Introduction

Can anyone give a true definition of a computer enthusiast? Ask 10 people and you might just get 10 different answers. Some might say it is anyone that has the knowledge of a computers most inner workings. Others might say it is anyone that owns the best stuff out there, or holds the highest benchmark numbers. Any way you look at it, it is all up to interpretation. Tons of marketing dollars are spent trying to cater to the "enthusiast" crowd. Ultimately, it's just another label they use to sell their best, quality products. So, what is the definition? Who knows....

I have an old school view of a computer enthusiast. It has nothing to do with buying the most expensive or latest model components available as sites of today would have you believe. Rather, doing a ton of research and getting the best possible performance per dollar spent. Many companies make hidden gems of products that can be pushed and match their top of the line products. Heck, most companies product lines contain the exact same technology they just turn off a couple of features in order to lower the price tag. There have been many proven CPUs and GPUs that can be overclocked or unlocked with a little tweaking and match, or come close to their higher counterparts, ultimately saving the user a boatload of cash.

The AMD Phenom II X6 1055T is one of those little gems. The Phenom II X6 1055T has all of the exact same specifications of the 1090T, only they lowered the clock speed from 3.2GHz to 2.8GHz. The Turbo CORE tops out at 3.3GHz rather then 3.6GHz also. The 1055T has 6 cores, 3MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache, and has a max TDP of 125W. The 1055T has all the heart and soul you would expect from a Phenom processor.