AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 6-Core Processor Review

Below are a couple of pictures of the AMD Phenom II X6 1090T processors.  As you can see, from the outside, there is little to differentiate it from its socket-AM3 based counterparts.

 
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T

The AMD Phenom II X6 1090T is based on the processor core codenamed Thuban. It, and other Phenom II X6 processors, feature 768K of total L1 cache (64K instruction and 64K data cache, per core), 3MB of L2 cache (512KB per core), and 6MB of shared L3 cache. The processors are manufactured using Global Foundries' 45nm SOI process technology and have a die size of 346mm2. Like other socket-AM3 based processors, the Phenom II X6 supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory types and they feature one 4GT/s HyperTransport link.

  
CPU-Z Phenom II X6 Processor Details

If we use CPU-Z to verify, the information outlined above is confirmed. According to CPU-Z, the Phenom II X6 1090T we tested is based on stepping 0 of the Thuban core. And as you can see, its default clock speed is 3.2GHz, which is derived my multiplying 16--the processor's stock multiplier--with the standard 200MHz HT base clock. Please note, however, with Turbo CORE enabled, the 1090T's frequency will peak at 3.6GHz.

Overclocking The Phenom II X6 1090T Pedal To The Metal

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Overclocked to 4.01GHz

We also spent some time overclocking the new AMD Phenom II X6 1090T processor, using a stock AMD PIB cooler. For our overclocking tests, we bumped the CPU voltage up to 1.5v in the system BIOS of the MSI 890FXA-G70 motherboard, increased the Turbo CORE multiplier to 19.5x, and then from within Windows we used the AMD Overdrive to slowly increase the base HT frequency until our test system was no longer stable. In the end, we were able to take the Phenom II X6 1090T up to a completely stable 4.01GHz. At those speeds, even with a stock air-cooler, core temps hovered around the 68'C mark, which is lower than we expected. Considering how easy it was to take our CPU over the 4GHz mark, we suspect that somewhat higher clock speeds will be possible with exotic cooler and more aggressive voltage tweaking.