The quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition processor is the fastest chip to date for the socket AM3 platform, and quite affordable at $265 CDN ($245 USD, £165 GBP). In terms of performance this 3.4GHz chip is slightly quicker in the benchmarks than the previous forerunner, the Phenom II X4 955 BE. Not surprising since the AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE and 955BE share the same 45nm AMD 'Deneb' silicon. Overclocking is the name of the game with a Black Edition processor, and the socket AM3 Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition doesn't disappoint! Using a mix of multiplier and bus speed increases, PCSTATS was able to coax the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition from its default 3.4GHz clock speed to a respectable 3.93GHz. Individually, the CPU multiplier overclocked as high as 19.5x on the chip PCSTATS tested, the Bus speed to a good 240MHz.