AMD Phenom II X2 555
 Key Specs | |
| AM3; AM2+ Two 3.2GHz HyperTransport 3.0 2MB | |
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Review | |
| Reviewed by: Matt Safford Review Date: January 2010 | |
| We reviewed AMD’s Phenom II X2 550 dual-core CPU back in June of 2009, and we awarded it our Editors’ Choice distinction. At the time, we called it a smart bargain processor for those who spend more time gaming or doing basic computing tasks than they do working with content-creation apps (such as video editors and Adobe’s Creative Suite). And we pointed out that power users who like to try eking out extra performance from their CPUs would also appreciate that the 550 chip has an unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking. For the $99 asking price, the 550 was one speedy budget processor. Now AMD is back with a slight improvement to that CPU, bumping the clock speed up from 3.1GHz to 3.2GHz, and prosaically dubbing it the Phenom II X2 555. It’s not a major upgrade, by any means, so if you picked up the 550 last year, there's no point in upgrading. But at the same suggested selling price ($99), this CPU is still a great choice for those who want speed but are tied to CPU budgets that can't exceed double digits in dollars. Like all current AMD CPUs, the Phenom II X2 555 supports older AM2+ motherboards and DDR2 RAM. If you’re strapped for cash, you can drop this processor into an existing AMD-based system right now for a quick-and-easy speed boost. Then, later on, when the cost of the surrounding hardware falls (or your upgrade budget rises), you can carry it over to a newer AM3 motherboard that uses speedier DDR3 RAM. This strategy has served AMD well with builders and the budget-conscious. All of Intel’s latest-generation CPUs, be they Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7, force upgraders switching from Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad systems to replace their motherboards, as well, because of the chips' new socket requirements. With all the hype surrounding much pricier quad-core processors, such as Intel’s Core i7 and AMD’s Phenom II X4 lines, it’s easy to forget that relatively few programs can actually take advantage of more than one processor core at a time. Having multiple cores is important for multitasking, of course, so that one processor-intensive task doesn’t bog down your whole system, but the average user isn’t likely to be doing more than a couple of these tasks at once. Apart from multithreaded programs like Sony’s Vegas Pro 9, Adobe’s Creative Suite, and a handful of other apps, the vast majority of programs aren’t written to make use of more than one processor core simultaneously. That means for the average PC user—and, for that matter, even the hard-core gamer—a quad-core processor is overkill, considering that half the processor is going to be idle nearly all of the time. As a result, smart, budget-conscious PC builders and upgraders who want speed but don’t often use the aforementioned apps would be smart to stick to dual-core CPUs like this one, or Intel’s more-expensive Core i5-661. Of course, Intel also announced a new line of dual-core Core i3 CPUs with price points a bit closer to $100. (The 2.93GHz Core i3-530 currently sells for about $125.) These CPUs also have graphics integrated into the CPU that can handle HD content and mainstream gaming. (Think World of Warcraft and The Sims.) If you’re building a new system in which high-end gaming won't be a priority, that may make these CPUs from Intel an enticing option, as well. Unfortunately, Intel has yet to provide us with review units of its lower-end CPUs, so we couldn’t compare the AMD Phenom II X2 555’s performance to the current comparable offerings from Intel. Still, while the AMD Phenom II X2 555 did lag noticeably behind Intel’s Core i5-661 in all of our tests, it wasn’t left completely in the dust, which is noteworthy because the Intel CPU currently sells online for more than twice as much—about $209, at the time we wrote this. And the Phenom II X2 555 did manage to score a bit better than AMD’s previous dual-core champ, the Phenom II X2 550. In our Cinebench 10 test, which taxes the CPU heavily by rendering a large, photorealistic image, the Phenom II X2 555’s score of 7,202 was a bit ahead of the Phenom II X2 550’s 6,697, but the more expensive Intel Core i5-661 did much better, pulling in 10,746. The Phenom II X2 555 took 3 minutes flat to complete our 11-track iTunes 7 file-conversion test, while Intel’s CPU came in 30 seconds faster, and the Phenom II X2 550 brought up the rear, taking 3 minutes and 8 seconds. In our Windows Media Encoder test, the Core i5 CPU pulled even further ahead, converting our test video more than a minute and a half faster than the 4 minutes and 29 seconds the Phenom II X2 555 took to complete the same test. And in our Sony Vegas 8 MPEG-2 rendering test, the Core i5 crossed the finish line in just 4 minutes, while the Phenom II X2 555 managed a time of 6 minutes and 51 seconds. While Intel’s Core i5-661 dual-core CPU costs twice as much, and definitely dominates most of our tests, the Phenom II X2 555 does quite well for itself, considering it slides in at just under $100. Those with bigger budgets can, of course, do better with a costlier chip. And those who edit video or use other fully multithreaded programs that actually take full advantage of all CPU cores would be better off opting for AMD’s quad-core Athlon II X4 620, which sells for about the same price. But with the same architecture, easy overclocking options, and clock speed as its quad-core Phenom II X4 955 big brother, the Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition is a very good choice for the price if robust multithreading support and intense multitasking aren't your prime concerns. Price (at time of review): $99 (mfr. est.) | |
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