45nm Phenom II Matches Core 2 Quad, Trails Core i7

An anonymous reader writes "AMD recently debuted its 45nm Phenom II processors, and The Tech Report has already run them through a complete suite of benchmarks to see how they perform compared to Intel's latest and greatest. The new 2.8GHz and 3GHz Phenom IIs are in a dead heat with like-priced Core 2 Quads, but they generally fall well behind Intel's new Core i7 chips. TR concludes that AMD's future doesn't look as bleak as some say, and future Phenom IIs could compete favorably with more affordable Core i7 derivatives."

Comments

The problem with Core i7

[oldspewey]

is that the CPU price is only one component of a significantly higher overall platform cost. Both memory and mainboard cost significantly more if you want to build an i7 rig.

Re:The problem with Core i7

[electrosoccertux]

To be more specific, the motherboards are $200+ on the low end of the spectrum whereas there are a wealth of Phenom II supporting motherboards for $100; and 4GB of DDR3 is only now approaching $100. 4GB of DDR2, OTOH, (which works with the AMD Phenom II), can be had for $20 if you look for it. If you're too lazy to look for these deals, it can be had for $40 no rebates.

AMD has a real winner on their hands here.

Re:The problem with Core i7

[oldspewey]

I don't know about most people, but when I budget for a new build I budget the entire thing as a single purchase. So if the CPU+mobo+RAM cost $200 less I will put that money into faster graphics or more memory or a nicer display or whatever.

I suspect it's a small, small group who buy the best that's available on the market with no concern for an overall budget.

Re:The problem with Core i7

[rezalas]

You are missing a few parts there bud. Like video card, hard drive, DVDRW, Sound card (onboard sound blows). The difference is with a Phenom II, you get all that included in the price you listed as well as the other parts. Look at adding about $300 to your total that wouldn't be added with AMD.

Re:The problem with Core i7

[evilbessie]

I seriously doubt you are old enough to have had a mobo with truly awful sound (or even the bad old days of no sound at all). For most people having shitty little 10w speakers plugged in you are not going to notice the difference, hell even with better speakers you would be hard pressed. You only need a sound card if you need some more features/channels/etc. The modern mobos have perfectly serviceable sound for most applications.

Good... but...

[CajunArson]

The main problem is that AMD is doing the exact same thing Intel did when the P4 was out: they went to a smaller litho process, slapped on cache, and cranked up the clockspeed. If you read the review carefully you'll note that while the new Phenoms are faster than some Core 2 quads, they are not faster on a clock-for-clock basis. Remember back when AMD was leading in that category and it was such a big deal?
    As of right now the Phenoms are a good deal IF you already own an AM2+ mobo... otherwise they are not a good deal for 2 reasons: 1. AMD is coming out with the incompatible AM3 socket that will use DDR3 memory in the next few months, so these current chips will have a very short shelf life; 2. Intel doesn't have to do any innovation at all to beat these chips, all it has to do is drop the prices on current Core 2 quads like the 9550 that outperform the Phenoms but are currently priced higher... dropping prices ain't rocket science and there are rumors these cuts could be coming by the end of the month.
      As for the Core i7, sure it is more expensive, but even the 920 model appears to wail on these chips, and there is a whole lot more future-proofness in buying a low-end i7 right now. Interestingly, the review mentions the new Phenoms have 758 million transistors which means they have about 27 million more transistors than Nehalem... but Nehalem at 2.66 Ghz is easily beating a Phenom at 3.0Ghz. It looks like what AMD really needs is a new architecture, but that does not appear to be coming any time soon.

Re:Good... but...

[LWATCDR]

The Core I7 isn't all that future proof. Intel is going to bring out the consumer version of the I7 with guess what... A new Socket!
I think that the AM2+ socket will have a good life span. The AM2 sure did.
The thing really is though is that the Core2 and the X2 really are still "good enough". Most people really are not dieing for a faster PC.
The Atom is the right now the most interesting CPU around. I think AMD should produce a two core version of the PhenomII or a 45nm X2 cpu.
A very low power use AMD cpu combined with the 780G would be a great product right now.
The only reason that any QuadCore interests me right now is that I am addicted to FSX.

Re:Good... but...

[Anonymous Coward]

AM3 is pin compatible with AM2+/AM2, it just adds faster HT and DDR3 support. My understanding is that Mobo suppliers can even choose to use the AM3 socket with DDR2, getting the (probably insignificant) benefit of faster HT but using cheaper RAM. The fact that the AM3 Phenoms have both DDR2 and DDR3 memory controlers means they van be used in AM2+ boards as long as there is a BIOS update. Could be used in AM2 boards as well from a hardware standpoint, but unfortunately (for me at least) there probably won't be any updated BIOSs for those boards.

Re:Did you ever notice

[somersault]

So you didn't notice how you can't spell "Islamo-Communist mental case" without I n t e l then?