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AMD Phenom II X4 840

22 Dec 2010

The 3.2GHz AMD Phenom II X4 840 is based on AMD's Propus core and has a maximum TDP of 95W. It retails for under US$100 at launch.

Tags: amd, quad-core, phenom ii x4

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AMD
Intel

HWZ's Overall Rating: 7.5

Performance:

Features:

7.5

Value:

7.5

Competitive price and performance against the AMD Athlon II X4 series

It's an Athlon II X4 inside; Phenom II branding is inappropriate

<div id="product-review" class="article">
			<h2 class="header-green">AMD&#039;s January Update - Phenom II X4 975 &#039;Black Edition&#039; &amp; Phenom II X4 840</h2>
		<span class="byline">Article by Vincent Chang on Monday, 10 Jan 2011</span>
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		 		<h2 class="page-title">AMD Starts New Year with Two New CPUs</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">Two for the New Year</h3>
<p>Blink and you would have missed it:&nbsp;AMD's announcement of two new quad-core processor models was made shortly after Intel's <a target="_blank" href="/view/120358">Sandy Bridge launch</a> went live. Going by their original NDAs, it was supposed to be the other way round. AMD&nbsp;had scheduled its processor release a day before Intel's Sandy Bridge, but Intel changed its date rather at the last minute, which took us too by surprise.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Besides the fact that we ended up late with our Sandy Bridge article, the change in NDA also meant that AMD's new processors were inevitably lost amid the flood of Sandy Bridge reviews. Unsurprisingly too, since the first two AMD&nbsp;CPUs of the year are once again incremental additions to its existing lineup. Even AMD&nbsp;is focusing on its Fusion products, which were revealed at <a href="http://blogs.amd.com/fusion/2011/01/04/pc-ecosystem-supports-amd-fusion-technology/" target="_blank">CES&nbsp;2011</a>, making these new desktop processors seem like an afterthought.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, we're here to bring you the latest tech developments and despite the presence of Sandy Bridge, there's still room for a budget AMD&nbsp;processor (the new Phenom II&nbsp;X4 840)&nbsp;and its fastest 'Black Edition' quad-core (the new Phenom II&nbsp;X4 975&nbsp;BE). Right?</p>
<p>Here are the basic specs for the two:</p>
<table width="95%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" summary="New AMD CPUs in Jan 2011">
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Processor Model</strong></td>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Clock Speed</strong></td>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>L2 Cache</strong></td>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>L3 Cache</strong></td>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>HyperTransport Bus</strong></td>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Max TDP (W)</strong></td>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Retail Price (US$)</strong></td>
            <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Availability</strong></td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td class="rtecenter">AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">3.6GHz</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">512KB x 4</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">6MB&nbsp;</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">2.0GHz</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">125W</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">~195</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">Now</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td class="rtecenter">AMD Phenom II X4 840</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">3.2GHz</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">512KB&nbsp;x 4</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">N.A</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">2.0GHz</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">95W</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">~102</td>
            <td class="rtecenter">Now</td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>
<p>The AMD&nbsp;Phenom II&nbsp;X4 975 Black Edition is the predictable member of the two. AMD&nbsp;has been gradually increasing the clock speed of its highest-end processors and at 3.6GHz, the Phenom II&nbsp;X4 975 BE&nbsp;is the fastest quad-core in its stable. Its predecessor, the Phenom II&nbsp;X4 970 (3.5GHz) was only introduced in September last year, and well, AMD&nbsp;thinks it's time for another minor upgrade. At US$195, it's slightly more expensive than the 970, which is going for US$186 nowadays.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="392" width="407" src="/files/images/cpu-802_copy.jpg" title="The Phenom II X4 975 BE is clocked at 3.6GHz, but drops to 800MHz during idle." alt="" /></p>
<p>The other Phenom II&nbsp;X4, the 840 is meant for the budget segment despite its 'Phenom&nbsp;II' branding. It's also a return to the 800 series that has been rather quiet for a while now. However, there's an important difference. The 840 has more in common with the Athlon II&nbsp;X4 family, what with its lack of L3 cache. A&nbsp;look at the processor codename - Propus - gives away the clue that it is indeed the same core as the Athlon II&nbsp;X4.</p>
<p>It would seem like a bad move to dilute the Phenom II&nbsp;brand with a much weaker processor, but AMD&nbsp;appears to have the 840 assigned to the value bin, with an affordable US$102 price tag that actually undercuts the US$119 Athlon II&nbsp;X4 645. Perhaps a price adjustment for the Athlon II&nbsp;X4 will be coming soon.</p>
<p>Anyway, there's nothing new to talk about these processors that you haven't heard before, so let's go straight to the testing and results.</p>			</div>
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AMD Phenom II X4 840

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