Phenom X4 9x50 Details

• Core Clock:
  • 9850: 2.5GHz
    
  • 9750: 2.4GHz
    
  • 9550: 2.2GHz
• L1 Cache: 64KB L1 data, 64KB L1 instruction per core, exclusive
  
• L2 cache: 512KB per core, exclusive
  
• L3 cache: 2MB accessible by all cores
  
• Hyper Transport and Northbridge Frequency:
  • 9850: 2GHz (4MT/s)
    
  • 9750 and 9550: 1.8GHz (3.6MT/s)
• TDP:
  • 9850 and 9750: 125W
    
  • 9550: 95W

There are also two more new Phenom processors, namely the 9650 and 9100e, but they are OEM only. The 9100e is still a B2 chip but it’s an “energy efficient” quad-core with a 65W TDP rating, but it only has a 1.8GHz core clock and 1.6GHz northbridge/HyperTransport frequency.

Price Comparison

Unfortunately the Phenom X4 9x50 stock seems to be currently a little low across the channel, hopefully this will change shortly. If you shop around though, you can still find a good deal but be aware that most retailers (and Google) are still listing them as “Phenom 9850” not “Phenom X4 9850” for example.

AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition

UK Price (as reviewed): £152.74 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $235.99 (ex. Tax)

AMD Phenom X4 9750

UK Price (as reviewed): £137.46 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $215.00 (ex. Tax)

AMD Phenom X4 9550

UK Price (as reviewed): £125.71 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $195.00 (ex. Tax)

At the time of writing, there is plenty of stock in all the above online stores and there’s a linear price increase across the range. Compared to the B2 Phenoms at £117.79 and £132.94 for a 9500 and 9600 Black Edition respectively, the 9750 drops right in next to the 9600 BE. Of course, it’s worth remembering that even though it has a slightly faster (100MHz) core clock, it also has a locked multiplier. Both undercut the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 by just a few pounds although it’s not as if the Q6600 isn’t still the default choice for many given its considerably greater headroom.

The Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition might certainly become the weapon of choice for AMD enthusiasts though – at under £160 it’s half the price of the Q6700 and it’s the fastest commercially available Phenom to date and a good CPU has been shown to do 3GHz.