Introduction

Stereotypes can be funny things. In many cases they are more accurate than we care to admit, and many times there are vast exceptions to what the world perceives as “the norm”. Geeks fall into the latter quite well. Especially in today’s age of technology, why do some find it so surprising that the bouncer in your local biker bar is working on a new app using predictive algorithms for investors (open source, of course)? Obviously, if I’m writing for a tech review site, I must be a bit of a geek….however, the only thing I find entertaining about ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Star Wars’ is William Shatner’s incredibly bad delivery and overly phonetic enunciation. Can we count Leonard Nimoy’s rendition of “Bilbo Baggins” as related, because it's easily one of the most laughably bad pieces of music ever put on record. A true collector’s item. I can also say that I have never (seriously, never) played a MMO game of any kind, nor do I have even the least interest.

So geeks come in all shapes and sizes, even on the technology end. We have previously discussed what actually makes one a computer enthusiast. There are those who have to have the latest technology, and the best there is of it. You know the type, they have a GTX 580 overclocked, but don’t have any games on their rig because they don’t play games. There are also those who do a lot of research before purchases and buy to their needs with an eye towards upgradeability for future needs. Sometimes you just don’t need a Core i7 990X for a computer that runs Microsoft Office apps 99% of the time.

With the new Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition CPU, AMD has upped the speed for their existing AM2+/AM3 platform. The Phenom II X4 980BE clocks in with a stock speed of 3.7Ghz, making it the fastest out of the box clock speed AMD currently offers. With an unlocked multiplier, the Phenom II X4 980BE also invites you to explore overclocking and see just how much more speed you can get. The Phenom II 980BE also sports a full 2MB L2 cache and 6MB L3 cache. In the AM3 platform, the onboard memory controller is able to take full advantage of DDR3 memory up to PC3 10600.