PC Perspective posted AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition Review and Overclocking Test. Here's an excerpt:

There is a reason why AMD was unable to release a Phenom above 2.3 GHz at this launch, and it simply is because they do not appear to be getting the speed bins in the power envelopes they were hoping for. 2.3 GHz is the highest speed Phenom that will be available for some time yet, and the average overclock of one of these processors will likely mimic my findings. 2.5 GHz is about the best that can be expected with standard type cooling. It is very nice that AMD is giving enthusiasts the ability to clock up these processors with the unlocked multipliers. Especially considering that HyperTransport overclocking on the Phenom is essentially a bust at this time. If a user is hoping to overclock, then getting a BBE 9600 is really the only option.

Performance at 2.8 GHz with my engineering sample is very good and is faster than the Q6600 from Intel. In single and double threaded performance it is probably a little faster than the older X2 6000+, but when more than two threads are used then the Phenom really excels. The 9600 at 2.5 GHz is also quite competitive with the Q6600. Considering that the 9600 in both flavors is now cheaper than the Q6600, it does make it a viable option for those interested in the price/performance bottom line. Overclocking for the Phenom is still in its infancy, but AMD has helped us out by offering this unlocked processor, as well as a very solid overclocking utility with OverDrive. Most of the major motherboard manufacturers have released BIOSes for their boards that include the TLB fix. The latest version of AMD OverDrive does allow the user to disable the fix for greater performance. Getting an extra 200 MHz out of the BBE Phenom 9600 is not a tremendous feat, but it does offer the user extra performance for very little extra work. Things will get better as AMD sorts out their 65 nm process and the upcoming revision B3 of the Phenom. Until then, the Phenom 9600 is an interesting and well performing part for its price.