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After a lot of research at CPU-Upgrade dot com, I was able to determine that this AMD Phenom II X4-955 3.2GHz, specifically in this 95 watt TDP version would be the fastest and best upgrade to my old and slow AMD Athlon II X2 215 2.7GHz. My computer specs: Tower: 2009 HP Pavilion p6203w desktop PC, originally with AMD Athlon II X2 215 2.7GHz CPU Motherboard: Asus M2N68-LA (Narra5) P/N #513426-001 BIOS version: 5.55 Installation: Really easy to install. Simply line up the CPU arrows. The most difficult part was working loose the the old heatsink thermal paste from the old CPU. Be patient here and do not apply too much pressure on the motherboard. Once installed, my computer recognized the new CPU by name and no need to update the motherboard BIOS. It's my understanding that older Narra3 motherboards will work with this CPU but the computer may or may not recognize it by name. CPU performance: I recognize this old AMD Phenom II X4-955 CPU is no match for modern CPUs. My objective here was to improve the speed of my old computer without investing a lot of money. This CPU cost me $33 dollars shipped and was well worth it in my opinion. My computer is much faster now and is better when multitasking. At my work we have newer Intel i5 computers and my old computer with this with this new to me Phenom CPU feels just as fast as the newer work computers. Again, I fully understand that comparing for example a Geekbench score, i5 versus old AMD Phenom II X4 wouldn't even be close, but still, I feel that I greatly increased the speed of my old computer for not a lot of money and it actually "feels" comparably as fast as the more modern computers. Other upgrades at this time: I added (2)two 4GB sticks of Samsung brand DDR2 RAM that I found online for under $30. I also replaced the old CPU fan and heatsink with an AMD brand "Silent" cooler for CPUs up to 125W TDP. The cooler was found online for under $20 and good insurance to replace an aging fan. I also replaced my old boot hard drive with a Samsung EVO 860 Solid State Drive. Total cost of upgrades: $214. At this price, I don't know that I could have built a comparable computer? Also, the office supply store has an HP tower with i3 -8100 CPU and 8GB RAM on sale for $379.99. But for the $214 I just spent on my old computer, I have comparable specs and a Solid State Hard Drive which is a much faster boot drive than the conventional mechanical hard drives that most new computers still come with. If you are at a crossroads trying to figure out if you should buy a new computer, I recommend seeing if you can upgrade it first before dropping the money on a brand new computer. And if you have an old AMD CPU, find out if this Phenom II X4 955 will work for you. I highly recommend it. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I didn't rate it, because I haven't used it. It is labeled for 95w power consumption in ad, where as everywhere else I read the specs for it, says it's 125w power consumption. Don't want to fry my board because the seller claims different numbers from the manufacturer. Will do more research before using, but if you do decide to buy, make sure it will work for your application. (Correction, this CPU is as advertised. Did research and there are both versions available. 95 and 125w. This IS the 95w. Fitted great in an AM2+ slot, works like a charm. Confusing at first, but well worth it now. I ordered another.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Component was packaged well. After removing the heatsink clip using the built-in lever, remember to twist the heatsink off. I pulled it straight up and it pulled the component out of the socket. Without undoing the socket latch. Yikes. But no apparent damage as I installed the Phenom II, reinstalled the heatsink, and everything worked fine. Win 7 found the Phenom II drivers and all is well.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I installed this cpu along with the cheapest sdd I could find, a ten dollar video card, and 3 GB ram on an old motherboard with modest specifications (maxes out at 4 GB 1066 ram) and they perform great! This is the fastest four core 95 watt AMD phenom xii cpu available. This review is in 2017 and the use is web browsing and office documents. I know what more powerful cpus can do. I use Intel I5 on my laptop and use more powerful cpus on other computers. This cpu keeps up with those for web browsing and office use. At this time this cpu can only be found used. I ordered mine from South Korea and waited. It was a worthwhile upgrade from an AMD Athlon x2 240.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Upgraded my dad's HP Pavilion p6733W from it original x2 dual core to this x4 quad core processor. No issues installing the x4 and you can clearly experience the difference in performance. His PC boots up in 20 seconds and everything else seems much more responsive as well.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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