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One of the things we didn’t do in our Socket AM3 launch story (and subsequently received a number of requests for) was to test the same CPU in Socket AM3 and Socket AM2+ interfaces to assess the specific benefits of adopting DDR3 memory right away, if there were any. Thus, we have those numbers here.
We tested the new Phenom II X4 955 (at 3.2 GHz) using Asus’ M3A78-T, a 790GX-based Socket AM2+ board running BIOS 0903, and Asus’ M4A79T Deluxe, a 790FX-based Socket AM3 motherboard running BIOS 0902. The AM2+ platform was rocking 4 GB (2 x2 GB) of our fastest Corsair DDR2-1066 with CAS 5-5-5 timings. The AM3 system featured 4 GB (2 x2 GB) of Corsair DDR3-1600 (running at 1,333 MT/s) with 8-8-8 timings.
The first performance metric, SiSoftware’s new Sandra 2009 with SP3, demonstrates the throughput advantage of DDR3 on the same processor. As we’ll see on the next page, overclocking the memory yields even more raw throughput. But for our purposes, we’ll compare the highest memory speeds officially supported by AMD’s integrated controller.
Encoding apps are some of the most demanding, and here we see Mainconcept favoring the DDR3-based configuration just slightly. Early on, it’s worth noting that transitioning from DDR2 to DDR3 is most definitely not worth it if you're already using a Spider or Dragon system. However, as prices on DDR3 come down (as they have been), enthusiasts who’ve held off on any upgrade will probably want to lean in the direction of the newer technology. As happened with DDR, DDR2’s days were numbered as soon as AMD and Intel both started enabling DDR3 on their respective platforms.
Though certainly less demanding than most of our other tests, iTunes is at least one of those apps that many of us use on a regular basis. This CD conversion runs one second faster on the AM3 board. Though hardly a noticeable improvement, the trend continues.
Both our DivX and Xvid conversions are cut down by three seconds in the shift to DDR3 memory. Again, this is by no means a decisive victory. But it does remind me of a story I wrote back in 2000 about AMD, its 760 chipset, and the move to DDR. The benefits might be small today, but expect the architecture to become ever more reliant on memory bandwidth as DDR3 adoption increases.
The good news is that 4 GB kits of CAS 8 DDR3-1333 are priced around $70—certainly not as high as the horrid prices that used to plague the technology. Just bear in mind that if you buy higher-voltage modules today as a cost-saving measure, you won’t be able to use them down the road should you switch over to a Core i7-based machine, which can be damaged at voltages over 1.65V.
- AMD Phenom II X4 955 - Which Memory Required? [CPU & Components]
- Good Board for a Phenom X4 955 [Motherboards & Memory]
- AMD Phenom x4 955 Or Core i 7 920 ? [CPU & Components]
- Is the i7 920 much better than the phenom x4 955 for sli and cf? [CPU & Components]
- Best performance & overclock - Core i7 920 or Phenom II X4 955 [CPU & Components]
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Why call a 955 $255 plus 790GX mb $110 plus 4 gb ram $41 is $500, when it's actually $410 before shipping and rebates, which about cancel out? And that's just picking off the cheapest at newegg and not price shopping, which might knock it below $400.
Not to mention the six months on the market the other set up has had to drop in price ...
Fingers crossed for AMD. Intel needs a competitor!
Of course, even at NewEgg, the i7 is still just a benny more, at $280 for the i7, $84 for 1600 6gb ram and $200 for a MB. What's, $564 before ship and rebates, knock $50 if you get the i7 at microcenter, and another $20 on real cost after nit picking out shipping and rebates ... and settle for 1333 ram ... you're within fifty bucks!!!
If it wasn't for that Nvidia issue with the i7 ...
Hell,
Hell, you can knock seventy off the hundred dollar price diff. with an open box motherboard for one thirty instead of twoo hundred.
Nice processor, but until the price drop comes the only reason to buy it is if you're upgrading. If you're doing a clean sweep it's the i7 all the way.
Hell, you can knock seventy off the hundred dollar price diff. with an open box motherboard for one thirty instead of twoo hundred.Nice processor, but until the price drop comes the only reason to buy it is if you're upgrading. If you're doing a clean sweep it's the i7 all the way.
Not fair. Don't compare open box prices to new prices. If you want to buy used/refurb/reconditioned/open box, then compare the prices against the same used/refurb/reconditioned/open box equivalent for the other platform. Otherwise, you are fudging your numbers.
"The only standout in this clumsy console port is AMD’s Phenom II X3 720, which lags at both 1680x1050 and 1920x1200. The rest of the processors serve up reasonably close performance, per what we’ve come to expect from Grand Theft Auto 4."
Yeah that whole less than 10% behind the i7 920 is totally lagging and not close in performance... who writes this drivel?
for gamers: seriously, get the 720BE and oc it to death. then spend your money on VIDEO CARD(S)... that's what's important here!
hmph... -1. i said FOR GAMERS. nerd.
Yup--any of these games will be fine with a 720 BE and more graphics muscle.
If only those AM3 boards had SLI.....
for gamers: seriously, get the 720BE and oc it to death. then spend your money on VIDEO CARD(S)... that's what's important here!
For budget gamers? If someone is a addict to gaming (aka Gamer), they would probably spend a little more on the CPU and still get a good video card. Of course, on these games, you really dont need anything more than a 720 and a good video card, but there are more hardware intensive games than these.
Why is it that Crysis wasn't on there ?
Why is it that Crysis wasn't on there ?
Why,
Crysis is crazy GPU-bound. It doesn't add much useful data to a CPU review--expect to see it back in the graphics story I'm writing right now, though!
While the 955 was not the whopping jump in performance over the 940 I had hoped it might be, nor is it showing any signs of latching onto the i7's coattails in many regards, it shows a step in the right direction for AMD by finally offering a solid X4 AM3 option to the X3 710 & 720, and the underwhelming X4 810. With AM2+ users able to use any of these processors (mind you, BIOS update usually required), AMD has shown it's continued ability to offer solutions that ease users into another new platform. While that's nice, some may argue they'd rather see huge leaps in performance that require hardware change, rather than smaller performance gains that do not. I find myself on the fence with that one...
PI think I'll wait to take my AM2+ board into the realm of AM3 CPUs, specifically the 720 or 955, just a little while longer. Mind you, this is despite my X2 5000+ CPU bottleneck and knowing that any of these CPU's would offer a major performance increase. My biggest concern being whether or not the 920 and 940 are the final kings of AM2+, and that the 955 might be the king of AM3 for quite a long time, as well as what else a complete change to AM3 would bring (aside from DDR3).
I'm also concerned that perhaps in order to catch those i7 coattails (hopefully even surpass) I mentioned earlier, AMD has to give up on their easy transition from socket to socket approach and make a more significant change. Since you can only squeeze so much water out of a sponge before it's dry, I'm curious to know how much more water is left in AMD's AM2/2+/3 easy transition platform(s?) before it goes dry.
Raz,
You'd be safe at least through the second half of 2010 (that's as far as the roadmaps shown to Tom's Hardware extend). At least into Q3, you're still looking at AM3.
phenom 955 Shows its theeth. more importment all 2m+ cpu's are now aproaching bargain prices. 178 euro for 940 here in the netherlands now this was the old 920 price point. hell ye you can build an awsome system with 940 and the radeon 4980 and the samsung t220 for around just below 900 euro now
forget about i7 you can easily have xfire for the premium on the amd setup. perhaps 2x 4830 might even outweights a sinlge radeon 4890 that should roughly save you about 30-40 euro still need to see some benchmarks tough but AMD provides good competition now and most of all these cpu's might get along wiht I5 as well since I5 is meant to be slower then i7. the diffrence between ph II and i7 920 is just a bare few % now so ph II should be very compatitive with core i5 as well .
You refer to the Q9550's retail price when comparing but tested the Q9550S
From the way AMD's looking, if you're worried about a quick socket jump, it ought not be much of a concern... it seems their next major leap in performance, Bulldozer (which I would assume will come with a new socket / platform) won't be out for some time (early 2011 at best), and until then AM3 will likely remain king. Then again, perhaps we'll find ourselves with a consumer version of the 6-core Istanbul that will require a new socket before Bulldozer. Who knows, really.
Gray - The Q9550 is identical to the Q9550s, save for power consumption.
Pleaseeeeeeeeee, evolve and drop those ancient WINZIP and WINRAR. Use free open source 7-zip in your benchmark, which is more advanced, multi-threaded, has higher compression ratio.