally broke down and built my own this time. I think it is important to establish how I am using the processor, so here is my system.

I paired this processor with an MSI 790GX-G65 motherboard as the basis of my new system. The other portions are 1 GB Hitachi HDD, LG DVD RW, PNY GEFORCE GTS 250 video card, Windows 7 Professional, 8 Gb DDR3 memory, Antec 300 case, and Antec Truepower Trio power supply. I have five case fans, four input and one output.

Now, on to the processor itself.
- It comes with an "Approved" AMD heat sink. With aftermarket heat sinks, one has a separate tube of lubricant that goes on top of the CPU to seal the connection with the sink, but on this heat sink the sealer is applied to the base of the heat sink, which is very convenient. This sealant looks a bit like thin cardboard at the base of the heat sink; don't be fooled, it is supposed to be there and no additional paste is needed. The heat sink is large, with lots of copper.

- Installing the processor is quite simple, so long as you remember to line up the "notch" on one end of the processor with the "notch" on the CPU mount. Instructions are provided with the retail kit. Between those and the instructions that come with motherboards, you should have no problem installing the CPU.

- The CPU has a "Cool N Quiet" mode, if your motherboard supports it. Mine does, and in this mode the processors (there are four processor cores on the chip) work at varying speeds, depending upon the task loading of each core. From what I can tell the speeds are 800, 2400, and 3400 Mhz. Using this feature, my CPU temperature is generally around 30 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature I have seen the chip at is 51 C. Note that the "cool N quiet mode is NOT used when overclocking. The maximum operating temperature is 62 degrees C.

- Most motherboards have two memory modes: "Ganged" and "Unganged". The default seems to be unganged. The difference is that in "unganged" mode the memory is split up such that each CPU core gets a certain amount of memory, in my case, 2Gb per core. This mode is optimized for multiprocessing, whereas "Ganged" mode optimizes for one application. I mention this here because this CPU excels at multiple tasks, by which I mean that I have noticed a vast difference in performance from my last (single core) CPU, also a 3.4 Mhz. Running multiple applications is very smooth. This makes it great for business applications where one is multi-tasking constantly.

- The CPU pulls 140 watts at maximum speed, considerably less at the slower speeds. The point is that you need a good power supply; mine is a 550w version.

- This model is a "black" version, which means that the cores are unlocked and can be easily overclocked. I ran mine up to 3.8 without problems, but the temperature went to 40 degrees C at idle. Since I didn't really see any overall improvement, I went back to stock speeds and "cool n quiet". But if you are into speed, this model can go to 3.9 or so stock - after that I would recommend more aggressive cooling.

- The processor clocks at 7.4 on the Windows 7 "Calculations Per Second" ratings. This rating didn't change regardless of the over clocking, one of the reasons I went back to stock settings.

I actually looked for this unit when buying, although the lower models of the Phenom II X4 run at only slightly lower speeds, and would make a good buy. But for the price, the performance is great.

I highly recommend this product for anyone who needs a solid, dependable business processor. Pair it up with a good supporting system and it will do very well.

AMD made the mold for overclocking processors with the original "Thunderbirds", and these are the legacy in Quad form. While they may not air cool to 4+GHz like the Intel comparison of the 975 Quad, they do their jobs without the 5x pricetag. They will clock with stock air cool to 3.65GHz, and aftermarket cooler to 3.9GHz easily. Water cool for over 4Ghz. AMD makes great processors, I can testify to that, since the late 90's. Gamez, Movies, Rips, heavy or lite jobs, these will do the trick. If you know a little about clocking your own systems or just want to learn this is a great place to start (if you mess one up, your ok cuz you still have 4 more processors to puchase before you reach the cash value of a Intel, lol).

The tech details are wrong for this processor. If you have any concerns about power usage DO NOT buy it. This is the first release not the revised unit.

Phenom pulls the HD5850*1 with no problem. If I did just a little more reaserch I'd find out that SAME CPU FOR 88.00$ I THINK is on this site with only 2 cores open. All you gota do is get a ASUS board( my case), ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 and the rest is easy. Unlock cores and OC. Read benches anywere if you dont belive me it pulls XFX HD5850 that's OC'd great@@!. One of my friends told me that his cpu was a thousand dollars my whole computer cost that much.(1150$) New games like Need for Speed Hot Persuit all max. Vegas fall out all max. The only Upgrade I'l need is another card and cpu in a year or so. Thank you AMD

First off, I am not overclocking this chip, I use it at the standard stock settings on an ASUS M4N82 Deluxe Motherboard... It performs very very well. Stable on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit with 4GB PC2-6400 RAM... With a Zalman CNPS9700NT cooler attached it runs at around 43C no load and can go up to around 58-59C under load. Keep in mind that I am running the computer in the tropics and I have noteable heat radiation in my room (problems with ventilation), this coupled with the fact that it runs with TWO 9800GTX+ cards in the towers means that I am EXTREMELY PLEASED with it's performance under these conditions... I highly highly recommend this chip for the performace you are getting....

Treat this baby well and give it a nice home in a well ventilated tower, I am sure that you won't be disappointed.... (My tower for reference if you're building, is an older full size Thermaltake Xaser III- Blue with the two side fans removed)

This processor is incredible.does its job,I have always used AMD CPUs in my PCs. The 965 is one of the best price performers out there today in my opinion.

Windows Experience Index score: 7.4

This processor works great runs my games and Photoshop like a charm, got lots of power easy core management its something i would recommend to anyone

You know what? This processor ROCKS! I think AMD PII blows intel away for both price and performance. Although I'm quite sure you can find a better price for it elsewhere. I paid $189 for mine. If you are building a system with a lot of performance, this is the processor.
I recommend you use a Gigabyte motherboard with this processor.

previous computer is a 5 year old single core Compaq,so you can imagine my "high" with this cpu.lol...it basically just "fell" into place in mobo.I'm very satisfied with it.

EXCELLENT !!! SUPER FAST. AMD FANS SUCK ALSO ORDERED A 955, and had the same problem, The fan grinds !!! Had to remove it and squeeze it to get them to work!!!Ordered a COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+, and works great however it won't mount in a small case like the Presario SR2020NX it sticks out and the MOBO had to be remover to allow for the Base to be installed !!!