AMD Introduces the Phenom II
Posted by Kathleen Maher on February 18th 2009 | Discuss
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Hardware Review
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Figure 1: Benchmark results for the AMD and Intel processors.
(Source: Jon Peddie Research)
Figure 2: FPS results for the AMD and Intel processors.
(Source: Jon Peddie Research)
At this point, it is almost impossible for AMD to take on Intel from a technology perspective. By all accounts, the i7 processors by Intel are a huge performance step forward. Plus, with 32nm processing on tap for Intel later in the year, AMD is looking to take on their rival on different fronts; the obvious one being the cost/performance ratio.
The new Dragon platform with the 45nm Phenom II line features the x4 940 ($229) quad core with a core frequency of 3.6GHz and the Phenom II x4 920 ($189) 3.0GHZ (featured in our benchmarks). A feature of the new Phenom II is its integrated memory controller and HyperTransport interface, which allows the Phenom II a higher memory bandwidth than competing Core II
technologies.
While the top of the line Phenom II rolls out at a price point of $229, the Intel Core i7 920 (2.66MHz) starts at $284, the 950 (3.06MHz) at $550, and the 975 Extreme (3.33 MHz) is priced at over $900. Given the fact that the i7 series are DDR3, requiring a new MB, the cost to upgrade to one of these impressive setups is exponential.
We have noticed during benchmarking that the Phenom II runs exceptionally smoothly. Scores measure up quite favorably to the i7 series; there was no tearing, no frame drop, and no unloading and reloading of drivers needed. It ran perfectly the first time around.
Although the Nehalem remains the clear heavyweight champ, the Phenom II more than held its own. There was a remarkable difference between the Phenom II and Nehalem with the Nvidia GTX 295, as Figure 1 shows. There was a lesser but noticeable improvement with the Radeon 4970 X2 with the Nehalem as well.
And strangest of all, there were better FPS scores with the Nehalem. Like the Vantage scores, the FPS scores favored the Nvidia GTX on a Nehalem processor. We have to do some investigation on this GTX phenomena on the Nehalem processor. Our suspicion is that there is a driver trick being played by Nvidia. It may take some time to tease it out, and/or use a new driver drop from Nvidia.
