Conclusion
By no means is a Phenom-based Athlon X2 a revolutionary leap forward for AMD, since the release of a new generation of Athlon X2 processors following Intel’s numbering scheme was really a long time in coming as the company adapted its newer, more advanced technology for the job. In that way, the new product is by no means really new, but it is based on a proven design—more precisely the Phenom’s 65 nm Agena core. However, AMD decided not to call the new product Phenom X2 (most likely to keep a distance between the Athlon family and the Phenom product line, which offers superior performance).
Athlon X2 7000-Series: Made Better By Phenom
Thanks to the advantages of the 65 nm Phenom design, the Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition is faster per clock than its predecessor, the Athlon 64 X2. The processors come with the latest dual-channel DDR2-1066 memory controller, 2 x 512 KB L2 cache and a shared L3 cache. They also introduce the SSE 4.1 instruction set of the Phenom into the Athlon world. And the processors can be dropped into existing socket AM2/AM2+ systems as soon as a suitable BIOS update is available.
A Small Power Advantage
We found that there are some changes in power consumption as well. While the system idle power is slightly higher on the new Ahtlon X2 7000 series (a few Watts increase), the peak power actually decreased by 10-20 W. If we relate these power savings to the performance we saw, the Athlon X2 7750 BE has to be compared with the Athlon 64 X2 5400+, which it beats in most of the benchmarks except gaming.
Improved Performance Per Clock, But No Performance Improvement
Despite its more efficient architecture, the Athlon X2 7000 cannot make up for the clock speed difference separating it from some of the previous-generation Athlon X2s (500 MHz, in the case of the Athlon 64 X2 6400+), although there are some benchmarks in which the new 7000-series performs better: DivX 6.8.3, Mainconcept 1.5.1, and Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. In the synthetic benchmarks as well as the gaming benchmarks, it does lose out to the 6400+. If you’re looking for higher performance, you’ll have to go for faster clock speeds, more cores, or a Core 2-based configuration
For Upgrade Users, Only
Not everyone wants or can afford to buy a new system every few years, and luckily, the Athlon X2 7000-series provides an excellent option to upgrade existing socket AM2 powered systems. We have to qualify the statement made earlier about the new Athlons being suitable for folks looking to upgrade. More accurately, this one’s a play exclusively for the folks looking to stretch their existing systems out until the next generation platforms hit the market by the middle of 2009, hopefully with integrated USB 3.0.
- 1 / 6
- Next
-
Latest CPU News
- 05/24 – Nvidia to Push Tablet Prices to $199 With Kai Platform
- 05/23 – AMD Backing Out of CPU Speed Wars Against Intel
- 05/22 – AMD Hitting The Casino Floor With Embedded R-Series
- 05/22 – Does Your AMD FX Platform BSOD with Steam? Read This.
- 05/20 – Intel To Support Cheap Ultrabooks With Low-Cost Celerons
Latest CPU reviews
- 05/24 – Overclocking Core i7-3770K: Learning To Live With Compromise
- 05/22 – Core i5-3570K, -3550, -3550S, And -3570T: Ivy Bridge Efficiency
- 05/18 – Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: May 2012
- 05/15 – AMD A10-4600M Review: Mobile Trinity Gets Tested
- 05/14 – Core i7-3720QM: Ivy Bridge Makes Its Mark On Mobility
-
Latest Intel News
- Intel Picks UK for Research Institute on Sustainable Cities
- Specs for Dell's Windows 8 Clover Trail Tablet Leaked
- Thunderbolt Will Become Key Motherboard Spec in 2H 2012
- AMD Backing Out of CPU Speed Wars Against Intel
- Intel Hopes New Batteries Can Reduce Ultrabook Cost
-
Latest Intel reviews
- Overclocking Core i7-3770K: Learning To Live With Compromise
- Core i5-3570K, -3550, -3550S, And -3570T: Ivy Bridge Efficiency
- Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: May 2012
- Intel SSD 330 Review: 60, 120, And 180 GB Models Benchmarked
- Core i7-3720QM: Ivy Bridge Makes Its Mark On Mobility
First Comment!!!
AMD is competing with Core 2 Duo? Why don't they try to compete with core i7? Oh wait, they can't compete with core i7 being 2 years behind. But AMD FTW against Core 2 Duo 2 years later!!!
I'd upgrade to the 6400+BE before I'd upgrade to the 7000 series.
Poor AMD
Wow, only 80 bucks to upgrade a four whole fps over my 5400 x2....lemme rush right out, not !
I'd upgrade to the 6400+BE before I'd upgrade to the 7000 series.
Now the 6000 is just under $80 (same price as the 7750BE) and the 6400 is hard to find.
I am building my first gaming computer from the ground up, proudly starting with the 7750 Black Edition.
would like to have seen some overclockability tests but otherwise great article. good to see amd has released kuma (finally) to become slightly more competetive
notice the memory used is 800mzh not 1066mhz, also why would they use different video cards? the drivers used arnt even up to date... test should be run with alike hardware and software(or as close to alike as possible) or its not to be taken seriously.
notice the memory used is 800mzh not 1066mhz, test should be run with alike hardware and software(or as close to alike as possible) or its not to be taken seriously.
Naw, I'll ask Patrick to answer the memory questions. However, if you read the Test Setup page, you'll see that only one graphics card was used. Also, given the mainstream nature of these graphics cards versus the very high-end graphics card, there is no way in a million years that the WHQL driver used would have any effect on the outcome of these benchmarks.
Naw, ran the memory question past our German team and updated the piece. Same modules were run at 1066 and CAS 5. Thanks for the catch. Hope that answers all of your questions. If there's anything else, please let me know!
..................................
A-DATA DDR2-800+ (2x 2GB)
Setup: DDR2-1066 (CL 5.0-5-5-15-2T)
VS
A-DATA DDR3-1600 (2x 2GB)
Setup: DDR3-1333 (CL 7.0-7-7-20)
...................................
WELL - Perhaps you could do an extensive unbiased review that would SOMEHOW DEMONSTRATE that these 2 mem sets are EQUAL????
good luck with that
I guess it just wasn't possible to select newer mobos for the AMD setup. Not sure why you used 2 different mobos. One newer mobo with a 790GX/SB750 or 790FX/SB750 chipset, would have been better and would offer EZ-oclox using AOD/ACC.
Plus the intel boards are newer and FOR A CPU COMPARE TEST it would be better to just use similar ram, so there is no accusation of bias - I bet you would like that.
But somehow, there's always the 'smoke and mirror' trixxx, = sad.
Your readers must be idiots.
Also - in all results, it would be nice if all those cpu's could be listed with CLOCKSPEEDS rather than model numbers so that we could tell that the little AMD is clock for clock blowing the doors off the intel products.
Perhaps I should be surprised that bigger model numbers are faster. You know, that, I would have guessed. In which case, you could have saved a lot of testing time.
Have you noticed?
Whenever I read a test report here, I always have to make posts like this complaining about blatant bias - it's just so obvious to me.
This gets old and boring for both of us = yes??
Apparently, your people do not know much about AMD hardware; or, they don't want anyone to know.
Also lose the synthetic benches - I do not run synthetic benches.
And please try to avoid cherry picked benches that make intel look good.
Also try to word things without the obvious slur against AMD.
A brief review on this cpu here:
Includes a cpu-z oclox to 3.3 Ghz
http://www.amdzone.com/index.php/r [...] on-x2-7750
Now the 6000 is just under $80 (same price as the 7750BE) and the 6400 is hard to find.I am building my first gaming computer from the ground up, proudly starting with the 7750 Black Edition.
Cool. And you will be able to easily upgrade in a year or two by dropping in any DENEB cpu, whenever you feel like it. (DENEB has dual integrated memory controllers on the cpu for either ddr2 or ddr3
pPlese ppl ddr 800 or 1066 is gonna make no difference in the real world, and timings schmimings...it's not gonna make the "new" XP's a compelling reason to upgrade.
AMD needs something that is FAST, not just marginally faster rehashed leftovers.
o THAT reminds me
In this test report, the power consumption figures are all meaningless because the intel cpu's require power from north bridge re memory controllers which, in AMD the mem controller is internal. So the intel scores are artificially low = add 15-20 watts to include mem controllers.
More smoke and mirrors. You should have known that too. That's called something worse than bias.
Cool. unless
@cangelini: please pass this on, i am typing bling and constantly refreshing and clearing my cach because this page design/forum desigh stinks...using Firefox 3 if the webheads wanna know.I cant really type because the page never loads, my cursor is stuck hard against the left corner and stuff goes left into space when i try to post. This sucks and they need to fix it or junk it !need a new 125-140 watt mb ! !
nd you will be able to easily upgrade in a year or two by dropping in any DENEB cpu, whenever you feel like it. (DENEB has dual integrated memory controllers on the cpu for either ddr2 or ddr3 and socket AM3 is back-compatible
pPlese ppl ddr 800 or 1066 is gonna make no difference in the real world, and timings schmimings...it's not gonna make the "new" XP's a compelling reason to upgrade.AMD needs something that is FAST, not just marginally faster rehashed leftovers.
Well, yes, that is true. But many little biases make for a biased inaccurate review that is not true. So prove your point with a fair test. I know what you mean, but the truth is all I am seeking here, and it is not here!
The things I am pointing out are common in many socalled tests and reviews. Once you start to see it, YOU benefit.
C2D might be faster, but not all of them are faster. And in real world computing, something else takes over, and is not about test reports. They don't speak of that either. Lack of stalls, smoother, consistency. Or the fact that a bench test can be cached on first run and reported on second run = faster = lying to make one look better.
There are a lot of trix.