AMD Performance Midrange
The introduction of Phenom II has made putting together an AMD performance midrange a joy again. While the Phenom was an honest competitor at the price points where AMD chose to compete, the poor overclocking of the AMD Phenom compared to Intel Core 2 Quad processors was always a nagging reality. Phenom II changes all that, and AMD in 45nm clothes is once again a screaming overclocker. We reached 3.9GHz in our testing for the Phenom II launch with a Phenom II 940 CPU. That same CPU is the starting point for our AMD performance midrange PC.
| AMD Performance Midrange PC | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Phenom II x4 940 Black Edition (3.0GHzx4 125W 4x512KB L2, 6MB L3) |
$215 |
| Cooling | Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V | $40 |
| Video | Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB (After $20 Rebate) | $230 |
| Motherboard | Foxconn A79A-S AM2+/AM2 790FX | $140 |
| Memory | OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-1066 Dual-Channel Kit OCZ2RPR10664GK 5-5-5-18 (after $15 Rebate) | $55 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000333AS 1TB | $90 |
| Optical Drive | LG BD/HD DVD / 16x DVD+/- RW GGC-H20LK | $99 |
| Audio | On Motherboard 8-channel | - |
| Case | Lian Li PC65B Black Aluminum Mid Tower | $100 |
| Power Supply | Silverstone ST70F 700W SLI/CrossFire 80 Plus Modular (after $25 Rebate) | $100 |
| Base System Total | $1069 | |
| Display | ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI WUXGA LCD Monitor (1920x1200) (after $30 Rebate) | $320 |
| Speakers | Logitech G51 155W RMS 5.1 Speakers - Retail | $135 |
| Input | Microsoft CA9-00001 Black PS/2 Standard Keyboard and Optical USB/PS2 Mouse - OEM | $16 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Vista Home Premium OEM | $99 |
| Complete System Bottom Line | $1639 | |
| SSD (Optional) | OCZ Vertex OCZSSD2-1VTX60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk | $209 |
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For detailed information on the Phenom II, please read our AMD Phenom II launch article and the follow-up Phenom II X4 810 and X3 720. The Phenom II 940 at 3.0GHz is the fastest of the currently shipping AMD Phenom II processors, but that will likely change in a few weeks. The Phenom II is very similar in L2/L3 cache configuration to the Intel Core i7. Performance is also similar to comparably priced Intel midrange chips. As the first 45nm AMD processors the Phenom II also overclocks very well, finally approaching the overclocking levels enjoyed by Intel since the introduction of the Core 2 Duo.
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The Phenom II is not the hot CPU you find in the Core i7, but it still benefits from third party cooling - particularly if you plan to overclock. We paired the Phenom II 940 with the Xigmatek Dark Knight, which performed well in the lab. At $40 the Xigmatek is also an excellent cooling value.
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Since the Phenom II 940 does not support DDR3, our DDR2+ motherboard was populated with a 4GB kit of OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2-1066. This memory is rated at a fast 5-5-5 at DDR2-1066 and it performs at faster timings and lower voltages at slower speeds. Whether you use it as a stock DDR2-1066 memory or overclock it to its limits, this OCZ memory should provide the headroom you need to bring out the best in this system.
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The case for the Phenom II performance midrange system is the well-regarded Lian Li black all aluminum case. This Lian Li case has a reputation for exceptional quiet with its four 80mm fans with a fan speed controller and the excellent heat dissipation you expect from an all aluminum case. What is unique is the $40 savings on this case through the month of April, which reduces the cost to $100. There is even a side window for those who like a view of their working system.
Other components in the AMD performance midrange system are the same used in the Intel performance midrange. You can find descriptions and thumbnail images of those components on the previous page.
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Lokinhow - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
Good article, but.....a GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P paired with Phenom II X4 940?How did you manage that?
It's impossible to put a AM2+ CPU on a AM3 motherboard.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
The AMD Performance Mid-Range has been corrected with the Phenom II 940, Foxconn 790FX AM2+/AM2 motherboard, and OCZ Reaper DDR2-1066 memory.With the 945/925 Socket AM3 upgrades due in the near future we also asked the question of whether it made sense to wait for the upgraded Phenom II processors. Performance will not likely be faster, but with all the new AMD AM3 boards appearing and DDR3 memory prices dropping fast, choosing DDR3 is no longer such an expensive option.
whatthehey - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
Obviously the CPU needs to work with the motherboard, but you'd be far better off with a different mobo in my opinion. Foxconn just has a lot of problems, from questionable QA to a messed up BIOS and random incompatibilities. I think the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H would have been the better overall choice. The Foxconn has an amazing price after the rebate ($85!?), but then I have to wonder WHY the price is so low. Seems like they might be trying to clear inventory and stop supporting the board rather than addressing remaining issues. Also, my one experience with Foxconn support was enough to make me never want to buy another one of their products. Just my two cents, though.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
You are absolutely correct. We know the 945 is on the way and projected ahead. There were also a couple of motherboard changes made after the writing was complete. That combo slipped through the cracks. We will correct the AMD Performance choices.Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
When are the 945/925 processors going to be in stores?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
We are expecting additional Phenom II choices in about 2 weeks, but that is always open to revisions in release dates.Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
Are they just releasing the 945/925 or are they releasing others?zshift - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
I like how soon you published this article after the one done just a few months ago, but it shows just how much has changed in a few months. Had I been patient I might have been able to get away with the i7 system you recommended, but the system I have now is so fast I doubt I would notice a difference other than benchmarks. right now i have the following: intel core 2 quad q9300 @3.52GHz@1.38V, asus p5q-e mobo, 2x2gb mushkin pc6400 kit running 935MHz@2.1V/5-5-5-18 (best ram ive ever bought. it was recommended in the holiday memory guide and i can easily hit 1066 on these, only running in 935 due to fsb/ratio limits :/) have an asus eah4870 dk top 512 running 835MHzgpu/1085MHzmem (wish i woulda waited for better prices on 1gb version or for the 4890), wd 750gb caviar black, wd 500gb caviar, lite on 22xdvd burner sata.Also, I really like the small push for linux and no-cost operating systems. I currently have vista ult. x64 on my 750gb hdd and ubuntu 9.04 alpha x64 on my 500gb. ubuntu literally boots (with the ext4 filesystem) in under 6 seconds from posting to login. i cant imagine how fast it would be with my black edition drive or with an ssd. and drivers arent a problem because it recognized everything from my build, the only thing i needed to do was approve the download of the propietary ati driver (which ubuntu detected itself) and all was working perfectly.
garbageacc3 - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
no one asked you what your specs were.your comp isn't that great, and the value gaming wise isn't that great.
why the hell are you bragging about your comp in this article anyway?
you should have spent less money on q9300 or other things and gotten the 1 gb 4870.
the q9300 is a terrible processor for overclocking, low and locked multi = always fsb bound.
i have a q6600 and 260gtx 216 that i'm sure spanks your rig at gaming(vantage gpu score = ~12300)
bill3 - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
3Dmark is useless so only noobs qoute a vantage score like it means anything. Especially since with the physx portion only in Nvidia the Nvidia score is very inflated. AKA your brag of 12,300 score is stupid. In actuality his 512MB 4870 will toast your 260 in most games.That said yeah, 1GB is much better for the future.