Six-Core Analysis: AMD’s Phenom II X6 Gets Scaled Down

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What’s the real benefit of six cores versus five, four, three, two, or one? This article looks at the performance, power, and efficiency of AMD's Thuban-based six-core Phenom II X6 1090T processor running with several different core configurations.

Test Setup And Benchmark Settings

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System Hardware
HardwareDetails
Performance Benchmarks
Motherboard (Socket AM3)Asus Crosshair IV Formula (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: AMD 890FX, BIOS: 0701 (04/02/2010)
CPU AMD IAMD Phenom II X6 1090T (45 nm, 3.2 GHz, 6 x 512KB L2 and 6MB L3 Cache, TDP 125W, Rev. C3)
RAM DDR32 x 2GB DDR3-1333 (OCZ3G2000LV4GK 8-8-8-24)
GraphicsSapphire Radeon HD 5850 GPU: Cypress (725 MHz), Graphics RAM: 1,024MB GDDR5 (2,000 MT/s), Stream Processors: 1,440
Hard DriveWestern Digital VelociRaptor, 300GB (WD3000HLFS) 10,000 RPM, SATA/300, 16MB Cache
Power SupplyPC Power & Cooling, Silencer 750EPS12V 750W
System Software & Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate x64 Updated on 2010-03-03
Drivers and Settings
AMD Chipset DriversCatalyst 10.3 Motherboard/Chipset Drivers
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Audio Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
iTunesVersion: 9.0.3.15 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min. Convert to AAC audio format
Lame MP3Version 3.98.3 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min. Convert WAV to MP3 audio format Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kbps)
Video Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
HandBrake CLIVersion: 0.94 Video: Big Buck Bunny (720x480, 23.972 frames) 5 min. Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-channel, English to Video: AVC1 Audio1: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile)
MainConcept Reference v2Version: 2.0.0.1555 MPEG-2 to H.264 MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec. HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2) Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2-channel, 16-bit, 224 Kbps) Codec: H.264 Pro Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS) Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Application Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
7-ZipVersion 9.1 beta LZMA2 Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
WinRARVersion 3.92 RAR Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
WinZip 14Version 14.0 Pro (8652) WinZIP Commandline Version 3 ZIPX Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
Autodesk 3d Studio Max 2010Version: 10 x64 Rendering Space Flyby Mentalray (SPECapc_3dsmax9) Frame: 248 Resolution: 1440 x 1080
Cinebench 11.5Version 11.5 Build CB25720DEMO CPU Test, single- and multi-threaded
Adobe Photoshop CS 4 (64-Bit)Version: 11 Filtering a 16MB TIF (15000x7266) Filters: Radial Blur (Amount: 10; Method: zoom; Quality: good) Shape Blur (Radius: 46 px; custom shape: Trademark sysmbol) Median (Radius: 1px) Polar Coordinates (Rectangular to Polar)
Adobe Acrobat 9 ProfessionalVersion: 9.0.0 (Extended) == Printing Preferenced Menu == Default Settings: Standard == Adobe PDF Security - Edit Menu == Encrypt all documents (128-bit RC4) Open Password: 123 Permissions Password: 321
Microsoft Powerpoint 2007Version: 2007 SP2 PPT to PDF PowerPoint Document (115 pages) Adobe PDF-Printer
FritzFritz Chess Benchmark Version 4.3.2
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
3DMark VantageVersion: 1.02 Patch 1901 Options: Performance Graphics Test 1 Graphics Test 2 CPU Test 1 CPU Test 2
PCMark VantageVersion: 1.0.2.0 Patch 1901 PCMark Benchmark Memories Benchmark
SiSoftware Sandra 2010Version: 2010.1.16.10 Processor Arithmetic, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth