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AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition
Overclocking Results
Using our Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe Motherboard we were able to configure the Phenom 9600, normally a 2.3GHz part, to 2.4GHz, and 2.5GHz (200*11.5 and 200*12) easily. We saw a very slight increase in core temperatures with each bump but nothing even slightly alarming for this 95W TDP rated part. Attaining 2.6 GHz required some finer tweaking of the CPU core voltage to get stable though we were able to reach that stability at 1.3Vcore. This resulted in much higher temperatures though still within acceptable ranges for the thermal displacement rating of this processor.
Raising the speed of the Phenom 9600 to 2.6GHz showed results of some barely noticable gains in our Sisoft Sandra benchmarks and up to 18% faster results in our 3D and actual game applications. Essentially we turned our Phenom 9600 Black Edition into a Phenom 9900. The Phenom 9900 is rated for 145W TDP so you can see why the operating temps rose with this move. It is interesting to note that there are HT differences between the Phenom 9600 and the Phenom 9900 that cannot be overcome regardless of overclock. The HT speed of the 9900 clocks in at 2.0GHz while the 9600 is capped at 1.8GHz and is not adjustable in this chip. With that in mind an overclocked 9600 will not perform as well as a true 9900.
We did utilize the AMD Overdrive overclocking untility but were again faced with the same hard wall of 2.6Ghz which we were unable to get past in a stable state. The system would post and boot into Windows at a maximum stable speed of 2645 (11.5 multiplier by 230 RAM, CPU @ 1.3Vcore). The system would lock within applications randomly at any higher speeds. We spent close to 12 hours trying different combinations and several bios releases without luck. 2.6GHz seems to be a brick wall for the Phenom 9600 Black Edition which for a processor aimed at overclocking is not very good.
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Conclusion
The Phenom offers consumers an easy entry into the world of quad core computing at a low price and with a clear upgrade path. AMD's offering may be hindered by the fact that Intel offers a comparable processor the Q6600 at a very competitive price that will likley overclock better. The choice for consumers really then comes down to the platform offering and benefits which in the case of Phenom favors AMD. We must also congratulate AMD on the release of the AMD Overdrive software which makes overclocking easy and understandable to consumers. For many users Overdrive may be a blessing, allowing those who would normally not tamper with settings to test values and settings and see the results without having to know how. A basic understanding of overclocking is all thats necessary. At the time of this writing the Phenom 9600 Black Edition can be found at $237 with platforms starting at around $150.
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