Following the hyped and immensely successful April launch of the Phenom II X6 1055T and X6 1090T, and late-September introduction of the X6 1075T, AMD are now unveiling their latest six-core Thuban-based processor, the Phenom II X6 1100T. This new model is an incremental update with a native frequency of 3.3Ghz, but which can also take advantage of a Turbo mode to ramp up to 3.7Ghz in workloads that utilize up to three cores. This new part is based on the now familiar 45nm SOI manufacturing process, it has 9MB (3MB L2/6MB L3) of total cache, a dual-channel DDR3-1333 memory interface, 125W TDP, and is compatible with all socket AM3 motherboards. The X6 1100T does not replace the 3.2Ghz X6 1090T, but it does take over its position as the flagship enthusiast processor in AMD's lineup. As such, the X6 1100T will launched at the $265 price point, while the X6 1090T has already been slashed down to $235.
Much like the aforementioned 1090T, this new chip is a Black Edition model with fully multiplier unlocked, which is a boon for all the enthusiasts out there who want to take full advantage of the Phenom II X6's well-documented overclocking headroom. The X6 1100T is still based on the original E0 stepping, but it is manufactured from the newest batches, which for AMD has historically meant improved overclocking capabilities. We spent quite a few days eeking every last megahertz out of our chip, so definitely check out the Overclocking Results section to see what you can potentially expect from one of these processors.
Now AMD are not foolish, so they aren't positioning the Phenom II X6 1100T as a competitor to the unholy priced six-core/twelve-thread Core i7-970 or Core i7-980X processors, but they are aiming squarely at the $284 Core i7-870 and its pricier unlocked variant, the $320 i7-875K. As we determined in our original Phenom II X6 launch article, the 1090T was effectively tied with these two Intel chips when it came to highly multi-threaded workloads, while consistently falling behind in single-threaded applications due to the inherent performance superiority of Intel's Nehalem-based microarchitecture.
Can a 100Mhz speed bump really make much difference? Logic dictactes 'no', but it should help further push things in AMD's favour. So without further ado, let's find out!
Much like the aforementioned 1090T, this new chip is a Black Edition model with fully multiplier unlocked, which is a boon for all the enthusiasts out there who want to take full advantage of the Phenom II X6's well-documented overclocking headroom. The X6 1100T is still based on the original E0 stepping, but it is manufactured from the newest batches, which for AMD has historically meant improved overclocking capabilities. We spent quite a few days eeking every last megahertz out of our chip, so definitely check out the Overclocking Results section to see what you can potentially expect from one of these processors.
Now AMD are not foolish, so they aren't positioning the Phenom II X6 1100T as a competitor to the unholy priced six-core/twelve-thread Core i7-970 or Core i7-980X processors, but they are aiming squarely at the $284 Core i7-870 and its pricier unlocked variant, the $320 i7-875K. As we determined in our original Phenom II X6 launch article, the 1090T was effectively tied with these two Intel chips when it came to highly multi-threaded workloads, while consistently falling behind in single-threaded applications due to the inherent performance superiority of Intel's Nehalem-based microarchitecture.
Can a 100Mhz speed bump really make much difference? Logic dictactes 'no', but it should help further push things in AMD's favour. So without further ado, let's find out!
