Overclocking: Core i7 Vs. Phenom II

Features
By Chris Angelini
published

Benchmark Results: Productivity

Update: After getting back from CES, we were bothered by the fact that the Phenom II was originally outperforming Intel's Core i7 920 in this one test, despite testing and re-testing before heading to Vegas. Thus, we tore the X58-based platform completely down and built it back up using the same Windows Vista install, with all of its benchmarks installed. Sure enough, our scores changed dramatically in 3ds Max, yielding the result above.

Thinking this could have been some sort of throttling issue, we tweaked the setting on and off , yielding no variation in performance.

Our anti-virus test again shifts the tide in favor of Intel’s Core i7 920 overclocked to 3.8 GHz. AMD’s Phenom II lags the i7’s time by 53 seconds.

We’ve demonstrated in the past that the WinRAR benchmark is very much optimized for threaded environments, and it seems to benefit from the i7 920’s four physical cores with Hyper-Threading, finishing our compression metric 58 seconds faster than the overclocked Phenom II.

Winzip is optimized for a pair of threads, so this test isn’t making full use of either CPU’s available execution resources. With that said, the Core i7 micro-architecture still does significantly better in this metric.

Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
221 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Roffey123
    At last a P2/i7 comparison to shut the people whining for one up. In all I think its a fair comparison - although I am disappointed that AMD's OC potential wasn't as good as they made it out to be. But as all overclockers know - not all chips are the same or have the same OC potential.

    The 3DS Max benchmark was puzzling as well, considering that i7 has 8 threads at its disposal. Do you guys have any idea as to why the AMD beat the i7 in that test; despite having only half as many threads?
    Reply
  • unclefester
    I thought it funny they use an ATI card on the Intel board (not that it makes a difference).
    Would have liked to see what the PII can gain or not gain by using the FSB not just the multiplier.
    Didn't see anything about memory timings either. As most PII OC's have been done at @880MHz.
    Overall a decent review.
    So Ford vs Chevy goes on.
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    I would love to see a high end overclocked Core 2 Quad 9 series in the tests here to see a price comparison - cheaper and already established platform etc.

    Also note that i7 platform should also feel more alive and responsive (un-benchmarkable) thanks to high memory bandwidths and more threads to balance things out like the P4C's and CL2 Dual Channel DDR1 - reguardless if it performed lower then the AMD A64's at the time it felt more responsive!

    Intel also has that more solid platform to back that CPU and options for Crossfire AND SLi so its more the premium option, but that cheaper AMD setup is too close to the i7 for my liking - a few shifts in prices and models should show an interesting result in the new few weeks.

    AM3 should be interesting, higher headroom + lower power etc (like 939 to AM2).
    Reply
  • cangelini
    Uncle,
    With the Black Edition, that's really the value there. You want to use the multiplier for a clean, easy overclock. Once you've found your ceiling, use the reference clock to fine-tune the setup.
    Reply
  • vekere
    I hear AMD is going to hire Sylar to look at the new Core i7 processor so this year we will have an answer.
    Reply
  • kschoche
    The WINRAR tests are so close to exactly half the time on the Intel chip compared to the AMD chip that I'd love to see how the results show up if you turn off hyperthreading, not that its a particularly meaningful result, but would be cool to look at still.
    Reply
  • jtnstnt
    I'm curious about the heatsink selection on the Phenom II. I looked up the Ajigo MF091 and it didn't look too impressive. While the Intel system gets the Thermalright 120mm True extreme. Whats up with that?
    Reply
  • jtnstnt
    Please explain.
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    jtnstntI'm curious about the heatsink selection on the Phenom II. I looked up the Ajigo MF091 and it didn't look too impressive. While the Intel system gets the Thermalright 120mm True extreme. Whats up with that?
    Heh very good point there, although it depends on wether the limits of the OC was architectural or thermal
    Reply
  • jtnstnt
    I was wondering because i didn't see an explanation in the article.
    Reply