AMD Phenom II X4 975BE and 840 CPU Reviews

The AMD Phenom II X4 840 CPU

As part of this announcement, AMD is also releasing a speed-bump for their X4 800 value series desktop processors as well. The AMD Phenom II X4 840 brings 3.2 GHz to a 95W TDP package. With an estimated price of $102, this chip will be sure to turn the heads of many budget-minded PC builders.

CPU-Z shows the Phenom II X4 840 sports an x16 multiplier to bring its core speed to a blazing 3.2 GHz. Even though CPU-Z labels this processor as Deneb-based, AMD reported that it is actually a Propus-based core since there is no Level 3 cache, just the 2MB of Level 2 cache.

Here is what AMD has to say about the Phenom II X4 840:

At approximately one hundred U.S. dollars, the 840 makes for a great general purpose chip for the value conscious. Four cores, good speed, sub-100W power band and a great price contribute to its attractiveness. It will be hard to find a better way to spend $100 (U.S.) on a CPU in January.

Specifications:

• Model Number & Core Frequency: X4 840 / 3.2GHz
• OPN: HDX840WFK42GM
• L1 Cache Sizes: 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (512KB total L1 per processor)
• L2 Cache Sizes: 512KB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
• Memory Controller Type: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller
• Memory Controller Speed: Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
• Types of Memory Supported: Unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)
• HyperTransport 3.0 Specification: One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
• Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth: Up to 37.3GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 21.3 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR3-1333) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)] Up to 33.1GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 17.1 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR2-1066) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
• Packaging: Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)
• Fab location: GLOBALFOUNDARIES Fab 1 module 1 in Dresden, Germany
• Process Technology: 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
• Approximate Die Size: 169 mm2
• Approximate Transistor count: ~300 million
• Max TDP: 95 Watts
• AMD Codename: Propus