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12:00 AM - 09/16/2009 by
Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos
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For comparison, we squared off Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q8200 (2.33 GHz), Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83 GHz), and the Core 2 Duo E8600 (3.33 GHz) against AMD’s Phenom II X2 550 (3.1 GHz) and the Phenom II X4 965 BE (3.4 GHz). For more comprehensive processor comparisons, please have a look at our 2009 Desktop CPU Charts.
| System Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Details |
| Performance Benchmarks | |
| Motherboard (Socket AM3) | Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P (Rev. 1.0) Chipset: AMD 790GX, SB750 BIOS: 5c (04/01/2009) |
| RAM DDR3 (Dual) | 2 x 2GB DDR3-1600 (Corsair CM3X2G1600C9DHX) 2 x 1GB DDR3-1600 (Crucial BL12864BA1608.8SFB) |
| Power Benchmarks | |
| Motherboard (Socket AM3) | MSI 770-C45 (Rev. 1.1) Chipset: AMD 770GX, SB710 BIOS: 1.2 |
| RAM DDR3 (Dual) | 2 x 2GB DDR3-1600 (Corsair TR3X6G-1600C8D 8-8-8-24) |
| Common Hardware | |
| CPU AMD I | AMD Phenom II X4 965 (45nm, 3.4 GHz, 4 x 512KB L2 and 6MB L3 Cache, TDP 140W, Rev. C2) |
| CPU AMD II | AMD Phenom II X2 550 (45nm, 3.1 GHz, 2 x 512KB L2 and 6MB L3 Cache, TDP 80W, Rev. C2) |
| CPU AMD III | AMD Athlon II X4 620 (45nm, 2.6 GHz, 4 x 512KB L2 Cache, TDP 95W, Rev. C2) |
| Graphics | Zotac GeForce GTX 260² GPU: GeForce GTX 260 (576 MHz) Graphics RAM: 896MB DDR3 (1998 MHz) Stream Processors: 216 Shader Clock: 1242 MHz |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital VelociRaptor, 300GB (WD3000HLFS) 10,000 RPM, SATA/300, 16MB Cache |
| Blu-Ray Drive | LG GGW-H20L, SATA/150 |
| Power supply | PC Power & Cooling, Silencer 750EPS12V 750W |
| System Software and Drivers | |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Enterprise Version 6.0 x64 Service Pack 2 (Build 6000) |
| Drivers and Settings | |
| AMD Chipset Drivers | Catalyst 9.4 |
| Intel Chipset Drivers | Chipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.1.0.1012 |
| Intel Storage Drivers | Matrix Storage Drivers Ver. 8.8.0.1009 |
We used an efficient motherboard for our power testing, the MSI 770-C45, since we wanted to be sure that the power consumption levels of our comparison would reflect everyday use. In other words, hardly anyone will purchase the $100 Athlon II X4 processor and run it on a high-end motherboard. Our Gigabyte’s MX790FXT-UD5P remained the platform for all performance benchmarks.
Benchmarks
| 3D Games Benchmarks and Settings | |
|---|---|
| Benchmarks | Details |
| Far Cry 2 | Version: 1.0.1 Far Cry 2 Benchmark Tool Video Mode: 1280x800 Direct3D 9 Overall Quality: Medium Bloom activated HDR off Demo: Ranch Small |
| GTA IV | Version: 1.0.3 Video Mode: 1280x1024 - 1280x1024 - Aspect Ratio: Auto - All options: Medium - View Distance: 30 - Detail Distance: 100 - Vehicle Density: 100 - Shadow Density: 16 - Definition: On - Vsync: Off In-game Benchmark |
| Left 4 Dead | Version: 1.0.0.5 Video Mode: 1280x800 Game Settings - Anti Aliasing none - Filtering Trilinear - Wait for vertical sync disabled - Shader Detail Medium - Effect Detail Medium - Model/Texture Detail Medium Demo: THG Demo 1 |
| Audio Benchmarks and Settings | |
| Benchmarks | Details |
| iTunes | Version: 8.1.0.52 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min. Convert to AAC audio format |
| Lame MP3 | Version 3.98 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min convert WAV to MP3 audio format Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kbps) |
| Video Benchmarks and Settings | |
| Benchmarks | Details |
| TMPEG 4.6 | Version: 4.6.3.268 Video: Terminator 2 SE DVD (720x576, 16:9) 5 Minutes Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-Kanal, English Advanced Acoustic Engine MP3 Encoder (160 Kbps, 44.1 kHz) |
| DivX 6.8.5 | Version: 6.8.5 == Main Menu == default == Codec Menu == Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading Enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search == Video Menu == Quantization: MPEG-2 |
| XviD 1.2.1 | Version: 1.2.1 Other Options / Encoder Menu - Display encoding status = off |
| Mainconcept Reference 1.6.1 | Version: 1.6.1 MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264) MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2) Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16 Bit, 224 kbps) Codec: H.264 Mode: PAL (25 FPS) Profile: Settings for eight threads |
| Adobe Premiere pro CS4 | Version: 4.0 WMV 1920x1080 (39 sec) Export: Adobe Media Encoder == Video == H.264 Blu-ray 1440x1080i 25 High Quality Encoding Passes: one Bitrate Mode: VBR Frame: 1440x1080 Frame Rate: 25 == Audio == PCM Audio, 48 kHz, Stereo Encoding Passes: one |
| Application Benchmarks and Settings | |
| Benchmarks | Details |
| Grisoft AVG Anti Virus 8 | Version: 8.5.287 Virus base: 270.12.16/2094 Benchmark Scan: some compressed ZIP and RAR archives |
| Winrar 3.9 | Version 3.90 x64 BETA 1 Compression = Best Benchmark: THG-Workload |
| Winzip 12 | Version 12.0 (8252) WinZIP Commandline Version 3 Compression = Best Dictionary = 4096 KB Benchmark: THG-Workload |
| Autodesk 3D Studio Max 2009 | Version: 9 x64 Rendering Dragon Image Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (frame 1-5) |
| Adobe Photoshop CS4 (64-Bit) | Version: 11 Filtering a 16MB TIF (15000x7266) Filters: Radial Blur (Amount: 10; Method: zoom; Quality: good) Shape Blur (Radius: 46 px; custom shape: Trademark symbol) Median (Radius: 1px) Polar Coordinates (Rectangular to Polar) |
| Adobe Acrobat 9 professional | Version: 9.0.0 (Extended) == Printing Preferenced Menu == Default Settings: Standard == Adobe PDF Security - Edit Menu == Encrypt all documents (128 bit RC4) Open Password: 123 Permissions Password: 321 |
| Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 | Version: 2007 SP2 PPT to PDF Powerpoint Document (115 Pages) Adobe PDF-Printer |
| Deep Fritz 11 | Version: 11 Fritz Chess Benchmark Version 4.2 |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| Benchmarks | Details |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.02 Options: Performance Graphics Test 1 Graphics Test 2 CPU Test 1 CPU Test 2 |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.00 PCMark Benchmark Memories Benchmark |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2009 | Version: 2009 SP3 Processor Arithmetic, Cryptography, Memory Bandwith |
Topics being discussed on the forums
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- AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto or Athlon II X4 620 Propus [CPU & Components]
- Good motherboard for AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus [CPU & Components]
- 100 quad core [CPU & Components]
- Which CPU for the best price/quality? [CPU & Components]
Questions? Ask Tom's community!
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Where is overclocking test?
Where is overclocking test?
I had to head over to anandtech for that
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=3638&p=9
Wow.. talk about a mixed bag. Though its a great marketing ploy if nothing else. $50 and Vt over the Q8200 is something.
The overclocking (on the particular board reviewed on, Anand used a 790 board) would be interesting. Too bad Tom's got lazy. I know I've had good luck with budget G31 boards.
I get the budget tri core, as some games are starting to use dual threads and the core in the back for the OS and garbage. Not sure what the price point will be as the 710 is in that range also. But the quad escapes me. The A/V editing crowd are the ones that benefit most from a quad, but the lack of speed and large cache really hold back the fact that there are 4 cores. Better to get speed and get a Phenom II x2 in the same price range.
This great news for anybody lookin to buy into a quad core, tho I want to see AMD come out with something big awesome, not a budget cpu.
Just curious, but do you guys use the scanline renderer or mental ray for 3DS Max?
Westemere Verse Fusion, Who will win? Much more interesting to many at Toms hardware over, whats the best sub $100 processor? Actually nevermind it is good info, I know how to build a sub $200 rendering comp to be included in a massive rendering farm.
quote : "All modern processors consist of three main elements that must be carefully balanced: core count, cache capacities, and clock speed".
sure , but what happened to micro-architecture and the resulting instructions/clock ? Intel has a clear advantage in their arch , whether core 2 or, now, i5 for the masses .
but , of course , they have a proposition at 100 dollars for 4 cores , that's nice .
Not worth it. For an extra $100, I can get an i7 which provides a 10fold increase in computational power density.
Q9550 $214 @3.8-4.0Ghz eats all current AMD Phenom II processors for lunch. Forget about i5 or i7.
I was just thinking that my q6600 at 3.2 is higher than the chart and 22months old...
Just curious, but do you guys use the scanline renderer or mental ray for 3DS Max?
I second that, plus can you link us to the *.max file (if possible) cause I for one would like to benchmark my system with it to see how it stands.
... this part is in Latvia already @ a nice pricepoint... a cheap upgrade from x2 to x4 for multitask and windows 7 users...
Not worth it. For an extra $100, I can get an i7 which provides a 10fold increase in computational power density.
Dude you're saying as if we all have more than $200 for a CPU upgrade. What I mean by more than $200 is -> ~$200 for i7, ~$150 more for new socket mobo, and if integrated GPU was previously used, ~$60+ more for new GPU.
Well, OK, new GPU aside, you still need at LEAST a freaking $350 just to go for quad-core i7.
It's common sense that $100 upgrade is cheaper than $350 ones. Not to mention the waste of buying current mobo...
"Should you consider keeping your mature Athlon 64 X2 system a while longer—let’s say until SATA/600 and USB 3.0 become mainstream in mid-2010"
For the user looking for a cheap alternative it's looking good.
Budget quad core, yay!
Would be great for a secondary computer.
Give it my 4870, and put a 5870 in my new rig. ^_^
...
Quad core for $100, 4870 for $100, 4GB RAM for $40, board for $50, PSU for $25 (I would be cheap here, being a dirt cheap system. No way in hell I'd use a crappy PSU on my i7 though). Use an old mouse/keyboard/monitor/case/HDD/DVDD, and I have everything I need.
My i7 system: total cost (including shipping/taxes etc.) = $1,700
i7 920, bloodrage mobo, 1GB 4870, 6GB DDR3, CM V8 HSF, Antec 300, 3x Scythe fans, 22x DVD drive, 1TB HDD, 2 UV cathodes, g5 mouse, game controller, 23" monitor...
Athlon x4: approximately ~ $350.
For the same price of the i7 920 cpu alone (assuming you're paying full price, because us Canadians don't have a Frys or Microcenter) I could jerry rig a cheap AMD quad core... awesome.
Great article.... I didn't think that Athlon II X4 will do this well in the benchmarks and efficiency. I have a Dragon Platform (Phenom II X4 940, MSI DKA790GX Platinum, XFX Radeon 4850), after this article I am planning to make an R&D system based on Athlon II X4. Thanks Tom's Hardware for this nice article. :-)
Hmm... Athlon II X4 is still a bit pricey for me.
Better wait until its Sempron incarnation.
nice to see that my amd phenom 9550 still delivers great performance. i like it (put it that way) at comparison to the newer cpu's.