Four Architectures, Four Chipsets, Tons Of Variables, Continued
Core 2 Quad
Ah, the lineup Core i5 will purportedly be replacing. We went with Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q9550, running at 2.83 GHz (as close as we could get to a stock 2.8 GHz using the 1,333 MHz bus setting). Hopefully, this will make for one of the most apt comparisons to Core i5, since the price points should be similar and P45’s 16 lanes of PCIe 2.0 also result in a x8/x8 split when you install two graphics cards. What’ll be left is the performance delta attributable to Intel’s micro-architecture shift.
| Intel Core 2 Quad @ 2.83 GHz | |
|---|---|
| Socket Interface | LGA 775 |
| Chipset | Intel P45 |
| PCI Express Configuration | 1 x 16-lane, 2 x 8-lane |
| Core Configuration | Four physical cores, four threads (no HT) |
As mentioned, we’re going with P45 on this one. We could have chosen X48 and enjoyed two x16 links, but 16 lanes total is what Core i5 brings to the table, and that made for the most sensible comparison.
Phenom II
Remember that our performance look here is largely an exercise in theory. Because we’re using pre-production hardware, we’re not looking to recommend one platform over another at this point. You'll want to look at the Core i5/Core i7 review for that one (fortunately, also published today). With that said, we used an AMD Phenom II X4 920, running at 2.8 GHz to match the clocks of our other contenders.
The least-expensive chip in the bunch at $190, we’ll go into more on pricing and what it means to the overall value picture later in this story. For now, we’re most concerned with how these 2.8 GHz processors perform given different designs and PCI Express configurations.
| AMD Phenom II X4 @ 2.8 GHz | |
|---|---|
| Socket Interface | Socket AM2+ |
| Chipset | AMD 790GX |
| PCI Express Configuration | 1 x 16-lane, 2 x 8-lane |
| Core Configuration | Four physical cores, four threads |
As with the Core 2 Quad configuration above, we could have gone with AMD’s 790FX chipset here, yielding a pair of x16 links. But the more mainstream/sensible choice is 790X or 790GX, which takes a single x16 link and divides it up into two x8 links when you drop in a pair of similar Radeons.
Again, this gives us a good basis for comparison to P55 and P45, the other two platforms equipped with dual-x8 links.
Graphics
For the purposes of testing both single- and dual-card solutions, we’re using ATI’s Radeon HD 4870 X2—the fastest card you can buy able to run in CrossFire on all four of these motherboards (in comparison, SLI only works on the X58 and P55 boards).
We’ll test all four of the setups with one card, yielding performance numbers for 16 lanes of second-gen PCI Express 2.0, and then with two cards, ideally demonstrating bottlenecks in running these fast cards in x8 slots, processor bottlenecks, or maybe even solid scaling (spoiler alert: it’s a fairly safe bet that, at 2.8 GHz, we won’t see four RV770 GPUs realize their potential—we’ll have to wait for a faster Core i5 in order to ratchet up processor speed).
Well... the results from Crysis were very disappointing. It got outpreformed by an previous generation CPU, ah come on...
Nice review, interesting to see how the Phenom II is doing.
AMD doesn't have to improve, Intel is getting worse for them. ( in my opinion )
i keep seeing you reviewers bragging about core i7/i5 socket 1156 CPU's Turbo Mode giving it a major advantage or making it better than i7/X58 but how many people are actually going to run them at stock speeds? Once their overclocked Turbo Mode means nothing really, especially 1 and 2 core Turbo Mode. Also getting those 1 and 2 core multipliers is not easy, they dont always activate when games/apps are single/dual threaded because the other cores are still active and any background tasks or other executions will use the other free cores meaning that to consistently have the 1 and 2 core Turbo Mode multis you would actually have to disable the other 2 cores in the BIOS, which no one does even on the i7.
Did Intel throw all you guys a few sheckels to promote Lynnfield with this turbo Mode mantra?
^^ Oh for *GODS SAKE* would you effing fanboi muppets STFU? What is this 'thing' nowadays that when a group doesn't like news they just generate their own, join a group of likeminded muppets, make your delusion expand by shouting constantly at everyone then sit back condemning the purveyors of the truth as liars? I bet Obama's going to kill your grandparents with a deathpanel eh?
Let me answer your question with another question; what effing proportion of people overclock? One in twenty, if that? I'm certainly going to clock my 860 to 4.0-4.2, but what about everyone else, and how do overclocked Nehalem architectures compare to overclocked Phenom II's? they lose. Period. I've benched them myself you utter muppet. Right now AMD are using a moderate revision of the Athlon 64 architecture, if Bulldozer comes out swinging and wins, I'll be happy, until then, deal with it.
And stop mindlessly attacking journalists who don't conform to your fanboy view of the world. L2compute FFS.
whos the fanboy? sounds like the reviewer is and i am not sure what your problem is but i may seek counselling as your outrage and outburst over something thats pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things is a little alarming.
Why would Obama kill my grandparents?
and if you dont overclock your i7 your basically giving up a free easy OC boost, atleast on the i7/X58, i have read that socket 1156 CPU's have a little trouble overclocking on stock voltage due to the PCI-E contoller and its voltage being tied in to other parts of the CPU.
I really dont get the core i5 platform. The processors are way too expensive and its a mainsream platform. Well, i think it pretty much fails as the price tag is high end.
whos the fanboy? sounds like the reviewer is and i am not sure what your problem is but i may seek counselling as your outrage and outburst over something thats pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things is a little alarming.Why would Obama kill my grandparents?
You are the fanboy, not the reviewer. This is because the reviewer is telling it like it is, and you are being a complete idiot to try and discredit a perfectly sane point they made - all because you don't like the truth. That kind of thinking is destructive. Seek counselling for that and maybe your comments will have some value.
re Obama, L2readinternationalnews
Dont believe the hype, do, do, do, dont believe the hype.
This is the issue; it's not hype.
It's like Toyota bringing out a car with, oh, I dunno a battery that recharges when one brakes and your saying "uhhh don't believe the hype - the batter only works when you brake, what if you never brake???" The only conclusion I can come to is that you and your brethren are 'beyond extreme' AMD fanboys, or that this is some kind of pathetic attempt at 'buzz marketing' by AMD.
I'll leave it to everyone with two brain cells to rub together to work out which option is more likely and less pathetic.