Customer Reviews

AMD Phenom II X4 955 HDZ955FBGIBOX 3.2 GHz/6 MB L3/125W Processor

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

NOTICE: In fact, This is the old version of the 955, not the new version as Amazon claims. The new version is here AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2 GHz 4x512 KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail HDZ955WFGBMBOX and it's more than $100 cheaper, just google for "HDZ955WFGBMBOX" and you will see the difference. The M in the model "GBMBOX" marks the difference between the C2 revision of this processor (the GIBOX) and the C3 revision (the GBMBOX). The reason Amazon has the wrong listing is because AMD did mislabel the two processors at first, but later corrected the error on their website, but Amazon didn't update theirs. The new revision mainly brings some minor tweaks, but paying an extra $100 for the old version is simply ridiculous.

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A lot of reviews online are written by computer hardware enthusiasts. Think of it as asking a person who testdrives Ferrari's for a living for advice when you want to buy a car for your everyday commuting needs, and she will probably start telling you how bad Toyota Prius is without paying attention to cost or your needs. In the world of processors, this is a very good BMW that you manage to buy at a very cheap price.

I don't play high-end games at full resolution on a 55 inch plasma tv, and neither do I have liquid nitrogen around to cool my processor down. It's not that this Phenom can't do that, but we're not really going to drive this BMW *ahem* Phenom at 500 miles down the highway, so an average person doesn't need an intel i7, especially that i7's, despite being more powerful, are far more expensive. Also keep in mind that an i7 requires triple channel memory and an expensive motherboard. My memory usage, when I have many programs open, never goes above 2GB, but it's not a bad idea to invest in a 4GB memory right now as applications are becoming more memory hungry by the day.

I have been using my old desktop for 7 years, and it served me well for that time. However, I mainly use my computer for multimedia and some minor programming. So, I needed a processor that was going to let me easily view and edit those huge images from my digital camera, let me play music while doing that, and let me keep multiple youtube tabs open, chat, use a modern browser, and that won't keep me waiting for minutes or even seconds for applications to launch, this processor has surpassed all of my expectations, and it helped me save a couple of hundred of dollars while building my new computer, which is always a great thing. I am a student and that's why money is always an issue, but I am sure that normal hard-working people also appreciate saving some of their hard-earned money.

To further demonstrate what I mean, let's consider an average desktop computer, a random pick would be the HP TouchSmart 600-1055, by looking at the specifications we can see that it comes with a 2.13 GHz dual core processor - two cores, and it has a price tag of more than a thousand dollars. You can put together a computer using this 3.2 GHz Phenom II X4 - four cores - for about $650, and this includes a very good full HD monitor. This shows how overrated most numbers are, but it's not a bad idea to invest in this AMD processor right now even if you're not going to harness its full power through your everyday use, which is to have a future-proof computer, as two or three years from now programs and new operating systems may call for four cores at such high speeds. Again, I will use that BMW analogy, what's the use of buying an expensive Ferrari - intel i7 - when there are no highways where you can drive at 250 mph. Buying a BMW will provide you will all the comfort of a family-friendly sedan, and the ability to safely drive at 150mph per hour if speed limits are suddenly lifted.

What are cores about? Well, my 8 years old pc had one processor - a single core, and this means that all the applications had to share that processor. Think of it as having one adult at a daycare center taking care of many little children - open applications. Four cores means that you have four small processors on this small CPU chip, each clocked at 3.2 GHz, this means that the children will get better care as there are going to be many adults around taking care of their needs. Some high-end programs have also started using more than one core in their operation to speed things up, and this trend is very likely to continue with AMD and intel mentioning more cores as a part of their plans for future processors. HP TouchSmart 600-1055's processor only has two adults around, while this Phenom has four adults waiting to tend to the needs of all the children - waiting to serve your applications, they will even share the workload at times.

Personally, I never saw my cpu usage rise above 10%-15% with this processor. This means that Opera 10 web browser with 20-40 open tabs, all the applications running in the background, watching high definition movies, and a couple of open chat windows in addition to a music player playing all of my music collection. It handles everything well and nothing ever slows down, which is what I expect from a fine processor like this.

As for the installation, it was very easy. The box contains the processor, a user manual + warranty, and a CPU fan and heatsink. I literally installed it into my motherboard's AM3 socket in two minutes, and I haven't put a computer together for any of my friends for more than 3 years. Even the heatsink didn't take any time to be properly aligned and working. What's more, it's the first time ever for me to assemble an AMD computer. So, it was not an issue. It made the somewhat scary task of assembling a computer less scary.

As for performance, I can not keep up with my computer. Everything is almost instantaneous. What more can I ask for from a computer processor?

Windows 7 works just fine, and so is everything else. Really, this is the perfect processor. If you're considering a new computer, get one of those, and take my word on it, you won't regret it.

Notes:

- Phenom II X4 955 and Phenom II X4 965, what's the difference?

I don't think that there's any real difference between the 140W 965 available at Amazon at the time of writing and this processor. This processor can be overclocked - i.e. made to run faster - to run at 3.4 GHz just like the 965. The 965 available here consumes more power - 140W, and is more expensive at the time of writing. The difference is $25, but I still prefer this 125W Phenom. If you find a 125W Phenom II X4 965, don't mind paying a little extra, and don't plan to overclock, then get the 965, if not then get this. The 200Mhz aren't really going to make that much difference.

- What about the intel i5?

The i5 is a really good processor, but putting a system together with an i5 costs a lot of money even though it's only priced at $200. The reason is that a good motherboard for the i5 will really be expensive. I did consider buying an i5 - this is my first time using an AMD processor, but then I figured out that it's really not worth it. Both almost are the same. AMD also remain faithful to their sockets, which means that I am highly likely to be able to use the same motherboard 2-3 years from now for a new AMD processor.

- What about the new X6 Phenom? Isn't it better?

As someone who actually fell in love with this processor, I feel strange recommending another processor for you to buy. It all depends on your budget. If you have an extra $40 to spare and won't overclock, then definitely get the new non-black edition of the X6 processor. That's what I'd have done if I had the time back then. If you plan to overclock then you probably don't need my opinion on this. The extra cores will always come in handy in the future.

- What about the Phenom II X3 720?

The X3 720 is a great processor with three functional cores and a fourth core that can be unlocked. However, the fourth core may be unstable and the price difference is only $35. As more applications use more cores, this extra core of the X4 will start making a real difference.

- What about the sockets: AM3, AM2+, AM2?

The socket is the place on the motherboard where you put your processor. As time went by, AMD's new processors started using new sockets, but they still remained backward-compatible. This means that this AM3 processor will work on older AM2+ and AM2 motherboards. If you're using an AMD computer and are wondering whether you will need a new motherboard or not, just remove the side panel of your case, write down the name and the model of your motherboard, and then use google to find the specifications of your motherboard and check whether it has an AM2+ socket or not. You will probably need to download and install a BIOS update in order for your motherboard to use this AM3 processor. Remember that you should buy DDR2 ram if you will use a motherboard that doesn't have an AM3 socket.

Maintenance:

The heatsink that comes with the unit is more than adequate if you don't plan to overclock. However, after a while you will find that your core temperatures will start soaring, that's due to dust build up. I looked online and it seems that many people said that you can't take the heatsink apart in order to clean it. Actually, you can. There are four small clips holding the small AMD fan in there - without you having to release the heatsink and apply a new layer of thermal paste, once you release those four clips the fan will come off and you will have access to radiator-like blades where there will be a lot of dust. Removing that dust using a compressed air spray brought my temperatures down by 5 C.

I paired this CPU up with my Asus M4A79T. This was a huge improvement from my old processor, the Pentium D 820. There is a lot of head room when I got this to 3.6ghz easy. That was as far as I able to get stable on stock cooler, stock voltage. This is no i7 but it sure competes with the q9xxx series Intel CPUs. I hear this chip has a hard time going past 4.0ghz on air on a 64 bit OS. I'd have to try it out after I get a good heat sink fan.

Phenom II X4 955 BE @3.6ghz /w stock cooler
Asus M4A79T Deluxe
1600mhz Corsair 9 9 9 24
4890 Sapphire 1gb ddr5
WD Caviar Green 750gb 16mb
850w Corsair tx series
Lancool PC-K7B

This CPU was used for first build. The processor itself is very easy to install, stock cooler was a little tougher.

CPU is very fast and able to run anything without a hiccup. Even when running a torture test I was still able to play songs in iTunes, watch a movie, or play a game without any hesitation from the processor.

My only problem was when running prime 95 processor would creep above 60C with stock cooler, I was thinking the thing was defective and thought about returning it. Tried re-seating the stock cooler and used arctic silver as my thermal compound instead. Still kept going above 60C.

Decided to try under-volting and was able to get the chip to idle under 40 and no higher than 54 at full-load which alleviated my concern that I had a faulty product. Will be buying an after market cooler soon.

Overall very happy with my purchase, processor performs very well, I'm not sure why anyone would want something faster.

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
Phenom II x4 955
Western Digital 1TB 32MB Cache
Radeon 1 GB HD 4870
OCZ DDR3 1600 MHz

wonderful cpu, goes fast, very stable, 4 cores! i usually dont use more than 2 cores and i havent used more than 3, unless im load testing or benchmarking... OCed to 3.71 ghz with the coolermaster v8 (on a side note, buy it, its awesome) i havent seen my cpu hit 50C yet and ive fully loaded it and the vcore is up to 1.45! its an amd product so you know its great, i bought this cpu when it first came out thinking that ya its amd so its good... now im so pleased with this product i would have paid $300 for it!(i paid about $220 when it came out) i highly recommend this cpu, and i would recommend the 965 but i havent personally put it through its paces so i cant really say. i assume the 965 is just as good if not better because it is an amd product

After six years of using a Pentium 4 running XP I finally decided it was time to build a 64-bit quad-core system. There had been so many complaints about Vista that I decided to wait for Windows 7 to come out before building my next system. I'm glad I did because it took that long for all my requirements to fall into place:

1) Reasonably priced 4GB DDR3 modules.
2) Motherboards supporting at least 16GB of DDR3
3) Windows 7-64
4) Mature Quad-Core Processor

So in January of 2010, I began to purchase the parts to build "The Dragon". I had originally decided to buy a Phenom II X4 940 but Amazon.com placed a 955 in my Gold Box for less than the 940. Not an over-clocker, I planned to go stock all the way. However, it is in meeting the demands of over-clockers that would ensure that the system I buy will have the margins built in to make it very reliable and last a very long time. "Dragon" is actually a code name for the AMD 790FX chip set that was designed to support the Phenom II on mother boards supporting DDR3. But I stumbled across a CoolerMaster HAF 932 AMD colaborative limited edition that I just had to have. This is what turned my system into the "Red Dragon". Now the system has been up and running Windows 7 for over a week now and I am very satisfied with it.

Haf Amd Edition Red Dragon

Let me share a few tidbits with you. AMD's main competition comes for the Intel i5/i7 CPUs. The i7 seems to have a more powerful processor but costs significantly more. Because competition is good for the industry, I recommend for people who are building their own systems to buy a Phenom II because it is a really great product. Although the i7 has 8M of level 3 cache where the Phenom II has 6M, the Phenom II has twice as much Level 1 and Level 2 cache as the Intel. Also, most of the bandwith to peripherals on the i7 is to a dedicated PCI-e X16 slot leaving only 2 GBps to be shared by the other peripherals. The Phenom II has 8 GBps to be shared with all of the peripherals. This means that a second video card on an i7 is not going to perform like the first. With a Phenom II, however, both video cards are going to have equal bandwith to the processor. This means better GPU performance for those of you who want to make use of massive parallelism. Looking at comparative data transfer bandwith performance (via hypertransport for AMD), the AMD design clearly outshines the Intel, although the Intel CPU has better number crunching performance.

I do a lot of 3D animation and video processing. This system will bring me into the world of high definition. I have done animations and video conversions taking a week or more. It will be nice to do the same thing in only a few hours. Two days ago I did a high-definition render just to compare the performance of my old system (2.4 GHz P4 /w 2 GB running SpeedEDIT 1.5) with the new system (3.2 GHz Phenom II X4 955 with 8 GB running SpeedEDIT 2.0). In this particular test, the render went 20 times as fast on the Dragon (6 minutes as opposed to 2 hours) . For number crunching, the difference will not be as great. This particular application uses all four cores very well.

This product is rated at 125Watts and that is probably why I got it for such a discount. A newer model is rated at only 90Watts. I have installed the Gigabyte utility that monitors and controlls CPU power and I have never seen the power usage go over 55 Watts under heavy load. This was while doing a 1920 X 1080p video render while simulatneously producing a 1920 X 1080p 3D animation using Lightwave 9.6. The CPU gadget on W7 was reading up to 99% CPU utilization but did bounce around.

I brought this processor because it was less expensive when compared to similar Intel processor. I have not used the Oc feature, am very happy with the performance/speed. I can do multiple things, like play a 1080p video and at the same time encode/decode video in the background. I did notice a slight noise coming from the fan apart from that have no issues.

Yes I mean it. It's the best CPU for average user/gamer at this moment. You can pay more $$ for Core i7 but you won't get more. Trust me. It's like buying a Ferrari but driving a highway with speed limit of 70mph. Most of the application I use load my Phenom II x4 955 BE at average 25-30%. When gaming I use around 65-70% no more and I max out everything. And it's all at stock speeds @ 3.2 Ghz. I never seen my CPU @ 100% except when I used the " Torture Test" with Prime 95. What's the point of buying the "fastest" CPU where most of the applications don't even use all of its power, well you can say that it's somewhat future proof, but trust me it would be outdated with new CPUs with more power and more Cores in just 1-2 years. Even the fastest dual core CPU's can't match the power of Quads. Meaning that if someone bought the Fastest CPU with 2 cores at the time they were released and paid insane amount of $$ for it and they were outdated by 4 core CPUs in about a year. Same here. It's better to buy now Phenom II x4 955 BE for less $$ and upgrade it later for faster CPU and having a better CPU in the future instead of buying Core i7 for more $$ and using an outdated CPU. And by the way Intel is just a rip off for their customers where you have to buy new motherboard and new components every time they release new CPU, but with AMD you still can use AM3 in the future. If you are looking for the best value/price CPU look no further. Buy it ! You won't regret it. Need more Power ? You can overclock it up to 3.6ghz with stock fan and up to 4.0ghz with water cooling or high end air cooler (maybe more). I'm waiting on Corsair h50 water cooler and going to overclock it to 3.9ghz and this BEAST is going to eat most of my applications alive LOL. If you have a lot of $$ and don't know where to spend it you can go ahead and waste your money on Core i7 ( or just send it to me :D ), but if you are smart enough you can buy Phenom II x4 955 BE and save your $$ for better GPU or whatever you need and upgrade CPU next year to new AMD Bulldozer CPU which will mop the floor with Core i7 and still you will save $$. Nowadays you can't really be future proof and buying "fastest" CPU makes no sense because the way it's going right now technologies develop too fast. It could be true 5-6 years ago where you could buy a CPU and boast about it, but now progress is going to be even faster. Next year AMD realeasing 6 core CPU and 2-3 years from now there would be 8-12 core CPU's even the fastest Core i7 which costs around $1300 would be no match for them. Just think about it.

pros: as title said, it has the best price/performance rate: 4 cores, 3GHz+, OC more if you want and know how, why pay $30 more on 965 or $100+ more on intel's i7? you can't tell the difference
cons: none
other thoughts:
My First build system:
OS: Win7 Ultimate x64
CPU: AMD PhenomII x4 955 3.2GHz
MOBO: MSI 790FX-GD70
RAM: G.Skill 2x2G DDR3 1600
GPU: Sapphire Radeon 5850
HD: WD Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 RPM
Optical: LG Blu-ray Combo Drive
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750-Watt
Soundcard: HT | OMEGA STRIKER 7.1
Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
Monitor: ASUS VW246H 24"
Speaker: Logitech Z-2300

Great price and great performance. Although Intel i7's maybe be able to take more IPC's in more cases, you can't beat this thing's price and it overclocks excellently. I can't wait to see what I can do with a a new fan and heatsink.

The Phenom II 955 Black Edition is a great cpu weather it's used for multitasking or gaming. It does have it limits and is inferior to intels i7 when it comes to video encoding and just down right raw processing power, but for its price and performance, this is a great cpu. I've had this particular cpu for around 8 months and built my current gaming rig around it. I have this cpu on an Asus M4A79 Deluxe with a 5870 and have no problems playing any of the latest released games or crysis with all the highest settings at 1920 x 1080 resolution. As for its overclockablity, I have it at 3.957 with 1.47v stable. It survived prime95 for 8 hours and I didn't see the need to go any longer then that. All in all, the Phenom II 955 is a great cpu at a very reasonable price.