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CPUs, Motherboards & RAM

Phenom 2 X4 940 Black Edition

By Justin Robinson
10:42 Jan 9, 2009 | 17 Comments
Tags: Phenom | 2 | X4 | 940 | Black | Edition

Performance:

75%

Overclocking:

97%

Value:

60%

from 1 review

Verdict:
Good fun for overclockers and upgraders, but performance fiends will look for bluer pastures.

At stock speeds, Deneb only beats the E8400 in multithreaded applications and memory latency, due to the two extra cores and onboard memory controller respectively. Overclocking both chips only widens this gap, pushing Deneb further behind in singlethreaded performance and again only allowing multithreaded apps the chance to come out on top. Latency differences here are minimal, due to the high FSB of the Intel system. Compared to this chip, we’d only recommend Deneb if you need an upgrade and do a lot of multitasking, such as video encoding.

If we compare to the cheapest Nehalem chip (keep in mind that this CPU needs a new motherboard AND memory, but for sheer interest’s sake let’s go ahead anyway), Deneb is completely and thoroughly whipped in every single benchmark. The i920 chip we looked at last issue (Issue 96, page 30) is able to beat the performance of the Deneb even at stock settings.

Overclocking of Deneb was rather successful though, the unlocked multi provided by the Black Edition giving us a maximum stable speed of 3.8GHz under air (19 x 200), and a maximum HT bus of 246 at stock multi. Extreme overclockers will seriously enjoy their LN2 sessions – this chip doesn’t have a cold bug at all, and can sit at -196 degrees with no issues.

We think that this chip is worth a look as an upgrade to an older AMD system, but if you want performance and value for a new system, Intel is still where it’s at.

Product Info

Specs:

3GHz quad core; 45nm manufacturing process; ‘Deneb’ core; 4x512KB L2 cache; 6MB L3 cache; 15x stock multiplier - unlocked; 4000MHz System Bus; 200MHz HTT; 125W TDP.

Supplier:

AMD

Price when reviewed:

AUD$426

price check*

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*Products and prices sourced from staticICE and are in no way associated with Atomic MPC

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17 Comments

intelinside Jan 9, 2009 1:05 PM	bugger, i was looking forward to this "battle." So i guess it was all show and no go.
SlickGrunt Jan 9, 2009 2:58 PM	yeah i must admit i am rather disappointed too. over $400 bucks isn't exactly mainstream to me.
MagnumXY Jan 9, 2009 3:56 PM	sigh* we were so, so close
nesquick Jan 9, 2009 5:50 PM	i7 920's are around $480 and can overclock to similar results on air not to mention ddr3 kits are not that expensive same with the gigabyte x48 ds4, with the current prices there is not a lot of reason to get a Phenom 2 940.
MagnumXY Jan 9, 2009 5:55 PM	i guess you could justify this by saying intel has had time to work upon 45nm so we never expected it to even get close to core i7, but if it can do just as good as a yorkfield quad (even a midrange one) for less i guess thats good enough.
SceptreCore Jan 9, 2009 5:55 PM	Well after all gents this is a die shrink with more cache and few modifications. If this is how the original Phenom was... everyone would be running an AMD system. Also, expecting this thing to beat Nehalem was never considered, more an alternative to Core2. This chip does give a Q9400 run for it's money and stays hot on the heals of the Q9550. Core2 is still priced very highly... Intel expecting it to live until about Q3, Q4, this year But I think we will see AMD lower their prices before long... and it will spur sales growth for people looking for an entry level Quad core with great gaming performance and low platform cost.
MagnumXY Jan 9, 2009 6:03 PM	What's odd is that Tom's Hardware (which was quite slack to Phenom I) gave it a great review and said it was a success. Read the article here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-940,2114.html
t8y Jan 9, 2009 7:22 PM	i dont see the problem? its a release price, it may come down. besides that if moneys tight theres the PII 920 or even an older phenom while you save for the new ones. its a good price for a (fairly quick) 3ghz quad, with potential for more speed. id certainly have reconsidered going intel (i went for a q6600) if i was buying now instead of 6 months ago
SlickGrunt Jan 9, 2009 9:19 PM	CPL is pricing the PhII 920 as $439 and the PhII 940 as $489. Gah :P
t8y Jan 9, 2009 11:52 PM	well sandeep on OCAU has one of these at 3.6ghz on stock volts.. got almost the same cpu score in 3dmark06 as my q6600@3.6ghz.. my vcore is 1.5v+ tho lol, insane.. man the newer q6600s suck. hes got it on water so im sure it'll go much further with some more volts (hes testing 4ghz at 1.56v currently it seems, could be refined to work lower)
emccat Jan 10, 2009 11:15 PM	WOW $420 i thought that AMD was meant to be the cheaper one (well maybe the older AMD phenom will drop in price)
ahsoka Jan 11, 2009 4:15 PM	3GHz Quad for well under $500? Pwnage on Intel /teabags Intel Considering it's 97% score for overclocking, I'm curious to see the results (how high can it go?). Welcome back green!
sora3 Jan 12, 2009 8:49 PM	Well. I do have a X4 940 and I managed to get to 3.6GHz at just stock voltages. 4.0GHz is easy once you start pumping the volts into the CPU.
QwerK Jan 24, 2009 10:28 PM	My my my...how times have changed. has everybody forgot what a strange world we had when ntel was the only real option? AMD may have fallen behind slightly(ok a lot!)does that mean we jump ship? I am aware of the dominance of ntel but if AMD goes down how do you think cpu pricing and innovation willgo up and down respectively. I am proud to own AMD and ATI and will continue to buy if bothing else but to keep the bastards honest as they say...bottom line. My system is stable is capable and does everything I ask of it (which is a lot) as a gamer and business user I am satisfied and I hope that soon AMD will again find favour to us Fanboys we just have to be patient I spose
JediKnight Feb 3, 2009 9:42 AM	PLE lists the Phenom II 940 3.0Ghz @ $479, and the i7 920 2.66 Ghz @ $489 ... only $10 in it there. I notice the i7 940 2.93Ghz is a whopping $440 higher @ $929 .. wtf?? What justifies a $400+ increase with just a .27 Mhz increase?? o_O And i7 extreme 965 3.2Ghz @ $1,689? ... I think AMD have it all over Intel in the pricing dept. Sure, they may not be as uberpowerful as Intel, but I'd rather be close and save $400, than be slightly ahead and pay $400 ...
JediKnight Feb 3, 2009 1:28 PM	errr... I meant the extra $400 over the AMD price :)
smurftech Feb 26, 2009 12:48 PM	I just upgraded my system, after much haggling over performance vs cost I decided to go with the AMD 940 as I couldn't justify paying $400 for an i7 board. I was running an AMD 9600BE so wasn't expecting a huge peformance gain..... I was wrong 940 own's, I'm not sure where they get this slower bench stuff from, from my Vantage benchmarks,i'm keeping up with i7 965 when I'm running @ stock...... (28899 cpu score for amd 940 @ stock, 29814 i7 965@ 4.3hz) http://service.futuremark.com/resultComparison.action?compareResultId=818141&compareResultType=19 and yes i know i got own'd vid card wise :(

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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 133 | February, 2012

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.

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