"When it came to overclocking, the Phenom II X2 550 BE was easier to push to higher numbers with its unlocked multiplier, reaching a 785MHz overclock - which is almost a 24% increase. The Athlon II X2 550 did not fair to poorly either, considering it is not a Black Edition and has the multiplier locked at a maximum x15. By pushing the voltage up to 1.45v, I was able to raise the bus speed of the Athlon II to 236MHz, for an overclock of 540MHz - or about an 18% overclock. When compared to the previous dual cores, the Athlon X2 7750 and Athlon X2 7850, these new DDR3-based dual cores are much stronger. However, do not think they are runners for the triple or quad core processors, because they do not come even close. If you are looking for great performing processors at an even greater price, you would be a fool not to consider the Phenom II X2 550 BE or the Athlon II X2 250. Their price to performance ratio is unmatched, and will not leave you hanging."