The AMD Phenom X4 9x50 series doesn't significantly improve performance over the older 9x00 series, at any given clock speed. However, the TLB erratum has been removed and the new CPUs - especially the multiplier unlocked 9850 - seem to overclock more freely than the old chips. All of which combines to make the 9850, in particular, a worthy adversary to the Q6600. In fact, we'd say it's close enough that deciding between an Intel quad-core and an AMD quad-core is largely down to personal preference at this price point.Read full review
Overall
8/10
By Edward Chester
Reviewed 11 April 2008
Updated 22 November 2011