AMD Phenom II X4 840: Not What It Seems!
The smaller processor manufacturer decided to take a very strange step.
At CES, AMD has quietly launched a new desktop processor called the Phenom II X4 840. The move is perhaps best seen as a contrast to Sandy Bridge. As the title suggests, this model is unfortunately not what it shows itself to be. It has been clear so far in the company’s product range that Phenom II products differ from the Athlon II series in that they have a full-fledged L3 cache. The new processor is virtually an Athlon II X4, as it has no third-level cache at all, and is based on the Propus chip. Going further, another interesting thing is that it shows a 99% match with the Athlon II X4 645 CPU, only the clock is not the same, as it is 3,1 GHz for the aforementioned CPU and 3,2 GHz for the newcomer.
The metal cap of the Athlon II X4 645 has the following product code: "ADX645WFK42GM". For the Phenom II X4 840, this line changes to “HDX840WFK42GM”. The first letter of the signs indicates which series the product belongs to. "A" stands for Athlon, while "H" stands for the Phenom family. "D" stands for Desktop. X645 and X840 can be considered the name of the CPU, of course the two differ here, or more precisely, this is the only difference between the two codes. The pair of letters "WF" indicates the 95-watt TDP class, and "K" means that the given model has an AM3 casing. The number 4 indicates the number of cores, and the meaning of 2 is that it has 512 KB of L2 cache per core, but no L3. And "GM" stands for C3 stepping, which is also the same.
At the time of the publication, several foreign colleagues had approached AMD on this matter to seek an explanation for this phenomenon, but the authorities could not provide a satisfactory explanation. In any case, several tests have come to light, where it turns out that the newcomer may not be a completely pointless move from the company, as it has a fairly good price / performance ratio. The AMD Phenom II X4 840 has a suggested retail price of $ 100, which in Europe is € 100. If someone picks out this model at a possible purchase, keep in mind that we’re practically getting a 4-core, Athlon II X4 with a 3,2 GHz clock!
Some foreign tests:
