As expected, AMD has announced the Phenom 9600 Black Edition. The quad-core processor runs at 2.3 GHz, sports 2 MB L3 cache and 512 KB L2 cahce per core. Just like the previous Black Editions, it comes with an unlocked multiplier and Black Edition also means handpicked cores, but since this can’t be a B3 stepping it still suffers from the TLB bug. Together with the recommendation from AMD to force the crippling BIOS fix, the Phenom 9600 Black Edition looks anything but lusterous, which is a real shame because the previous Black Editions have been bright rays of light shining through the otherwise dull and gray clouds over AMD’s headquarters.
