AMD Phenom processors...

[PotGuy]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3153&p=10

Oh dear.

One of a number of reviews out there now.

Very bad news for us consumers, as Intel now have virtually no CPU competition. C2D outperforms the equivalent AMD processor by some margin, though in games they are pretty even.

It was competition that led to Intel scrapping their race to 4ghz, and instead ploughed money into developing a better product, from AMD. Now they have, AMD have no answer and Intel can do pretty much what they want. They are even equalling AMD prices.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

 

[Alf]

Im not terribly worried, if im not mistaken... wasnt it EXACTLY like this a few years back?

 

[muckshifter]

Im not terribly worried, if im not mistaken... wasnt it EXACTLY like this a few years back?

Yep.

 

[Abarbarian]

Did I read the info right ? You can use the new procesor in AM 2 boards so it would be a faitly cheap upgrade .

 

[muckshifter]

Did I read the info right ? You can use the new processor in AM 2 boards so it would be a fairly cheap upgrade .

Yes, you did. AMD are pretty good in that respect, unlike some other CPU manufacturers, at least it isn't an Intel p3 based "quad?" core.

Some of you wouldn't know new technology if it hit you in the face.

 

[floppybootstomp]

On a similar subject...

I have two single core AM2 CPU's at the moment, a 2Ghz 3200 and a 2.6Ghz 4000.

For £88.11 I could upgrade to a dual core 3.0Ghz Link

I know it will be old technology soon but it's very tempting.

Or if I wanted to go a little OTT Black Edition 3.2Ghz Dual Core for £117.37.

And I get free postage with Scan, very tempting......

 

[Abarbarian]

On a similar subject...

I have two single core AM2 CPU's at the moment, a 2Ghz 3200 and a 2.6Ghz 4000.

For £88.11 I could upgrade to a dual core 3.0Ghz Link

I know it will be old technology soon but it's very tempting.

Or if I wanted to go a little OTT Black Edition 3.2Ghz Dual Core for £117.37.

And I get free postage with Scan, very tempting......

If you check out the review tests then you could get a Black 5200 and it would overclock to almost the same as a Black 6400 and maybe more with the right cooling and cost half the price .
This is the cheapest one I could find £77.69 inc vat, but Overclockers are selling one at around £80 with a copy of Call of Jurez .

http://www.eurowide-pc.co.uk/athlon-5000-sktam2-2000mts-black-edition-p-29732.html



An they are both the low energy versions aswell . Thats pretty cool .

 

[PotGuy]

Im not terribly worried, if im not mistaken... wasnt it EXACTLY like this a few years back?

Yep.

And had the K8 not changed things we would all be running 5ghz, million watt cpus on the BTX standard.

Intel won't bother doing anything now for years.

Then again, I always support the underdog, so I'm slightly biased

 

[Alf]

Well if you support the underdogs.... what are you doing with a Nvidia and creative cards in your system

Even with a 0 - 13 season, im sticking with my amd team till the bitter end

 

[PotGuy]

Well if you support the underdogs.... what are you doing with a Nvidia and creative cards in your system

Even with a 0 - 13 season, im sticking with my amd team till the bitter end

Haha - I only support the underdog when it suits me.

Fair weather fan

So long as they give 90% of the performance its OK with me.

 

[Adywebb]

No 'fanboyism' for me - I'm a fair weather fan - whichever is best for me at the time I will buy, so if that is Intel, well so be it

 

[floppybootstomp]

No 'fanboyism' for me - I'm a fair weather fan - whichever is best for me at the time I will buy, so if that is Intel, well so be it

Snap

My Core Duo 6600 is the first Intel CPU I've ever owned, I was a dedicated AMD fella but you can't ignore something good when it comes along.

Twas the same with ATI but the last ATI card I had was a 9800, I just go with the flow.

 

[Abarbarian]

Looks like Intel is getting worried by the AMD launch . Buy Intel and change all your pc parts some of which have not even been produced .

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/19/intel_core_2_extreme_qx9770/page27.html

I only linked to the last page of the review but the whole article is worth a read for a good laugh .

 

[Abarbarian]

Slower, But Cheaper Than Intel's Smallest Quad-Core

The new compatibility concept can save the consumer a lot of money when buying a new CPU or motherboard. The Phenom processor as well as all of the remaining AM2 CPUs can be used on either the new AM2+ boards or the older AM2 platform.

Although AMD's rival Intel has been using the same socket 775 LGA for its CPUs, its constant chipset introductions have also made Intel upgrades a costly affair that went hand in hand with time consuming configuration . AMD wishes to keep its customers and also aims to win disgruntled Intel users over with its compatibility concept. Buyers won't be forced to buy a new motherboard for the 2009 generation of CPUs.

AMD positions its new products in the mid-range segment and is currently not planning to attack Intel's offerings in the high-end. Instead, AMD is offering the most affordable quad-core processor in the market today .

We succeeded in overclocking our engineering sample to 3.00 GHz with only air cooling. Thus it seems feasible that we may soon see Phenom processors running at these higher clock speeds in stores - possibly as an FX version. Indeed we hear that AMD is planning to introduce a Phenom Black Edition this year that will have an open multiplier - which should enable users to hit the 3+ GHz we saw during our tests. The Black Edition will be a 2.3 GHz or 2.4 GHz part. Also, a Phenom 9900 model will be introduced in Q1/2008 at 2.6 GHz, costing less than $350, with the 9700 we tested coming in below $300 (Euro prices are not yet available to us).

We were happy to see AMD present a working, functional and stable alternative to the many complicated and board-specific overclocking utilities . AMD's OverDrive allows the user to monitor the CPU and change its frequency as well as many other parameters such as voltages and bus speeds on-the-fly.

AMD seems to have done its homework when the company set the price for its Phenom processors. The Phenom 9600 is about 13.5% slower than Intel's Q6600 in our benchmarks. On the other hand, its price is also 13.6% lower than that of its direct competitor. Thus, the two products offer practically the same performance for your money.

The advantages of the Spider platform are that you won't need to buy a new board for future processors , that you can upgrade it to use up to four graphics cards and that the platform is future proof thanks to its support for PCIe 2.0.

Looking into the future with the Spider platform, AMD seems to be the less expensive than Intel, since the chip giant has already announced that its current high-end platform X38 will be incompatible to the next generation of high-end CPUs at the beginning of next year. In the end, if you're looking to make the most of a long-term investment, AMD is without a doubt the better platform choice.

The above was taken from,


http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/19/the_spider_weaves_its_web/index.html

I think AMD's philosophy and forward thinking rocks , not that I'm a fan or anything .

 

[mike047]

I have riden the AMD wagon for some time. My recent/current builds will be the Intel quads. I am also a fairweather buyer

Of my 40+ boxes[maybe 50+, can't remember] all but 2 are AMD. My issue with their product line is that i am left holding the proverbial bag witht the 939 platform. I have 30 +/- boxes with 939's which are at a deadend....all but 2 are dual core. I have a trunk full of 939 Opteron single cores that I can't buy good NEW boards for not that they will be feasible to use as crunchers in the future as the technology passes me by.

I think AMD would have been wise to provide an avenue for the 939 user to follow, instead of, as in my case to switch to the Intel quads....which will be all of my future build.

INTEL is my future...

 

[Adywebb]

Looks like Intel is getting worried by the AMD launch . Buy Intel and change all your pc parts some of which have not even been produced .

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/19/intel_core_2_extreme_qx9770/page27.html

I only linked to the last page of the review but the whole article is worth a read for a good laugh .

I agree - the need to keep changing hardware for each new CPU launched is Intel's achilles heel

 

[Abarbarian]

I have riden the AMD wagon for some time. My recent/current builds will be the Intel quads. I am also a fairweather buyer

Of my 40+ boxes[maybe 50+, can't remember] all but 2 are AMD. My issue with their product line is that i am left holding the proverbial bag witht the 939 platform. I have 30 +/- boxes with 939's which are at a deadend....all but 2 are dual core. I have a trunk full of 939 Opteron single cores that I can't buy good NEW boards for not that they will be feasible to use as crunchers in the future as the technology passes me by.

I think AMD would have been wise to provide an avenue for the 939 user to follow, instead of, as in my case to switch to the Intel quads....which will be all of my future build.

INTEL is my future...

You can still get these and they are pretty cheap , I know you are in the states but you should be able to get some boards over there .

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/123866/show_product_specifications

You could always e-bay the opterons .

 

[PotGuy]

Just done a little bit of reading and found something very interesting.

The Phenom chip design gets pretty comprehensively beaten, though it is cheaper, in the average gamer/desktop market, however in more complex appplications, it absolutely rips C2D apart.

In workstations involving complex CAD, automotive design or whatever, Intel begins to falter, whereas when you come to say, nuclear weapon simulations, on a 90 day simulation AMD beats Intel by 14-21 days!

And from what I have read, places like DARPA buy many, many more high end chips than the general public.

Just a titbit.

 

[Abarbarian]

Just done a little bit of reading and found something very interesting.

The Phenom chip design gets pretty comprehensively beaten, though it is cheaper, in the average gamer/desktop market, however in more complex appplications, it absolutely rips C2D apart.

In workstations involving complex CAD, automotive design or whatever, Intel begins to falter, whereas when you come to say, nuclear weapon simulations, on a 90 day simulation AMD beats Intel by 14-21 days!

And from what I have read, places like DARPA buy many, many more high end chips than the general public.

Just a titbit.

So they will come in useful if I decide to take over the world then .