Ltar

Woohoo! My Phenom came in today! I paid 3 bucks over Newegg getting it from Ebay . It was an impulse buy, but I don't think it was a bad decision.

I'll order my case, an optical drive, and an extra HDD tomorrow, so that they won't be delivered until I'm back at my apartment. I've been staying at my folk's place for the holidays, sort of stranded until my ride goes back over the mountains. Expect a build log by Thursday!

Anyways, here's the 9850 BE.



This neat black box arrived today with some extra bubble wrap around the left side. I think the guy that sent it was afraid the die might be crushed. I'm not sure if that window is there for display purposes, or to deter fraud.

The box is labeled "AMD Phenom X4 Black Edition, and bears no technical information whatsoever. All the chip-specific details are on a small sticker across the front and side.
"2.5 Ghz True Quad Core Design"
"4.0 MB Total L2+L3 Cache"
"Socket AM2+"

I was a little surprised at how little information there was on the package itself. I guess the information is available online to anyone who would really understand it.



The back of the box has some general information about Phenom chips written in several different languages.

The tape that seals the box cannot be removed without ruining the pattern, and it's textured. This makes me think the window is for anti-fraud purposes. Looks like I have a genuine artifact!



A close-up of the side of the box with the window.

The opposite side of the box has a tab labeled "Pull to Open". Doing so would tear the flap in half. I suspect this was another deliberate anti-fraud design feature. I cut the fancy seal with a knife instead. It doesn't look opened!



The inner box is not as attractive as the outer packaging. I was disappointed.



A smaller box containing the HSF slides out, rendering the inner packaging a hollow shell of its former self.



Like an expensive chocolate.



Count 'em. Four heatpipes. This is a much nicer HSF unit than the one that came with my old Opteron 1216, but I'm never going to use it.



That pre-applied thermal paste will still be there when I resell this chip in eighteen months. To the future owner: Scrape that crap off.



Like all computer chips, the 9850 BE feels really cool pinched between thumb and forefinger, and looks great rotated 45 degrees. It was heavier than I expected.



The pins are too short and too tightly spaced to use for grooming. A smart design choice, on AMD's part.

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KloroFormd

I laughed.

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Nenkitsune

wow, those pictures are AWESOME

you never do see people do write ups on unboxing processors.

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mnishimura00

lol that was weird. the pics lack that personal feel because of the white background... no empty soda cans, computers, etc.

anyways... cool writeup.

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Ltar

That's because processor boxes are dull as dishwater.

The setup is super simple, just two peices of white posterboard on a chair. Shallow field of focus [f1.8] blurs the seam. When I actually set up a softbox in my apartment, my pictures will be even eerier.

That's why I hid an Easter egg in it.

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Aquaman78

The window is there for both reasons actually. I for one, like knowing that I'm purchasing what I'm being sold.

jacksknight

This is why i refuse to buy AMD! I do keep my old 1.2 thunderbird around for grooming though, since intel doesnt have pins anymore.

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Ltar

Heh. I've got a 900 Thunderbird from my first computer. Motherboard died on that a few months before I built my Opty rig. Someday I'll throw it into a Linux box as a file server or something.

I've still got my 750 Duron, too. The T-bird was an upgrade... in 2006.

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