Today we are covering the official launch of the new AMD Phenom II X4 processors. The flagship model in this new series is the Phenom II X4 940 which works at 3.0GHz, while the 920 is just slightly slower at 2.80GHz. Both processors should be available from retailers anytime soon and are meant to be compatible with all current AM2+ motherboards provided they are supported with an updated BIOS.

Based on the AMD 45nm Deneb core, the new Phenom II CPUs have been eagerly anticipated in hope that they could rival the dominant Core 2 Quad and most recently the devastating Core i7 series that Intel used to up the ante and most likely put its closest competitor in further trouble.

As we've pointed out in our few last articles related to the Core i7 platform, the basic components of building such a system will set you back no less than $700. What AMD will need to exploit here then is the value that they can provide using the Phenom II, much like they are doing in the graphics world with the very successful Radeon HD 4000 series.

Read the full article at:
http://www.techspot.com/review/137-a...m2-x4-940-920/

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Hmm if i'd have to put down my money right now to either go for Core i7 or AMD Phenom II 920/940, i guess i'll wait till AMD releases the next crop of Phenom IIs. As you said dropping a 700$ check on an overtly hyped Core i7 is monumental stupidity. I hope AMD will stick to it's mantra of churning out VFM products time and again and let sense prevail in this god-forsaken world... all hail AMD!!! :-)

With Intel's recently announced price cuts, Core 2 Quads become a very attractive option when compared to Phenoms and even Core i7 for the price (using DDR2 memory):

http://www.techspot.com/news/33241-i...re-models.html

The Core i7 is the king when it comes to memory bandwidth. For the price though (also taking into account the recent price drops on both AMD and Intel chips) the Phenom II is a fine comeback, and IMO your article is far more balanced than the one over at [H]ardOCP. Kyle's benchmarking methods are ridiculous and show the Phenom II as a complete loser, which it is absolutely not.

This opens up whole new options altogether... naaah i'd still wait long enough to see what comes out of AMD's stables. I am more than happy with my current AMD Athlon X2 3600+ which has been serving me quite well for almost 2 years now. I guess it's needless to say which company's fanboy i have been ;-)