Phenom II X2 550 O/C Performance And Efficiency
| AMD Phenom II X2 Test Settings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Default Settings | Overclock Settings |
| CPU | AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1 GHz | 3.94 GHz (19.5x 202 MHz), 1.50V |
| RAM | DDR3-1333 CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.50V | DDR3-1616 CAS 6-6-5-18, 1.65V |
| Motherboard | MSI 790FX-GD70 Socket AM3, 790FX/SB750, BIOS 1.3 (04/27/2009) | |
| Graphics | Zotac GeForce GTX260² | |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital VelociRaptor WD30000HLFS | |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio | |
| Networking | Integrated Gigabit LAN | |
Software | ||
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 | |
| Graphics | GeForce 182.08 Desktop | |
A clock speed increase of 27% won’t surprise many experienced overclockers, but the Phenom II X2 550 started out at a fairly high 3.10 GHz. Its final clock rate of 3.94 GHz is fairly impressive for an AMD processor, even though the percent-gained is not. Does this increase translate directly into CPU performance?
CPU Arithmetic performance improved by 25%, while Multimedia extensions performance increased by 26%. The small difference between frequency improvement and performance improvement can likely be attributed to our use of a near-stock HT clock, as described on this guide’s previous page.
Our efforts to reduce memory timings using the processor’s highest memory ratio resulted in a tiny 8% gain in memory performance.
Average power consumption increased by 33%, mostly because of the increased CPU core voltage.
An average CPU performance increase of 26% at an average power increase of 33% yields an average efficiency decrease of around 5%. Overclockers looking for improved efficiency can instead choose a lower core voltage, as overclocking at stock voltage, though limited in performance gain, usually increases efficiency.
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Using top end motherboards isn't really budget overclocking, a cheap p43 board is sufficient for e5200 overclocking, additionally a q9400 is only 25% more than a q8200 and overclocks to 3.5Ghz with ease
..or allows, considering different models often come off the same wafer xD
Still, I doubt the AMD-basher's will let that one rest..
I like it. I like to see how far we can push this technology as well as how to keep the idle TDP as low as possible. I think the phenom II 955 suits me the best. AMD overdrive allows you to set both preformance settings as well as the idle settings. Something were i7 failt for me.
I would like to keep cool and quiet on at all times because i dont would want a high power bill and because my computer is on for a few days in a row. So my challenge would be how can i keep the voltage and clocks very low at idle but maintain a resonable desktop preformance. However for gaming i can use some extra headroom. i like to fine tune it well.
Why the hell did you choose an 8200? That makes no sense at all, its poor overclocking performance is widely documented.
Better would be to choose something else, then have a side note saying 'do not buy this part to OC'.
if you want a cheap stable intel overclockable intel quad core look for a Q6600 or if you really want a challenge look for a Q6700, both are very good OCers but are EOLed
Strange to think its Intel that got an unfair bashing this time around. Using top-end mobos in a budget OC session is a major no-no. Using a Q8200 instead of something closer to the X4-955BE's price tag, like the Q9300, is just plain stupid.
To be honest, switching to budget mobos wouldn't have affected the outcome that much; from what reviews I've heard the MSI 770-C45 is a perfectly decent AM3 budget OC board going for a pittance and there are a few MSI and Gigabyte P35/P43 mobos in the same price range on the Intel side of things.
I need to get out of my closet and start reading these forums way more.
Thanks for a very interesting thread
(Even if criticed by some)
e5200 oc at fsb 1066 (no voltage increasing)
What would be the lifespan of the processor.