Thermal Design Power: Phenom X3 only XX Watts
In the power consumption measurements, the Phenom X3 does not do as well in Cool’n’Quiet mode.
Despite the lower core voltage and one CPU core less, the Phenom X3 uses more energy in the energy saving mode than the Phenom X4 9600. The Phenom X3 also shows that the processors with B3 stepping, in this case, Cool’n’Quiet mode require more power than the older B2 versions.
With all CPU cores under full load, the Phenom X3 is able to prove its lower energy consumption properties.
The fastest Phenom X3 8750 with 2.40 GHz requires 10 watt less than the Phenom X4 9600 with 2.30 GHz and four CPU cores. The Phenom X3 does very well compared to the traditional Dual-Core Athlon 64 X2 models. It requires 5.8 watt less than the 4800+ which is clocked at the same rate and has 512 kB of cache and also one core less.
Compared to the traditional Athlon 64 X2, upgrading to a Phenom X3 is an option which is worth doing in terms of energy consumption.