AMD stirs up hype with limited-edition processors

amd-photoAdvanced Micro Devices’ latest microprocessor is so rare you can’t even buy one.

The AMD Phenom II X4 42 Black Edition TWKR processor is available today. But not for you. AMD is making only 100 of these chips for super geeks known as “extreme overclockers.” That is, they’re made for people who’ll run the chips as fast as possible, using supercooling method to keep them from melting down. AMD has been doing this for months now, since it launched its fast processors earlier this year. Each time it launches a slightly faster chip, it makes a big deal out of it.

It’s a weird and expensive hobby, but someone has to do it. Overclockers are most common in the gaming community, where running a game faster than you could possibly want to play it is kind of a badge of honor. For a nanosecond, these new chips will give AMD the bragging rights of having the fastest processors in the world. Intel hasn’t really answered AMD in a while in terms of launching a slightly faster processor. But bragging rights, of course, don’t have a lot to do with sales. Intel is still king on that front.

AMD is giving the chips to some serious overclocking experts to give
both the experts and the chips some attention. In turn, they’ll brag about them and spread the good word among mainstream gamers, who are the targets AMD really wants to capture. And remember, kids, don’t try what these guys do in the video at home. Unless you want to set your house on fire.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR–2ivkFSQ&hl=en&fs=1&]

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.