AMD CPU Efficiency Compared

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Motherboard: MSI K9A2 Platinum (AMD790FX)

Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC

We had to use memory capable of running at DDR2-1066 speed, since this is what most users would select for their Phenom machines. In addition, the MSI motherboard still had issues running at "only" DDR2-800 with the initial BIOS version.

Graphics Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD3850

We're using these as reference graphics cards, since they deliver upper mainstream performance while requiring less power than other solutions, especially in idle mode. Any faster graphics card will minimize the obvious differences between the processors, as the overall power consumption would be higher.

Hard Drive: WD Caviar SE16, 500 GB

PSU: Coolermaster RS850-EMBA

Patrick Schmid
Patrick Schmid
Editor-in-Chief (2005-2006)

Patrick Schmid was the editor-in-chief for Tom's Hardware from 2005 to 2006. He wrote numerous articles on a wide range of hardware topics, including storage, CPUs, and system builds.