AMD Processor Question - wattage

[Jeff]

I currently have a gigabyte mb with an AM2 socket that I would like to use
to build a new machine. I don't do any gaming and only minimal video work,
so I don't need anything top-of-the-line, but I also don't want anything
exceptionally slow either.

Newegg has two AMD processors for the AM2 socket that I'm considering. the
dual core Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0 GHz in 125 watt and the Athlon X2 5200B
2.7 GHz in 65 watt.

Some of my primary concerns are heat output and noise. I don't want a loud
machine and don't want something that throws off excessive heat. The machine
will be used at home and often will double as a TV with an installed TV
tuner card.

Obviously, the processor itself won't make noise, but the hotter it gets,
the more the fan speed will need to be raised. I'm planning on getting a
5600 rpm sata drive to reduce noise and heat, a reasonably quiet Lian Li
case, and a reasonably quiet video card.

Does the wattage on a processor directly affect the amount of heat produced?
How much difference in performance, heat, and subsequent fan noise will I
find with these different processors? Should I consider a different
processor available from another source? Both are priced well at around $75.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Bob]

< snip >
Obviously, the processor itself won't make noise, but the hotter it gets,
the more the fan speed will need to be raised. I'm planning on getting a
5600 rpm sata drive to reduce noise and heat, a reasonably quiet Lian Li
case, and a reasonably quiet video card.

Does the wattage on a processor directly affect the amount of heat produced?
Yes.

How much difference in performance, heat, and subsequent fan noise will I
find with these different processors? Should I consider a different
processor available from another source? Both are priced well at around $75.

You might consider the 45 watt AMD Athlon X2 4850e CPU.
Also, you might have a look at the Akasa NERO The Cooling Emperor -
Universal CPU Cooler.

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com

 

[Fishface]

I currently have a gigabyte mb with an AM2 socket that I would
like to use to build a new machine. I don't do any gaming and
only minimal video work, so I don't need anything top-of-the-line,
but I also don't want anything exceptionally slow either.

Newegg has two AMD processors for the AM2 socket that I'm
considering. the dual core Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0 GHz in 125
watt and the Athlon X2 5200B 2.7 GHz in 65 watt.

Some of my primary concerns are heat output and noise.
...

Here's a chart here which lists all three CPUs mentioned in this
thread using an unfamiliar-to-me CPU benchmark:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

Clicking one creates a pretty chart with the particular CPU
highlighted. As you can see, they're all pretty far from the
top. The good news is, that is actually the "high end" chart!

 

[Jeff]

The 6000 will run hot.5200 is fast and cool,sounds just like what you
need.Also check your mb cpu support list
if you get the 6000.Many am2 boards will not support 125watt cpus.

**********

Okay, here is what I'm planning. Comments/suggestions welcome. ...need to
especially know if anyone sees any problems.

I'm looking for a reasonably fast machine primarly for business use at home
that will double as an HPTV type setup for watching and taping TV and DVD
occasionally. Along with standard business apps., I do occasional video
editing and some photo graphics, but no gaming. I also do a lot (daily) of
large date file transfers (up to a gig) from work to home machines and so I
assume that ECC ram might be worthwhile even if it is a bit more expensive.
I occasionally use some software that is very processor intensive, but not
all that often. When I do, the dual core is nice since the software will
take up 100% of one processor core for several minutes if not over an hour -
so the dual core allows me to continue to work on other things with the 2nd
core.

I need very low noise and low heat output. I'll likely be running Vista
ultimate.

Motherboard
Gigabyte socket AM2 - already own this - don't have the model number handy

Processor
AMD Athlon X2 5200B 2.7 Socket AM2 65Watt Dual Core Processor

Video
ASUS EN9600GT SILENT/2D/512MD3 GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI
Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video

Memory
CORSAIR 4GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ECC Fully Buffered Server
Memory

Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda LP ST31500541AS 1.5TB 5900 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard
Drive

Monitor
HP LP3065 30" 12ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor

Power
LIAN LI PS-S850GE 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready

PLEXTOR 22X DVD/CD Writer Black IDE Model PX-870A LightScribe Support
Rosewill RCR-FD400 74-in-1 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 Card Reader w/ Floppy Drive

 

[NT]

I currently have a gigabyte mb with an AM2 socket that I would like to use
to build a new machine. I don't do any gaming and only minimal video work,
so I don't need anything top-of-the-line, but I also don't want anything
exceptionally slow either.

Newegg has two AMD processors for the AM2 socket that I'm considering. the
dual core Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0 GHz in 125 watt  and the Athlon X2 5200B
2.7 GHz in 65 watt.

Some of my primary concerns are heat output and noise. I don't want a loud
machine and don't want something that throws off excessive heat. The machine
will be used at home and often will double as a TV with an installed TV
tuner card.

Obviously, the processor itself won't make noise, but the hotter it gets,
the more the fan speed will need to be raised. I'm planning on getting a
5600 rpm sata drive to reduce noise and heat, a reasonably quiet Lian Li
case, and a reasonably quiet video card.

Does the wattage on a processor directly affect the amount of heat produced?

the wattage _is_ the amount of heat produced.

I think a low speed hdd would be a mistake. Its a decently specced
system, give it a half decent hard drive. The noise from my 7200s is
trivial compared to cpu & case fans.


NT

 

[JR Weiss]

I currently have a gigabyte mb with an AM2 socket that I would like
to use to build a new machine. I don't do any gaming and only
minimal video work, so I don't need anything top-of-the-line, but I
also don't want anything exceptionally slow either.

Newegg has two AMD processors for the AM2 socket that I'm
considering. the dual core Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0 GHz in 125 watt
 and the Athlon X2 5200B 2.7 GHz in 65 watt.

Some of my primary concerns are heat output and noise. I don't want
a loud machine and don't want something that throws off excessive
heat. The machine will be used at home and often will double as a
TV with an installed TV tuner card.

Obviously, the processor itself won't make noise, but the hotter it
gets, the more the fan speed will need to be raised. I'm planning
on getting a 5600 rpm sata drive to reduce noise and heat, a
reasonably quiet Lian Li case, and a reasonably quiet video card.

Does the wattage on a processor directly affect the amount of heat
produced?

Either CPU will do what you want.

The lower-power CPU will save you electricity in the long run.
However, the rated wattage (TDP or Thermal Design Power) is the MAXIMUM
power the CPU will draw at full load. You will not likely be running
it at anywhere near full load most of the time, so the excess noise and
heat from the higher-power CPU will only be noticed intermittently when
you're doing your video rendering or other high-demand tasks.

 

[NT]

Either CPU will do what you want.

The lower-power CPU will save you electricity in the long run.
However, the rated wattage (TDP or Thermal Design Power) is the MAXIMUM
power the CPU will draw at full load.  You will not likely be running
it at anywhere near full load most of the time, so the excess noise and
heat from the higher-power CPU will only be noticed intermittently when
you're doing your video rendering or other high-demand tasks.

If cpu power use is proportional to speed (for any one given cpu) then
with undemanding use of a 3GHz 65w cpu versus a 40w 2GHz one, the
faster one would eat slightly less energy overall.

Someone else will doubtless expand on the question marks in this one.


NT

 

[JR Weiss]

If cpu power use is proportional to speed (for any one given cpu) then
with undemanding use of a 3GHz 65w cpu versus a 40w 2GHz one, the
faster one would eat slightly less energy overall.

It is not. If you look at CPU specs, TDP is consistent across a model
range that has different speed ratings.

If you look through one of Intel's thermal design guides, you'll see
that CPU temp varies almost linearly with power consumption from idle
to max load, with all other variables held constant. Fan speed (and
thus air flow and heat removal capacity, as well as noise) is adjusted
to maintain CPU temp below the max allowed.

 

[NT]

It is not.  If you look at CPU specs, TDP is consistent across a model
range that has different speed ratings.

When buying one doesn't usually consider only one model range.

If you look through one of Intel's thermal design guides, you'll see
that CPU temp varies almost linearly with power consumption from idle
to max load, with all other variables held constant.

yes, as one would expect. thats what my proposition counts on

 Fan speed (and
thus air flow and heat removal capacity, as well as noise) is adjusted
to maintain CPU temp below the max allowed.

NT

 

[JR Weiss]

When buying one doesn't usually consider only one model range.

However, the speed of a desktop CPU does not normally change during
use; it is always running at the same clock rate. So, regardless of
whether you run a 2.33 GHz Q8200 or a 3 GHz Q9650 (or any others in
that line), a fully loaded CPU will consume around 95 Watts. The
low-power S variants of that line will run around 65 Watts at their
rated clock speed.

Since a CPU with a faster clock in the same model line will do more
work per watt, you could conclude that a faster CPU will cost less in
energy consumption for on-demand use. However, in the comparison you
describe, you cannot make that generalization, since you may not be
able to directly compare the capabilities of dissimilar CPUs. FSB,
cache, and CPU architecture will all make a difference. For example,
the AMD 4450e/4850e/5050e series (65W) does not have an L3 cache, where
the 5600 (95W) does (all socket AM2, 65nm).

 

[NT]

NT wrote:


However, the speed of a desktop CPU does not normally change during
use; it is always running at the same clock rate.  So, regardless of
whether you run a 2.33 GHz Q8200 or a 3 GHz Q9650 (or any others in
that line), a fully loaded CPU will consume around 95 Watts.

CPUs consume less when not fully loaded because they're fed wait
states, and this has much the same effect on power consumption as
throttling the speed way back

 The
low-power S variants of that line will run around 65 Watts at their
rated clock speed.

Since a CPU with a faster clock in the same model line will do more
work per watt,

will it?

you could conclude that a faster CPU will cost less in
energy consumption for on-demand use.  However, in the comparison you
describe, you cannot make that generalization, since you may not be
able to directly compare the capabilities of dissimilar CPUs.  FSB,
cache, and CPU architecture will all make a difference.  For example,
the AMD 4450e/4850e/5050e series (65W) does not have an L3 cache, where
the 5600 (95W) does (all socket AM2, 65nm).

One can compare them with the usual benchmarks


NT