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Test System And Benchmarks

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Test System Configuration
CPU

AMD: Phenom II X2 550 BE (3.1 GHz, 6.0 MB Cache)
Intel: Core 2 Duo E7200 (2.53 GHz, 3.0 MB Cache)

Motherboards

AMD 785G: Asus M4A785TD-M EVO
AMD 790GX: Asus M4A78T-E
GeForce 8200: ECS GF8200A
GeForce 9300: Asus P5N7A-VN
Intel G45: Asus P5Q-EM

RAM

DDR2: A-Data AD2800E002GOU (2 x 2 GB)
DDR2-800 at DDR2-800 CAS 5-5-5-18 2T

DDR3: G.Skill F3-10666CL7-2GBPK (2 x 2 GB)
DDR3-1333 @ DDR3-1338 CAS 9-9-9-24-33-1T

Graphics

Radeon HD 4200 (785G) - 500 MHz GPU
Radeon HD 3200 (780G)  - 500 MHz GPU (simulated using underclocked 790GX)
Radeon HD 3300 (790GX) - 700 MHz GPU

GeForce 8200 - 500 MHz GPU, 1.2 GHz shader
GeForce 9400 - 540 MHz GPU, 1.4 GHz shader (simulated using overclocked 9300)

Intel G45 - 800 MHz GPU

Hard Drive

Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB
7,200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3.0 Gb/s

Sound

Integrated HD Audio

Network

Integrated Gigabit Networking

Power

Thermaltake Toughpower
1200W, ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V

Software

OS

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium x64 SP1

Graphics

GeForce 8200/9300: NVidia Forceware 190.38 WHQL
AMD 790GX: Catalyst 9.7
AMD 785G: 8.632-090626a-083962E Beta

Benchmark Configuration

3D Games

Left 4 Dead

Version 1014, Custom THG Benchmark
Test Set 1: Medium Settings, High paged memory
Test Set 2: Medium Settings, High paged memory, 2x MSAA, 8x AF

Crysis

Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool
Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA
Test Set 2: Very High Quality, 8x AA

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

in-game benchmark
Test Set 1: Lowest Settings, DirectX 9
Test Set 2: Lowest Settings, DirectX 10

World in Conflict

Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo
Test 1: High Details, No AA / No AF
Test 2: Very High Details 4x AA / 16x AF

Audio/Video Encoding

iTunes

Version: 8.1.0.52 (x64)
Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min
Default format AAC

Lame MP3

Version: 3.98 64bits (07-04-2008)
Audio CD "Terminator II," 53 min.
wave to MP3

TMPGEnc 4.6

Version: 4.6.3.268
Import File: "Terminator 2" SE DVD (5 Minutes)
Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9

DivX 6.8.5

Encoding mode: Insane Quality
Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4
Quarter-pixel search

Xvid 1.2.1

Display encoding status = off

MainConcept Reference 1.6.1

MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS)

Productivity

Autodesk 3ds Max 2009

Version: 11.0, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV)

Gisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8.5

Version: 8.5.287, Virus database 2094, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files

WinRAR 3.80

Version 3.80, WinZip Command line Version 3.0, Compression = Best, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)

WinZip 12

Version 12.0, Compression = Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (139 MB)

Sythetic Benchmarks and Settings

3DMark Vantage

Version: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores

PCMark Vantage

Version: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646

SiSoftware Sandra 2009 SP3

Version 2009.4.15.92, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark

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Anonymous 04/08/2009 22:29
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-1+

just want to give you guys a heads up, meybe you wanna look into it:
AMD 785G Update - Multi-Channel LPCM is not Available
or at least thats what AMD says accordign to anandtech:

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=629

wild9 05/08/2009 04:59
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-0+

Great article..thanks for including the GPGPU benchmarks :) Be nice to see those vs. the fastest i7 and it's respective power draw.

Fair do's to AMD. They've bounced back, and given the market some products that can compete with both Intel (CPU's) and nVidia (GPU's). Seems like it's only nVidia that has kept Intel's head above water in the GPU market..the G45 couldn't even play Blue-Ray properly, let alone produce decent frame rates even in slightly older games.

If I was in AMD's shoes right now I'd push the advantage of GPGPU processing, in addition to low-cost Athlon II/Phenom II processors. Only thing that doesn't appeal to me is the naming conventions, which confuse the user into thinking higher numbers mean more performance..that really turned me off nVidia. The 785G is alright because it suggests a slightly modified design rather than a brand new one (nice to see them squeezing everything out of it and developing even better drivers), but the integrated HD4200 being slower than HD3300? Hmm, c'mon guys..that might cheese off a few people.

Finally, the article does lead me to ask: is nVidia doing the 9400 for AM3? If not, is it down to some competition law or something? The 8200 game results look very weak..they're even on par with the Intel G45 on occasion. An nVidia 9 series IGP for the AMD platform would obviously be better.

p.s.

Quote :As for environmental concerns, Mother Earth is far better served by simply turning your PC off when it isn't being used.


I think Mother Earth is far better served by the US population, which is predicted to mushroom in a relatively short space of time..I'll settle for the lesser evil I think, and get that shiny new CPU.

LePhuronn 06/08/2009 01:23
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wild9 :
I think Mother Earth is far better served by the US population, which is predicted to mushroom in a relatively short space of time..I'll settle for the lesser evil I think, and get that shiny new CPU.



I think you've missed out the words "not" and "cloud" from your quote

shawkie 06/08/2009 22:28
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-2+

Anandtech is reporting that retail 785G motherboards typically won't actually support multi-channel LPCM. Any truth to this?

Anonymous 12/08/2009 07:47
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AMD chips still can't run standard windows Apps properly without cashing, so as far as I am concerned, Intel is a solid winner.

(every AMD I have been on has had an issue with some very basic program, ranging from Nero Burning Rom to something as simple as Microsoft Word (03/07))

Anonymous 19/10/2009 13:31
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Hey, this review is giving me ideas....

and now i'm slightly confused...

I was going to assemble an intel 5200+ Biostar g41 for a simple home use PC, but now I am seriously considering 785G. I am not really into gaming. All I want is a graphic good enough to play bluray with good onboard sound card.

Anyway, keep up the good work. This is the kind of review which a novice like me am looking at and depending upon when trying to buy a new PC. Thanks!!

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