AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Six-Core Processor Review

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!

Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Specs

Thuban Die - Click on image to enlarge

 As many of you already know, Thuban is the codename for the Phenom II X6 family, and it follows AMD's tradition of bestowing their processors with designations based on celestial objects (Callisto, Deneb, Heka, etc). In the case of Thuban though, the codename is quite appropriate since six-core processor die is downright huge by modern standards. Coming in at 346mm2, the Thuban dies absolutely dwarfs the 248mm2 32nm six-core Intel 'Gulftown' and 263mm2 45nm quad-core Intel 'Bloomfield' dies. What this means is that AMD has to sell more silicon than Intel does, and usually at lower price points too, which obviously hurts their financial bottom line. None of this is particularly relevant to consumers though, since as you will see below Phenom II X6 processors are very attractively priced.

 As previously discussed, the Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition is the flagship of the X6 series, having displaced the hugely popular X6 1090T. Both chips are effectively identical, with the new 1100T merely featuring 100Mhz higher native and Turbo core clock frequencies. AMD were able to keep this processor within the 125W TDP limit, so it will be compatible with every AM3 motherboard out there once the manufacturers release bios updates. Consumers will be happy to see that there's no price premium for this new faster model, in is priced $30 less than 1090T's old price, which itself has received a healthy price cut.

Now it might surprise you to hear, but the 3.3Ghz X6 1100T is not actually the highest clocked Phenom II available. That honor arguably belongs to the recently released 3.5Ghz quad-core X4 970 Black Edition. Having said that, thanks to the Turbo CORE feature, the X6 1100T can ramp up to 3.7Ghz and will be faster than the X4 970 in 1-2-3 threaded workloads and also obviously in any application that can utilize more than 4 cores.

As previously discussed, the Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition is the flagship of the X6 series, having displaced the hugely popular X6 1090T. Both chips are effectively identical, with the new 1100T merely featuring 100Mhz higher native and Turbo core clock frequencies. AMD were able to keep this processor within the 125W TDP limit, so it will be compatible with every AM3 motherboard out there once the manufacturers release bios updates. Consumers will be happy to see that there's no price premium for this new faster model, in is priced $30 less than 1090T's old price, which itself has received a healthy price cut.

Now it might surprise you to hear, but the 3.3Ghz X6 1100T is not actually the highest clocked Phenom II available. That honor arguably belongs to the recently released 3.5Ghz quad-core X4 970 Black Edition. Having said that, thanks to the Turbo CORE feature, the X6 1100T can ramp up to 3.7Ghz and will be faster than the X4 970 in 1-2-3 threaded workloads and also obviously in any application that can utilize more than 4 cores.

There is nothing particularly distinctive about the physical appearance of the chip itself, but the more astute among you will undoubtedly have noticed that very new manufacturing week. Compared to our retail purchased X6 1090T, which was manufactured in the 13th week of 2010, this new X6 1100T was manufactured in the 35th week of 2010, over 5 months later. Based on our thorough scanning of various overclocking-oriented forums, no Phenom II X6 chips past week 25 seem to have made it in the retail channel yet. That's 10 weeks of potential manufacturing process improvements, which might equate to improved overclocking headroom and lower operating temperatures. If you are anxious to find out how this chip fared, check out our Overclocking Results section.

As most modern chips do, the Phenom II X6's have variable CPU core voltage depending on the workload. Our X6 1100T sample idled at 1.188V, it defaulted to 1.298V when running 4, 5, or 6 threaded workloads, and utilized a full 1.404V when a 1, 2, or 3 threaded workload would would engage the 3.7Ghz Turbo CORE feature. For comparison, our retail X6 1090T idled at 1.212V, needed 1.260V (ie: less) for 4-5-6 threaded workloads, but saw its vCore shoot up to 1.428V when Turbo CORE kicked in. Overall, there's not much we can derive from these figures, both in the sense of power consumption and how good the actual core yield is.

It is slightly disappointing that AMD didn't choose to give the northbridge frequency a slightly increase from the stock 2000MHz, since the enthusiast community has determined that increasing it has a tremendous impact on overall performance and also all Phenom II X6 chips have quite a bit of headroom in that area. Nevertheless, the northbridge multiplier is unlocked, so users can very easily tap that hidden performance reserve.

On the memory front, Phenom II X6's officially dual-channel DDR3-1333 support. However, thanks to improvements done to the memory controller in X6 chips, many overclockers have been able to achieve DDR3-1900 very easily, and some have been able to hit DDR3-2000 with select memory modules, G.Skill Flare for example. Once again, the memory multiplier is fully unlocked, so it is a very simple task to increase the memory frequency.