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Distributor: AMD Reviewer: Howard Bourke |
9.3 |
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AMD have finally released the next generation of Phenom processors, with the Phenom II that ups the ante of this powerful series and is now finally available for the wider community. AMD are also targeting this CPU towards gamers and best of all, the processors are still quite affordable when compared to competitor Intel. For now, AMD are releasing two Phenom II processors which include the AMD Phenom II X4 920 (2.8Ghz) and the AMD Phenom II X4 940 (3.0Ghz), both two powerful CPU's and equally quite affordably priced. The AMD Phenom II is also a quad core processor that works in conjunction and independently that when not used, powers down, ensuring better power utilization though the use of Hyper Transport technology. If something requires more power, it simply activates the relevant cores that is ideal for number crunching, photo manipulation and of course high-end gaming.
The Dragon Platform With two of the world's leading CPU (AMD) and graphic (ATI) card designers now joined, a new platform for users is available called "Dragon" which provides a linked solution with the AMD CPU (Phenom II), the AMD mother chipsets (790 Series) plus the ATI/AMD graphics cards (AMD ATI Radeon 4800 Series). This unity will allow for improved performance under the one banner and is definitely an interesting premise as it reduces the issues of compatibility problems. Best of all, it's quite affordably priced compared to the competition and in turn very powerful which I'm sure gamers will embrace.
Although the original Phenom processors did have some issues, AMD have addressed these issues and have created an all-round CPU that is ideal for home users, designers and of course gamers. Briefly in terms of changes, AMD have revised the core architecture of the Phenom II and uses 45nm architecture (the original Phenom used 65nm) which allows for improved performance, heat dissipation and higher frequencies but the largest improvement is the jump from 2MB L3 cache to 6MB. Also, with the 45nm architecture incorporated into the Phenom II, it has a peak of 125 Watts when all four cores of the processor are utilized that is a slight improvement over the pervious Phenom processors. Needless to say, the incorporation of 45nm architecture plus 6MB of L3 cache ensures for higher computing performance without the risk of overheating.
With that said, Cool 'N' quiet 3.0 is definitely an interesting feature as
it switches between a variety of MHz frequencies and power voltages,
ensuring some decent power savings. Gamers or those using CPU grunt can
rest assured that this is enabled for gaming or number crunching.
As you can see from the above specification from AMD, the Phenom II is no slouch when it comes to design and offers a variety of powerful features. The most noticeable changes to the Phenom II processors is the move from 65nm to 45nm which has also increased the transistor count to an insane 758 million and of course the jump from 2MB to 6MB which adds to the performance of your system. For users of existing AM2+ motherboards or Phenom processors, they can easily upgrade their CPU without the need for purchasing a new and expensive motherboard which is definitely a powerful edge when compared to Intel. Of course owners of AM2+ motherboards should check with their manufacturers whether the Phenom II is supported or if a BIOS update will be made available. (A list is available at the end of this review)
The only real
issues for owners of AM2+ motherboards is that they will need to upgrade
their motherboard if they are to use DD3 memory. Needless to say, AMD
continues its ideology of backward compatibility which in our eyes is a
very powerful feature that Intel do not offer.
It's definitely one of the preferred benchmarking programs for reviewers and system testers as it allows the user to test a variety of system features such as CPU calculations and other memory tests. The best aspect of SiSoft's SANDRA 2009 is that it is compliant with the latest processors and means quad core processors can finally be tested without any limitations. As you can see from the below results, the Phenom II is quite powerful when all cores are in use. The Dhrystone and Whetstone results are very impressive as this uses the mathematical calculations of the CPU and shows how powerful it is at crunching numbers. Sisoft Sandra 2009 - Dhrystone ALU (GIPS)
Sisoft Sandra 2009 - Whetstone iSSE3 (GFLOPS)
Considering the price between Intel's Core
i7 920, the Phenom II performed exceptionally well, however where the
CPU did shine is through it's graphical calculations that of course
makes up the Dragon platform.
The last of our testing programs was 3DMark Vantage (the latest version of 3DMark) and another program from Futuremark that allows users to test the graphical capabilities of their system. We also set 3DMark Vantage to the default settings and once again, the results mirrored 3DMark06, indicating a rather powerful CPU, considering it's price range and features.
3DMark Vantage - CPU Test
Gaming Where the card did shine was in conjunction with the "Dragon Platform" that performed almost as good as Intel latest Core i7 920. With games, the baine of all CPU's and graphic cards is still Crysis which was developed by EA Games and follows the story of aliens, viruses and of course the end of humanity. Although Crysis is visually one of the most impressive games on the PC, the amount of hardware power needed is actually quite ridiculous and as of yet, I've never seen a system run this game flawlessly. Crysis also supports the latest DirectX from Microsoft, version 10 and needless to say, the game performed rather well on the Phenom II, although I was hoping that the processor would finally blow this game out of the water. We tested the game on a variety of resolution settings with the "benchmark cpu timedemo" plus medium to high levels of detail. The difference between the Core i7 920 was quite minimal. The Phenom II also beat the Core i7 920 on it's highest resolution.
Crysis (1024 x 768 resolution, medium
IQ)
Crysis (1680x1050, High IQ, DX10)
Without getting down to too many statistics, we tested the game with Brothers in Arms, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Fifa 09 and BioShock and the game had quite similar results to Crysis, with the CPU giving Intel's Core i7 920 a real run for its money, proving that this CPU is definitely a contender for gaming when hooked up with the Dragon platform. Overclocking When it comes to overclocking, the Phenom II offers a variety of options for those wishing to push the boundaries of their CPU. The Cool 'N' Quiet technology is ideal for overclocking, however I do suggest that users arrange appropriate cooling for their systems. Unlike Intel, AMD have noted that their CPU's can be overclocked, of course at the users discretion. By increasing the clock speed and the CPU multiplier, overclocking is actually quite simple, however you need to find a common ground to ensure the stability of your system. In relation to overlocking, it is advisable to have the Black Edition CPU which does have the CPU multiplier unlocked and easily allows you to tweak your processor thanks to the AMD OverDrive Utility. With the right cooling inside your case and for the CPU, you should be able to push your CPU to around 3.6Ghz and with water-cooling based units, this may be even higher. We did successfully push the CPU to around 3.6Ghz, however this was with standard cooling only.
Conclusion The movie from 65 to 45nm technology is definitely a impressive improvement over its predecessor that does allow for more computing power that gamers will appreciate. Matched with the Dragon platform, this is very workable platform which ensures for a smoother computing experience that of course is targeted towards gamers. When compared to Intel's Core i7, Intel still does have an edge in terms of standard applications and number crunching, however with gaming, the Phenom II is a worthy competitor. Cost wise, I would be inclined towards AMD as Intel are notorious for over pricing their CPU's when they are first released. Definitely recommended for gamers or those wishing to upgrade their CPU from existing AM2 motherboards. Brilliant!
Motherboard compatibility - Source AMD |
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