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Dell's First XPS System With AMD Phenom II Tested
MojoKid writes "Dell's new XPS 625 is their latest AMD-based creation, and is the
first out of the Dell labs using the relatively new Phenom II processor. Initial reviews of AMD's new chip have been favorable, as this new quad-core processor is slated to deliver roughly the same performance as Intel's quad-core Core 2 processors at more tolerable price points. While it's pretty clear that the Phenom
II can't quite crack Core i7 levels of performance in most usage scenarios, the new Dell rig does show more than respectfully in a
myriad of benchmarks.
This was obviously a solid design win for AMD with their latest CPU."
Also, for those interested in quick specs between the two processors:
# Series: Phenom II X4 ($219) # Hyper Transports: 4000MHz
# L1 Cache: 4 x 128KB
# L2 Cache: 4 x 512KB
# L3 Cache: 4MB
# Manufacturing Tech: 45 nm
# 64 bit Support: Yes
# Voltage: 0.875-1.425V
# Series: Core i7 ($288)
# QPI: 4.8GT/s
# L2 Cache: 4 x 256KB
# L3 Cache: 8MB
# Manufacturing Tech: 45 nm
# 64 bit Support: Yes
# Hyper-Threading Support: Yes
# Virtualization Technology Support: Yes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megahertz_myth
Now add a motherboard and memory.
The cheapest LGA1366 motherboard I could find on NewEgg is $190.
The cheapest AM2+ motherboard I could find on NewEgg is $60
Also, the AM2+ can still use DDR2 ram, while the core i7 requires more expensive DDR3.
I don't have figures to hand but you also have to factor in the cost of i7 motherboards which are typically double the cost of their AMD couterparts. DDR3 isn't cheap either.
Whatever the case, it looks like AMD have taken back the price/performance crown they've always been known for.
For all intensive porpoises your a bunch of rediculous loosers
Actually if they would just price it around ~$900 give or take $100 I might consider it. I put together a very similar system on newegg for ~$960 including shipping, but that also included a beefier GPU, and a 1TB Raid-0 array, but no Blu-Ray, and a case that isn't quite as nice but provided better active cooling.
Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
Except I can tell you they won't use something like Asus for the motherboard, more like MSI or Gigabyte, which are also reputable, but cheaper in price, and though the Dell case probably is only worth the $100 or so, they still could put in a much nicer case for another 50 to 100 bucks, another 50 for a card with better cooling, the hard drive they used is $179...
Basically, they could save 50 bucks on the motherboard, put it towards a better version of the graphics card, which after accounting for the hdd, would only put them at maybe $1200. So they're making a pretty easy $300 bucks per system there...
How did this get marked as informative? The processors compared are not, well, comparable. The guy just matched the clock speed with no regard for actual performance. The 3Ghz AMD performs worse than a 2.6Ghz i7
it looks like AMD have taken back the price/performance crown they've always been known for.
For me and my friends, they were known for having the performance crown; the price crown was just thrown in for good measure. Retaking the performance crown would do wonders for their market share, but that doesn't look likely anywhere in the near future.
The "do not currently have anything close" disclaimer is, I am guessing, why Intel can afford to charge $1000 for the chip. And you're comparing the 2.93GHz i7 price to the 3GHz Phenom II, whereas the benchmarks clearly show that the 2.66GHz i7 is still faster (sometimes just a little, I know) than the 3GHz Phenom II, and even mostly faster than the overclocked 3.4GHz Phenom II. So, your pricing is skewed in AMD's favor, because it is comparing specs, not performance. the i7 is getting better performance out of a 2.66GHz clocked CPU than AMD is getting out of a 3.0GHz clocked CPU... but you should be comparing price of comparable CPUs, not clock-speed-is-similar CPUs...
It's not so much that that is expensive, it's just that a Gigabyte AMD770 board is $100, 4GB of DDR2 is $50... so couple that with $70 savings on the CPU, and you're looking at $688 for Intel and $370 for AMD. As always, you have to pay a major premium for the top 15-20% of performance.
Now, I do have to agree that that both of those options are cheap as far as the history goes. *Especially* the Phenom II option... $400 for that motherboard/cpu/ram option is really cheap, and an awesome upgrade if you need the power.
Never underestimate the bandwidth of a 747 filled with CD-ROMs.
There are very few benchmarks where the Phenom II beats an i7. Anandtech's benchmarks show this. Google for pretty much any Phenom II review and you'll see that. They're decent chips, and very competitive given their cost. The absolute highest performing however...
Now, landing thrusters.. landing thrusters, hmm. Now if I were a landing thruster, which one of these would I be?
I recently ordered a complete Dragon system (case, mobo, 512MB 4870, PSU, x4 940 black 3.0GHz , 4GB RAM, 750GB HD, DVD-RDL optical) on newegg for $781.92 (bundle discounts applied) + tax and shipping.(not including OS of course)
Total shipped came in under $900.
---k--
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