Phenom II X4 965: A Look at CPU/MB Bundle Pricing
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 13, 2009 2:10 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
If you haven't heard, AMD released a new flagship CPU today: the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition. It's a fast chip, more than competitive with Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9550 and Q9650; and generally faster than both. It's also an easy overclock. I hit 3.8GHz on mine without giving it any additional voltage and with a bit of work Gary broke 4GHz.
There is a hint of nervousness in the air though. Due out very soon are Intel's Lynnfield processors. With prices starting at $199 and motherboards priced in the low $100s, they should prove to be more competitive than the aging Core 2 Quad line. In anticipation of Intel's Lynnfield release AMD told us the following in advantage of today's announcement:
"We will be introducing 965 at a suggested retail price of $245(US), holding the line our flagship’s official price while offering more performance. However, there will be some exciting bundle deals on or shortly after August 13th. The main bundle you’ll see is AMD’s Phenom II X4 965 combined with a range of motherboards to choose from where the bundle is discounted ~$40 or more (depending on the motherboard chosen). "
AMD partnered with five North American vendors for these bundles, but only two of them currently stock the Phenom II X4 965 BE. Granted it's the first day of the launch and these things can take a little while to filter into everyone's inventory. Below is a quick listing of the available bundles for the Phenom II X4 965 BE:
| Vendor | CPU Price | Motherboard | Motherboard Price | Combo Price | Combo Savings |
| Newegg | $249.00 | ASUS M4A79T Deluxe (790FX) | $188.99 | $412.99 | $25 |
| Newegg | $249.00 | Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H (785G) | $79.99 | $308.99 | $20 |
| Newegg | $249.00 | MSI 790GX-G65 (790GX) | $124.99 | $353.99 | $20 |
| ZipZoomFly | No Listings | ||||
| TigerDirect | $259.99 | Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H (785G) | $79.99 | $319.99 | $19.99 |
| NCIX | No Listings | ||||
| MWAVE | No Listings | ||||
Newegg offered the most bundles out of any of the surveyed vendors. Instead of publishing all of them I picked a high end bundle (with a high end motherboard) as well as the cheapest bundle possible. Generally it looks like you can save $20 - $25 on one of these Phenom II X4 965 bundles. That's shy of the "~$40 or more" AMD suggested we'd see; perhaps bigger discounts will come later?
Today, the cheapest you can get into a 965 with a new board is just under $310, while a higher end board will set you back a bit over $400. There's a slight issue with the Gigabyte 785G in that it's not technically on AMD's recommended motherboard list for the 965 BE. I also included an MSI 790GX board, but it too is not technically on AMD's recommended motherboard list. I suspect that it's just a matter of validation but it's worth pointing out regardless.
I also looked at what was available if you wanted to buy a Core i7 920 instead. Again I picked the cheapest motherboard Newegg offered, the MSI X58M, as well as a higher end option (ASUS P6T).
| CPU | CPU Price | Motherboard | Motherboard Price | Combo Price |
| Core i7 920 | $279.99 | ASUS P6T | $249.99 | $504.98 |
| Core i7 920 | $279.99 | MSI X58M | $169.99 | $449.98 |
There's simply no way the i7 920 can compete with the cheapest Phenom II X4 965 BE configuration, but if you are fine with a Micro-ATX motherboard then the cheapest i7 920 setup is $37 away from the more expensive 965 BE combo from Newegg. You actually don't give up the ability to do multi-GPU with the X58M (it supports both CF and SLI), it even has six DIMM slots and software SATA RAID support. However, unless you had to buy today, I wouldn't worry too much about trying to build a cheap 920. It won't be long before P55 and Lynnfield are upon us, and then we'll have a real race.
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bh192012 - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
Seems if you want a cheap setup AMD is good to go. If you need something that can do Crossfire/SLI in the future (which is the apples to apples comparison) then you are looking at the MSI combo for $354 or the MSI i7 at $450. Memory price isn't an issue at apples to apples either, you can use 2 stick dual channel in either.The question then becomes can the MSI i7 overclock enough over the MSI PII to justify it's costs (30% faster?), either with stock or aftermarket (whatever you're into.) Plus it depends on your thoughts on future upgrades, the i7 board probably will be upgradable longer, but I don't know that for sure. Plus the game of GPU bottlenecks and future game balance.
kg4icg - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
Irony is, I can go to Microcenter right now and pick up a I7-920 for $199, there everyday price is $229. Plus there are some X58 boards in the $200 range for example the 1 I have which is a Gigabyte EX58-UD3R rev 1.6Nfarce - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
"Irony is, I can go to Microcenter right now and pick up a I7-920 for $199, there everyday price is $229. Plus there are some X58 boards in the $200 range"Bingo. But that argument was brought up in another article here and AT did not mention that MicroCenter option because not everyone has access to one of their stores, and you can't mail order from them.
But it is interesting to read the fanboism here accusing AT of Intel bias. I'd rather spend $400-$450 on a system that will still rock for several years vs. some has-been technology for $300-$350. Anand clearly said that the AMD system was still a cheaper buy, but the AMD fantards were so narrow-visioned drooling and looking for bias they obviously missed his comment - which he came here and clarified above.
medi01 - Monday, August 17, 2009 - link
"System that will rock for several year"??? Huh? You are comparing two "competitive" systems, and one will "rock you for several years" while the other won't?And this, considering that upgrading Intel platform normally means new MB + CPU, often RAM, while with AMD you can stick to CPU only upgrade?
snakeoil - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
anandtech is in intel's payroll.250 difference between phenom2 and core i7 setups and they say they still prefer intel.
annandtech thinks that their readers are stupid
tacoburrito - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
If it is readers like you, then yes, they are stupid.You totally failed at reading comprehension.
strikeback03 - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
The comments sections of these articles could really use a block function, so we can all ignore the trolls such as snakeoil and SiliconDoc.Anand Lal Shimpi - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
The i7 is faster, the Phenom II is cheaper. As I mentioned above it's silly to try to build an entry-level i7 system at this point given what's just around the corner. Allow me to quote from my 965 review:"As a gaming CPU, it's actually competitive with the i7s."
"Overall application performance is very good from the 965's perspective. It's only in a handful of 3D or well threaded apps where we see the i7 really pull away. The 965 BE is competitive, just not faster."
"When it comes down to it, between the 965 BE and an i7 920, I still opt for the 920. The 965BE does have a lower total cost of ownership so the real question is how well does it stack up against the Lynnfield chips. "
And no, we're not in or on anyone's payroll :)
Take care,
Anand
Shadowmaster625 - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
Ok kids lets do some simple math:AMD combo = $300
Intel combo = $450
Intel combo = AMD combo + $150
Intel combo = 50% more than AMD combo!!
Wow that is soooooooo difficult, my brain is fried.
Despite the price premium, what does anand say? "When it comes down to it, between the 965 BE and an i7 920, I still opt for the 920." Yeah and I think you need to put down the crack pipe man... How much is intel paying you?
Not only is the intel combo more expensive, but you also have to buy a third memory stick. For what? an extra 5% performance boost.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Friday, August 14, 2009 - link
Perhaps I should have qualified that statement. From a purely performance perspective and if I'm looking at the longevity of my build, the i7 920 is what I'd be shooting for. Obviously the AMD system is much lower priced, which is why I also said:"There's simply no way the i7 920 can compete with the cheapest Phenom II X4 965 BE configuration"
Not to mention that building an i7 920 today seems a bit silly, which I also mentioned:
"However, unless you had to buy today, I wouldn't worry too much about trying to build a cheap 920"
Take care,
Anand