AMD Phenom II X2 555 and Athlon II X4 635 Performance
Introduction and Specifications
AMD is launching a bevy of new processors today, targeted squarely at budget conscious consumers, looking to save a few bucks on the their next PC build. The new processors differ from previous offerings in their respective product families in terms of frequency, and of course their model names, but all are based on existing architectures and technology. We decided to take the 3.2GHz Phenom II X2 555 and 2.9GHz Athlon II X4 635 for a spin and have their performance results posted on the pages ahead. Before we get to the numbers though, take a moment to peruse The Phenom II X2 555's and Athlon II X4 635's specifications in table below...
The new line-up of processors AMD is introducing today consists of the following products...
The AMD Phenom II X2 555 and Athlon II X4 635, Side By Side
 |
|
|
Phenom II X2 |
Athlon II X4 | |
| Model Core Frequency HyperTransport 3.0 Technology Link Clock Multiplier TDP (Thermal Design Power) Number of CPU Cores L1 Cache L2 Cache L3 Cache Core Voltage (VID) Manufacturing Process Total Die Size Packaging Socket Compatibility Memory Type AMD PowerNow! Technology MSRP |
555 3.2 GHz 4000 GT/s 16x 80W 2 256KB (2 x 128K) 1MB (2 x 512KB) 6MB 0.85-1.425V 45nm 258mm² AM3 938-pin AM2+, AM3 DDR2, DDR3 3.0 $99 |
635 2.90 GHz 4000 GT/s 14.5x 95W 4 512KB (4x 128KB) 2MB (4 x 512KB) 0MB 0.825-1.425V 45nm 169mm² AM3 938-pin AM2+, AM3 DDR2, DDR3 3.0 $119 |
The hardcore AMD fans among you will notice that the two processors we've chosen to test here are the fastest of their respective product families--3.2GHz for the Phenom II X2 and 2.9GHz for the Athlon II X4. As we've mentioned though, not much else has changed over previous offerings than clock speed. As such, we won't detail the Phenom II and Athlon II architectures again here and will instead offer up this performance quick-take. If you would like a refresher, however, as to what makes the Phenom II and Athlon II tick, here are a couple of recent HotHardware articles with all of the pertinent details: Those three articles cover all of the architectural information necessary to understand the technology at the heart of the new Phenom II X2 555 and Athlon II X4 635. 
