When it comes to the Phenom II series of processors, AMD are really rockin' it aren't they? I think they picked up some of that good 'yes we can' stamina roughly a year ago. The Phenom II processor architecture is really working out well for them. It's a problem free processor series, it's a very value aware processor, with very decent power consumption and more importantly for AMD, yields are just top notch.

Today they release a processor with an all new high clock frequency, yes... 3400 MHz, and why would they you might wonder? Well because they can, plain and simple. By releasing the 965BE they bring a new flagship processor to the table and as such, AMD has definitely earned their stripes with Phenom II. In fact the processor we are testing today keeps up real well with Intel's fastest Core 2 Quad processor. That processor with its 1600 MHz (FSB) is the Core 2 Quad 9770/9775 Extreme series, and is still priced at a 1000 bucks.

Now earlier this week I was looking into some leaked performance figures on some of the pending Core i5/i7 Lynnfield releases from Intel. And their fastest Lynnfield series processor seems to be positioning itself in-between the QX9770 and just above the Core i7 920. And while that's great performance, we also know that Intel will charge you roughly 400-500 USD for it. Today's tested product, plays in that field as well.

With the release of today's AMD Phenom II X4 965 processor, AMD introduces a processor that will not only keep up with a QX9770 processor, no Sir... this processor looks to be smack in the middle of Core i5 performance (based on early figures we have seen, nothing final!).

So here we have the new Phenom II X4 965BE processor priced at a suggested 245 USD. You can pop this processor into, for example, an 80 USD AMD 785 chipset based motherboard, pop in some DDR3 memory for a few tenners and get pretty flattering performance, while your entire PC build could be really affordable.

And that sums up AMD lately, a lot of performance and features at an attractive pricing level. You have to appreciate that. Head on over to the next page where we'll start up our in-depth review of the Phenom II X4 965BE processor. A processor we certainly appreciate and respect. Check it out, next page please.