Head to Head: 45nm Deathmatch (Sandra Prior)
Nov 15, 2009
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition
The processor that marked AMD's return to form has grown even more impressive since launch, re-establishing AMD's processors as realistic starting points for building a new system.
This chip's awesome drop-in upgrade potential makes it a winner. If you currently run a budget AMD-based system with an AM2 socket and perhaps a modest dual-core Athlon CPU, an upgrade to this will rock your world. There's no need for a new motherboard or memory, just bang it in and bask in your PC's new multi-core prowess. With a stock clockspeed of 3GHz and 6MB of cache, the 940 is quick by any standard. The fact that it will run at well over 3.5GHz on air cooling just adds to the attraction.
Model Intel Core i7920
When Intel announced its awesome new Core i7 quad-core processor, we were sure it would be priced out of reach of mere mortals. After all, in raw performance terms this CPU architecture has no equals. Surely Intel can name its price?
It came as a pleasant surprise when we discovered the 2.66GHz 920 model would retail at under $450. Ok, that's a lot of cash, but given that this chip outperforms the $1550 Core 2 Extreme QX9770 in most benchmarks and beats AMD's Phenom II hands down, you could almost call it a bargain. The catch? You'll need a new motherboard and probably some DDR3 memory costing a grand total of $700. An awesome performer and deeply desirable. Just don't be fooled by the superficially attractive price.
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