AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Review: The New Six-Core Flagship
-
Page 1:Phenom II X6 1100T: Pushing The Limit
-
Page 2:New AMD Processors: December 2010
-
Page 3:Test Systems And Benchmarks
-
Page 4:Benchmark Results: Synthetics
-
Page 5:Benchmark Results: Applications
-
Page 6:Benchmark Results: Games
-
Page 7:Benchmark Results: Multitasking
-
Page 8:Overclocking
-
Page 9:Power Benchmarks
-
Page 10:Conclusion: Take It To The Limit One More Time
Test Systems And Benchmarks
We’re concentrating on the new Phenom II X6 1100T flagship in our benchmarks. While the Athlon II X3 455 and Phenom II X2 565 are interesting processors, the 100 MHz speed bump probably won’t show much of an improvement over previous tests that we’ve performed. We are interested in seeing if the new top-of-the-line model can be overclocked higher than the 1090T, though. To this end, we've equipped our test bed with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler.
We’re including the Phenom II X6 1090T and 1075T for comparison purposes. The Phenom II X4 970 and Core i5-750 are also present to represent similarly-priced quad-core performance. Finally, the Core i7-920 shows what the starting point of Intel’s more expensive high-end offerings can accomplish.
Take note that the Core i7-920 sample we have on hand is an engineering sample with a lower memory multiplier than the retail version. This will hurt the Core i7-920 in some memory-dependent tests, but for the most part performance should remain comparable to the commercially-available processor.
| Test Systems | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD System A | AMD System B | Intel LGA 1156 System | Intel LGA 1366 System | |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte MA790XT-UD4P Socket AM3, AMD 790X, BIOS F8G | Asus M4A785TD-V EVO Socket AM3, AMD 785G, BIOS 0410 | Asus P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156, Intel P55, BIOS 1003 | Gigabyte X58A-UD3R LGA 1366, Intel X58, BIOS version FA |
| Processor | Phenom II X6 1100T 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Max Turbo) Hexa-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2 GHz (3.6 GHz Max Turbo) Hexa-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache | Phenom II X6 1075T 3.0 GHz (3.5 GHz Max Turbo) Hexa-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache Phenom II X4 970 3.5 GHz, Quad-Core 6 MB L3 Cache | Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz (3.2 GHz Max Turbo) Quad-Core, 8 MB L3 Cache Intel Pentium G6950 2.66 GHz, Quad-Core 3 MB L3 Cache | Intel Core i7-920 2.67 GHz (2.93 GHz Max Turbo) Quad-Core (8 Threads with Hyper-Threading) 8 MB L3 Cache |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus | Cooler Master Hyper TX3 | ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 | |
| Memory | Crucial DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel 2 x 2048 MB, 669 MHz, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T | Mushkin PC3-10700H Triple-Channel 3 x 2048 MB, 540 MHz, CL 8-8-8-20-1T | ||
| Graphics | MSI GeForce GTX 470 1280 MB GDDR5-3348, 607/1215 MHz GPU/Shaders, 837 MHz Mem. | |||
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s | |||
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Ultra-High Quality, No AA, 1280x1024 |
| DiRT 2 | In-game benchmark Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA, 1280x1024 |
| StarCraft 2 | Custom Tom's Hardware Benchmark Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 1280x1024 |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version: 9.0.2.25 x64 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min Default format AAC |
| HandBrake 0.9.4 | Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from "The Last Samurai" (1 GB) to .mp4 High Profile |
| TMPGEnc 4.0 Express | Version: 4.7.3.292 Import File: "Terminator 2" SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
| DivX 6.9.1 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search |
| XviD 1.2.2 | Display encoding status = off |
| MainConcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2) Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
| Productivity | |
| Adobe Photoshop CS4 (64-bit) | Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 | Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
| Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 9.0 | Version: 9.0.663, Virus base: 270.14.1/2407 Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
| WinRAR 3.90 | Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| 7-Zip | Version 4.65: Format=Zip, Compression=Ultra, Method=Deflate, Dictionary Size=32 KB, Word Size=128, Threads=8 Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| Synthetic Benchmarks | |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.01, GPU and CPU scores |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1.0 x64, System, Memories, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2010 | Version 2010.1.16.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
you are wrong sir, completely wrong! AMD have not looked this strong in years, they are on the brink of becoming really profitable again and are releasing great products at even better prices!
Througt the Phenom I and C2D years all my customer builds were basically Intel, but since Phenom II and Athlon II I have built AMD for 90% of my clients with the odd exception of the Monster builds using i7 and x58 boards!
Yes Intel has faster chips, yest sandy bridge will be great, so will Bulldozer and no, most people wanting new computers could not care less whats inside the PC, as long as it does what they want, which for most is still basic functions of Internet, E-Mail, online streaming, a few films and Music storage with a little Document creation! So here for the vast majority price matters more than pure absolute speed and AMD win very big in this sector!
Seriously though I am no AMD fanboy and have never supported either exclusively because that would just be stupid, but right now, anyone who loves the modern age of computers should support AMD right now so as to keep the healthy competition alive because without AMD Intel will basically tank big time and the same for the opposite as well, we do not need a monopoly in desktop processor market!
Finally, I can pick up 1055t and decent Mobo for under £180 allowing me an overclock of 3.8Ghz on six cores, the cheapest i7 x 58 is around £210 without Mobo! yes faster, but moneys worth considering what the 1055 can do, umm no!
Today, Intel locks NVidia/VIA/SIS from the LGA1156 & LGA1366 platforms to protect their own monopoly. #$%^^&(^&@#!!
Many motherboards companies supported INTEL for the past 10 years. Today, Intel is killing them one by one. (YES, ABIT is dead)
Now if you'll look, their third iteration of this process still doesn't match intel's entry-level i7 processors. It's just embarrassing is what that is.
Today, Intel locks NVidia/VIA/SIS from the LGA1156 & LGA1366 platforms to protect their own monopoly. #$%^^&(^&@#!!
Many motherboards companies supported INTEL for the past 10 years. Today, Intel is killing them one by one. (YES, ABIT is dead)
you are wrong sir, completely wrong! AMD have not looked this strong in years, they are on the brink of becoming really profitable again and are releasing great products at even better prices!
Througt the Phenom I and C2D years all my customer builds were basically Intel, but since Phenom II and Athlon II I have built AMD for 90% of my clients with the odd exception of the Monster builds using i7 and x58 boards!
Yes Intel has faster chips, yest sandy bridge will be great, so will Bulldozer and no, most people wanting new computers could not care less whats inside the PC, as long as it does what they want, which for most is still basic functions of Internet, E-Mail, online streaming, a few films and Music storage with a little Document creation! So here for the vast majority price matters more than pure absolute speed and AMD win very big in this sector!
Seriously though I am no AMD fanboy and have never supported either exclusively because that would just be stupid, but right now, anyone who loves the modern age of computers should support AMD right now so as to keep the healthy competition alive because without AMD Intel will basically tank big time and the same for the opposite as well, we do not need a monopoly in desktop processor market!
Finally, I can pick up 1055t and decent Mobo for under £180 allowing me an overclock of 3.8Ghz on six cores, the cheapest i7 x 58 is around £210 without Mobo! yes faster, but moneys worth considering what the 1055 can do, umm no!
Then of course they have that 1B settlement coming to them from Intel with perhaps a clause in it so they can buyout Via and start making x86 CPU's certainly wouldn't be surprised by that.
AMD can barely stay afloat and has been treading water for quite awhile if Fusion doesn't pan out a merge with Nvidia would be it's only hopes of survival.
Yes, that makes sense/ not.
lol
I'm rooting for AMD to step their game. Can't wait to see what they have in bulldozer. If it's anything worthwhile, I might just switch back to AMD.
These high end chips are for enthusiasts only, not even gamers. If you want to show off how much money you have then go for the best. It's just like a Toyota Corolla vs a Supra. They both get you from point A to point B, but you look good doing it in a Supra (chicks also dig you) and have higher risks (way higher insurance too) of getting pulled over or injury like Hulk Hogan's son, Nick.
I'm a Supra guy...Always buy the best stuff. I have $1,000 golf clubs, but suck at it. I don't care, just wanna look good and show off my money.
The point is, if AMD comes out with better stuff, I'll buy AMD.