AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition 2.5GHz Socket AM2+

Overview

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 13 expert reviews

Excellent:

6
Good:

2
Average:

2
Bad:

3

Pros:

Cheap.
Decent performance.
Quad core.

Cons:

Slower than Intel.
More expensive and slightly lower performance than Intel quad cores.

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Last revision on June 5, 2014

Reviewers Liked

Cheap
Decent performance
Quad core
Best Phenom overclocking potential
No TLB bug
Good upgrade for AM2 Athlon X2 systems
Independent memory controller simplifies overclocking
Paired with inexpensive
Low-power-usage motherboard chipset
Surprisingly Good Overclocking

Reviewers Didn't Like

Slower than Intel
More expensive and slightly lower performance than Intel quad cores
Still lags behind Intels Core 2 Quad in performance
SSE4a multimedia instructions partially incompatible with Intels SSE4 instructions

Expert reviews and ratings

So what is new from last time? Not a whole lot really. Clock for clock nothing has changed with the B3 stepping in terms of performance, as the Phenom X4 9850 is no faster or slower than the 9900 engineering sample when both CPUs are clocked at...

By TechSpot on April 14, 2008

I really have to hand it to AMD for listening to the community, stepping up to the plate, and making the changes required to make their latest product perform the way its expected to. Like I said in my review of the Phenom 9600 Black Edition, this...

By FutureLooks on July 13, 2008

Wed all feel a little better about AMDs current chips if it wasnt for the name.You call your processor Phenom and, frankly, people expect a phenomenon. When it isnt one, the sting is all the harsher. Its like finding out a guy called Steve...

By TechRadar on June 21, 2008

This B3 stepping of the Phenom CPU is an improvement over the initial Phenoms. It solves the TLB errata and overclocks a little better - we pushed our test chip to 3GHz using air cooling. However, the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 is faster, more...

By Custom PC on June 17, 2008

100

AMDs brand-new flagship quad-core processor arrived too late to make it into our processors Labs last month. Its one of four new models, the others being the 9550, 9650 and 9750. AMD also introduced X4 into the model name, so its clear how many...

By Expert Reviews on May 24, 2008

Socket AM2+; Clock speed: 2.5GHz; HyperTransport Link: 4GHz (full duplex); 65nm process; Cache: 2MB shared L3, 2MB L2 (512KB per core), 512KB L1 (128KB per core); Voltage: 1.2V/1.3V (min/max); 125W max TDP AMD has been busily revising its line of...

By ComputerPowerUser on April 19, 2008

If you must buy an AMD processor, this is the best out there, but Intel’s CPUs still hold most of the...

By V3.co.uk on April 14, 2008

Its an odd relation that underdogs often seem to garner stronger public support than the leaders when the very reason the latter group is at its position is because of their better performance/capabilities. Of course, the converse is equally true...

By HardwareZone.com on April 12, 2008

Its fair to say the first batch of AMDs Phenom CPUs were a bit underwhelming. Though they represented decent value for money, due to AMDs cut-throat pricing, and brought some welcome competition to Intel on the quad-core front, the simple fact...

By Trusted Reviews on April 11, 2008

Faster at running multicore-aware programs than most dual-core chips, AMDs updated Phenom X4 processors still fall behind Intels quad-core offerings, but theyre attractive upgrade options for Athlon X2...

By Computer Shopper on April 03, 2008

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