Updated: Tuning C'n'Q: Maximize Power And Performance, Part 2

Features
By Arnawa Widagda
published

Test System And Benchmarks

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Test System Configuration
CPUAMD Athlon X2 7750 (2.7 GHz, 3MB cache)AMD Athlon X2 7850 (2.8 GHz, 3MB cache)AMD Athlon II X2 250 (3 GHz, 2MB cache)AMD Phenom II X3 710 (2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 cache)AMD Phenom II X4 945 (3 GHz, 6MB L3 cache)AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3.2 GHz, 6MB L3 cache)
MotherboardAMD790GX:Biostar TA790GX 128MGigabyte GA-MA790GP DS4HGigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4HBiostar TA790GX A3+
RAMKingston KHX8500D2K2/2G PC1066 (4GB) at DDR2-800 CAS 5-5-5-16
GraphicsATI Radeon HD 3300 (AMD790GX), 500 MHz GPU
Hard DriveWestern Digital Green Power 1TB WD10EACS (AHCI mode), 16MB cache, SATA 3.0 Gb/s
SoundOnboard Sound, Realtek ALC880
NetworkingOnboard Gigabit Ethernet, Realtek RTC8111C, 1 Gbps
Power SupplyPC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 watt ATX12V v.2.2, EPS 12V CrossFire EditionEnermax Tomahawk 405W ATX 12V
CPU CoolerThermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, Noctua NF-P12 120 mm fan
Fans2 x Noctua NF-P12 120 mm fan (not including CPU fan)
Software
Operating SystemWindows Vista Home Edition 32 bit SP1
GraphicsAMD Catalyst 9.5
Benchmark Configuration
Audio EncodingRealPlayer: Version 11.0.1, Audio CD “The Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast)” 54:13. Default Format: AAC 320 kbps.iTunes: Version 8.1.1.10, Audio CD “The Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast)” 54:13. Default Format: AAC 256 kbps.
Video EncodingDivX: Version 6.8.5, Video Trailer “Nine Inch Nails: Beside You In Time” 2:20, 1080p. Encoding Mode: Insane Quality. Enhanced Multithreading: Enabled. Experimental SSE4 full search: Enabled using SSE2. Quality: 10. Rate Control: 1 pass, quality based. Fixed quantizer: 1Xvid: Version 1.2.1, Video Trailer “Nine Inch Nails: Beside You In Time” 2:20, 1080p. Profile: Unrestricted. Encoding Type: single pass, quality based. Target quantizer: 1Windows Media Encoder 9: Version 9.00.00.2980, Video Trailer “Nine Inch Nails: Beside You In Time” 2:20, 1080p. Profile: High Definition Video/Audio. Encoding Type: two pass. Video Bitrate: 5.3 Mbps.
Video PlaybackCyberlink PowerDVD 9: Version 9.0.1530.0, Video Trailer “Nine Inch Nails: Beside You In Time” 2:20, 1080p. Hardware Acceleration: Enabled.Media Player Classic Homecinema: Version 1.2.908, Video Trailer “Nine Inch Nails: Beside You In Time” 2:20, 1080p. Using Internal MPC decoder. DXVA/Hardware Acceleration (for H.264): Enabled.
ProductivityWinRAR 3.80: Version 3.8, compressing a 656 MB folder and decompressing the archive.POV-Ray: Version 3.6.1c, built in benchmark.Adobe Photoshop CS4: Version 11.0, Driverheaven.net Photoshop Benchmark script Version 3 (http://www.driverheaven.net/photoshop.php).
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark 2001 SEBuilt 330, All Game Tests.
3DMark VantageBuild 1.0.1, CPU Tests AI & PhysX.
Super PiSuperPi 1.5 XS mod, 1M & 8M.
Cinebench R10Version 10, All Tests – OpenGL, Single and Multi core/processor Rendering Test.
Arnawa Widagda
24 Comments Comment from the forums
  • nzprogamer
    GO AMD go
    i am telling you my next build AMD/ATI
    """I WILL BE BACK"""
    Reply
  • jedimasterben
    I'd be interested to see the tests performed on Windows 7 to see what the effect of reducing thread "jumping" would be.
    Reply
  • cnox
    Dammit...how can this part 2 article be posted before the Building the Balanced PC Part 2?

    Cumon....
    Reply
  • melangex3
    Great Stuff. Keep up the good work. This is the type of review that will keep me coming back. How about throwing in the ever popular 720 BE and the new 620 or 630 just for giggles?
    Reply
  • Ryun
    jedimasterbenI'd be interested to see the tests performed on Windows 7 to see what the effect of reducing thread "jumping" would be.
    I was thinking the same thing as well.

    Also, were the BIOSs all updated? The asynchronous clocks problem you're experiencing with Athlon II X2 was supposed to be fixed with updated CPU microcode.
    Reply
  • Summer Leigh Castle
    620 and 720? :D
    Reply
  • redgarl
    I must admit that lately AMD is impressive. I got a PII X3 720 BE unleashed at PII X4 20 fully stable with an Asus M4A78T-E latest BIOS. Let simply add that my 2 radeon 4850 OC in Crossfire are running as fast as 2 stock 4870...

    If you take into account that the 2 cards only cost 82$ each for a total of 165$ for the two... I can hardly believe that so little money can give so much results.
    Reply
  • JimmiG
    With my Phenom X4 9650, I found Cool n Quiet to be pretty much worthless without tweaks. There were huge performance drops across the board, especially with tasks that didn't use all four cores, or only loaded cores partially. Videos and games would stutter and skip every couple of frames, compressing files would take longer etc. I basically had a 1.1 GHz CPU that would sometimes run at 2.3 GHz, if it felt like it. Too bad there was no tweak guide available then. I just disabled CnQ which solved all problems but made the system use more power and run hotter.

    With my 955BE, I haven't really had a need to tweak CnQ. It might cause a slight performance hit in some rare cases, but generally when I need a 3.2 GHz CPU, that's what it delivers.
    Reply
  • tacoslave
    Nice, amd owns in the graphics department now with that $1.2 billion im sure amd is heading to pwn BOTH markets.
    Reply
  • saint19
    Good!!!, I have my 955 to 3.8GHz at 1.5V....
    Reply