First off, we'd like to thank Long and the crew at MemoryExpress and Wayne at Computer Boulevard in Winnipeg, Canada, who helped us with some last-minute test-equipment requirements; we couldn't have finished this review without their assistance.
| Phenom II System | Core i7 System | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition | Intel Core i7-920 2.66 GHz, | |||
| Motherboard | ASUS M4A79T Deluxe, | DFI LANParty Jr X58-T3H6 Micro-ATX | |||
| Networking | Onboard Gigabit LAN controller | Onboard Gigabit LAN controller | |||
| Memory | G.Skill 10666CL7T 4.0 GB DDR3-1064 | G.Skill 10666CL7T 6.0 GB DDR3-1064 | |||
| Graphics | 2 x HIS Radeon HD 4890 in CrossFire | 2 x HIS Radeon HD 4870 in CrossFire | |||
| Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda ST31500341AS | Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB | |||
| Power | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad S75QB | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad S75QB | |||
| Software and Drivers | |||||
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit 6.0.6001, SP1 | ||||
| DirectX version | DirectX 10 | ||||
| Graphics Drivers | Nvidia GeForce 185.85, ATI Catalyst 9.6 | ||||
Notice that we had to use different hard drives in our test systems. This was unavoidable, as we were running concurrent benchmarks and we didn't have two of the same model drives on hand. However, SiSoft Sandra demonstrated that the drives performed very similarly to each other and we're confident that that the disparity did not cause any performance variations.
Our Phenom II overclock went very smoothly and, using identical timings as the Intel Core i7 overclock, we managed to get the Phenom II 955 to 3.7 GHz with little trouble. With a slight CPU core voltage increase to 1.42 V, the memory voltage increased to 1.675 V, and the northbridge voltage increased to 1.2 V. We set the CPU multiplier to 17x and the front side bus (FSB) to 218 MHz, resulting in an overclocked CPU speed of 3,706 MHz. This is about 100 MHz faster than the overclocked Cyberpower Gamer Dragon system we tested. From what we've seen, Phenom II 955s can get to 3.6-3.7 GHz with little trouble and minor voltage and heat increases, but they hit a wall soon after.
We have also benchmarked many more games this time around to satisfy folks who didn't think we had enough of a cross-section in the Cyberpower article. Here are the games and their settings:
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
3D Games | |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool |
| Far Cry 2 | DirectX 10, in-game benchmark |
| Stalker: Clear Sky | Average of 4 segments "A-Tested Object" |
| World In Conflict | Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo |
| Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. | DirectX 10.1, in-game benchmark |
| Fallout 3 | Custom THG Benchmark |
| Left 4 Dead | Custom THG Benchmark |
| Prototype | Custom THG Benchmark |
- Introduction: A Little Background
- Phenom II Versus Core i7-920: Competing System Cost Analysis
- Test Systems And Benchmark Setup
- Synthetic Benchmarks
- Game Benchmarks: Crysis
- Game Benchmarks: Far Cry 2
- Game Benchmarks: World In Conflict
- Game Benchmarks: Stalker Clear Sky
- Game Benchmarks: Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
- Game Benchmarks: Fallout 3
- Game Benchmarks: Left 4 Dead
- Game Benchmarks: Prototype
- Conclusion
Umm have you taken any time to read any Tom's articles? This is their bread and butter, the reason the site exists. People read these articles because they want to know what to do with their money, the THG authors know what they are doing. The reason for these articles is to show performance differences, and this article does that very well.
I grew tired of defending your findings in the forums, and I was looking forwards to this, and its paid off.
Great read, and Toms should be thankful for having you
Adding in nvidia cards would be interesting to see, yes, but then we're moving more into engine optimizations and such, and things get less exact. Maybe the effect of software preferences on hardware architecture can be a future writeup? Nice article, here, though.
As I expected on the numbers, but I now want to see if the 790X chipset is to blame, or the Gigabyte board itself, or perhaps the memory controller onboard the CPU is to blame?
Did you read the conclusion at all? AMD lost by the numbers. That's not pro-intel, it's pro-logic. It's pro-science. That's the way the world works.
Wow. You take things way too seriously.
Ahslan .... buy your own pc ...not your daddy
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.209473
I still love AMD, though. I don't need the extra muscle that Intel gives. I'm happy with what AMD's processors give me, in terms of gaming.
I love supporting the underdog! I just can't help it. =] Intel might make great processors, but I just don't like their arrogance. That's why I support AMD. =]
you realize that with this kind of articles you play with peoples money?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130227 mobo= 169
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220378 ram = 85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121291 4870 1gb times 2 =320 total =1083
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.209473 phenom 2 940+mobo =204
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289 ram =65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809 4850x2 times two = 420
total=919 so thats the truth but if you want you could switch out the graphics for two gtx 285 or a 4870x2 or a gtx295 its up to you.
VERY MANY people buying I7 only pair it with one graphics card and save money everywhere in the system to be able to buy the I7 (talking about gaming systems).
Of course if you put in 2 great Gpu's, you need a very strong Cpu to handle them. Most people throw the I7 at 1 4890.
It would be very intresting to compare a PhenomII x3 720 system with Two 4890's to an I7 build with only one. (same price or amd even cheaper^^)
You compare the most expensive and not much overclockable 955 to the cheapest I7 with most overclocking headroom. Why don't you compare it to the cheaper PhenomII which also reach the 3.6 Ghz the 955 reached? Maybe even the x4 810.
After that Article I agree that If you have the money for two 4890 and still can afford an I7 it's the best choise.
But what if you dont have the money for an I7 and Two high end cards? Whats if you have to make compromises in you I7 build just for the sake of having an I7?
I think that's were the Phenom II shows its strength.
You Take the I7 best price/perfomance point and give the same budget to an Amd system. It's clear that Amd can't compete that well. It seems that you first build the I7 system you think is best and then take the money to build an Phenom II system.
Please try it the other way round once! Build a Phenom II gaming system (720/810/940 with two graphics)and THEN take the money you used and build an I7 system (maybe sacrificing the second card? or just Xfiring two lower end cards? I don't know where but you then will have to save some money)
Most benchmarks show that the X3 720 overclocked shows performance numbers on par with the 955 (oc) so why spend all the money for the 955?
Umm have you taken any time to read any Tom's articles? This is their bread and butter, the reason the site exists. People read these articles because they want to know what to do with their money, the THG authors know what they are doing. The reason for these articles is to show performance differences, and this article does that very well.
WOW thats rude.
They made a great article comparing two cpus. Its good to know which one performs better in gaming.
Again the article was very helpful good work
i read at least 10 reviews from different sites before a buy something ..and for me is more important the opinion of end user, about a product ....if 1000 people says the p2 x3 is great in games with similar performance with a 250 $ intel i will buy p2x3 and tom articles has no value for me because they are 5 people and they don't use a cpu like an end user ... they use a cpu just for rating and i spent my own money not their money ......open your eyes