AMD has shipped the Phenom X4 9750 and 9850 quad-core processors, and according to TechReport’s review, the chips should put them back in the game.

From TechReport.com

The best thing I can say about the Phenom X4 9750 and 9850 is this: AMD is back in the game. The banishment of the TLB erratum to the history books is, of course, a welcome development, and the higher clock frequencies now available are a small but important step in the right direction. The Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition can’t always keep pace with the Core 2 Quad Q6600 or the Core 2 Duo E8500, but it’s close. AMD still hasn’t caught up to Intel’s 65nm “Kentsfield” processors in terms of overall performance or power efficiency, yet it has produced a credible alternative to those products. That fact, combined with aggressive pricing and the bold move of offering an unlocked upper multiplier on a $235 quad-core processor, has enabled the Phenom to grab our attention. We can finally say with confidence that if you have an existing Socket AM2 system and want to upgrade, buying a Phenom looks like a more attractive upgrade path than making the switch to Intel.

The prices should be less than Intel’s offerings and offer similar performance but with the addition of unlocked multipliers. And, according to Hexus, they’ll work on existing Phenom boards after a BIOS update.