Test Setup And Benchmarks
Never let it be said that we don't take your feedback to heart! Although it means the power and performance numbers in this story won't be comparable to any of our past reviews, enough readers asked to see AMD processors tested on AMD platforms and with AMD graphics cards that we're abiding in this piece.
Also, because the dual-core CPUs are value-oriented in nature, we're using a Gigabyte motherboard based on AMD's 770 chipset, which sells for about $85 bucks online. In exchange, we're also testing with Intel's DG45ID motherboard, which sells for a bit more, but still amounts to what we consider a fair comparison. You should be able to find inexpensive P45 boards online as well, which would take memory running at up to 1,333 MT/s (thus giving the Intel solutions more bandwidth than what our DDR2-equipped G45 platform can deliver).
| Test Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Processors | AMD Athlon II X2 250 (Regor) 3.0 GHz, Socket AM3, 4 GT/s HyperTransport, Power-savings enabled |
| AMD Phenom II X2 550 (Callisto) 3.1 GHz, Socket AM3, 4 GT/s HyperTransport, 6 MB L3, Power-savings enabled | |
| AMD Phenom II X3 705e (Heka) 2.5 GHz, Socket AM3, 4 GT/s HyperTransport, 6 MB L3, Power-savings enabled | |
| AMD Phenom II X4 905e (Deneb) 2.5 GHz, Socket AM3, 4 GT/s HyperTransport, 6 MB L3, Power-savings enabled | |
| Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 (Yorkfield-4M) 2.66 GHz, LGA 775, 1,333 MT/s FSB, 4 MB L2, Power-savings enabled | |
| Intel Pentium E6300 (Wolfdale-2M) 2.8 GHz, LGA 775, 1,066 MT/s FSB, 2 MB L2, Power-savings enabled | |
| Motherboards | Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P (Socket AM3) 770/SB710 |
| Intel DG45ID (LGA 775) G45/ICH10R, BIOS 0101 | |
| ASRock M3A790GXH/128M (Socket AM3) 790GX/SB750, BIOS 1.10 | |
| Memory | Corsair 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1600 8-8-8-24 @ DDR3-1333 |
| Corsair 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR2-1066 5-5-5 @ DDR2-800 | |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300 GB 10,000 RPM SATA 3 Gb/s |
| Graphics | HIS Radeon HD 4890 1 GB |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master UCP 1100W |
| System Software And Drivers | |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Ultimate Edition x64, Service Pack 1 |
| DirectX | DirectX 10 |
| Platform Driver | Catalyst 9.5 |
| Intel INF Chipset Update Utility 9.1.0.1012 | |
| Graphics Driver | Catalyst 9.5 |
Benchmarks and Settings | |
|---|---|
3D Games | |
Stalker: Clear Sky | Quality settings set to high, 1920x1200/1680x1050, Benchmark tool, average of all four scenarios |
Far Cry 2 | Quality settings set to high, 1920x1200/1680x1050, latest Steam version, in-game benchmark (Ranch medium). |
Left 4 Dead | Quality settings set to max, 1920x1200/1680x1050, latest Steam version, timed demo. |
H.A.W.X. | High Quality Setting, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, DirectX 10, Ambient Occlusion: High, Patch 1.2 |
| Grand Theft Auto 4 | Quality settings set to high, Anisotropic filtering: "High," 1920x1200/1680x1050, Patch 1.3, Built-in benchmark. |
Audio Encoding | |
iTunes | Version: 8.1.0.52, Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min., Default format AAC |
Lame MP3 | Version: 3.98 (64-bit), Audio CD ""Terminator II" SE, 53 min, wave to MP3, 160 Kb/s |
Video Encoding | |
TMPEG 4.6 | Version: 4.5.1.254, Import File: "Terminator II" SE DVD (5 Minutes), Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
DivX 6.8.5 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality, Enhanced Multi-Threading, 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), Profile: Tom’s Hardware Settings for Qct-Core |
Applications | |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 (64-bit) | Version: 2009, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
WinRAR 3.90 Beta 1 | Version 3.90 Beta 1, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
WinZip 12 | Version 12, Compression=Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
Synthetic 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 | CPU Test=CPU Arithmetic/MultiMedia, Memory Test=Bandwidth Benchmark |
Didn't Intel already have an E6300 when they first released C2D?
Yes, they did!
SL9SA (B2)
SL9TA (L2)
They're running out of names for 'em! And Chris had the cheek to have a go at AMD for silly names! XD
They're running out of names for 'em! And Chris had the cheek to have a go at AMD for silly names! XD
Too many, perhaps.
I think these chips are bang on what AMD needed , a credible opponent to the intel c2 range .. and dual cores are still the most efficient use of power per watt .. I also noted at a retailer they have the x3 70es , a 2.5 ghz black edition that has a power requiremet of 65 watts
well i have the new pentium E6300 wolfdale @ 5.1 Ghz @ 1.436V on water.
It as easy as hell to overclock chip , runs smoooth and very cool.