AMD Phenom II X3 On Linux

[xianthax]

That is easy, total system cost. It is not always about which is the fastest, but best bang for the buck.

did you read my post?

core i7 920 clocked @ 3.6ghz doesn't cost anymore than one clocked at 2.66, outside of a better cpu cooler, which considering this is the same system used to benchmark the core i7 @ 3.6ghz a couple weeks ago, was likely already installed...

[grege]

did you read my post?

core i7 920 clocked @ 3.6ghz doesn't cost anymore than one clocked at 2.66, outside of a better cpu cooler, which considering this is the same system used to benchmark the core i7 @ 3.6ghz a couple weeks ago, was likely already installed...

But, an i7 920 is twice the cost of the X3 720 to start with. Then there is the cost of the motherboard, also roughly twice the price.

Nobody is arguing that an overclocked i7 (or even a standard i7) won't beat an X3 in every benchmark, that is not the point of the article.

The article is about AMD chips and Linux compatibility.

[Zhick]

Great article. Nice that there's a DDR2-3 upgrade path. I'm running an EE X2 with mtron ssd, and it's great and quiet, but new X3s are much faster now. I'll hold off for a while, 8G of DDR3 is bound to be expensive, but I guess I could get an older AM2+ board. Is it possible to run DDR2 in an AM3 mobo?

No. but you can run an AM3 Cpu in a AM2+ mainboard and with ddr2, if the mainboard vendor provides the necessary bios-update and the mainboard can handle the wattage. Which would essentialy be the same.

not an intel fanboy but lets at least admit that the memory subsystem of the i7 allows it to scale with overclocking much better than the AMD part can.

Let's face it: Memory-speed is not an bottleneck anymore. Great increases in memory-speed like ddr2 to ddr3 or ddr single-channel to dual-channel to triple channel with i7 usualy only lead to neglectable performance increasements (~1%) in most real-world benches.
Edit: Yeah, there's of course no arguing about an i7 being faster. But the better memory-performance doesn't play a big role in this.

[deanjo]

Great article. Nice that there's a DDR2-3 upgrade path. I'm running an EE X2 with mtron ssd, and it's great and quiet, but new X3s are much faster now. I'll hold off for a while, 8G of DDR3 is bound to be expensive, but I guess I could get an older AM2+ board. Is it possible to run DDR2 in an AM3 mobo?

What should perhaps be mentioned is the speedup due to elimination of IO bottleknecks. An IO bound system with fast cpu will often be slower than a system with fast IO and slow cpu. Increased memory and an SSD may make more sense than a proc upgrade, nice tho the procs are.

Every single benchmark out their has shown that DDR2 performs on par with DDR3 when it comes to the phenom processors and real life applications. In fact DDR3 can actually hurt the performance with it's increased latencies.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,6...iewed/Reviews/

[Apopas]

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16382

The new Phenom IIs are 45nm chips, way better than the Phenom Is. Lower idle power usage than an i7, slightly higher at max load. The argument about the Intel chips finishing video rendering quicker therefore being even more efficient is a load of crap unless your computer renders video all day long. Most people's computers idle most of the time only ramping up for short periods.

So the rule says that if you low the nm, you low and the power usage?

[grege]

So the rule says that if you low the nm, you low and the power usage?

As a general rule that is true, also lower heat output.

You can still get a 65nm part with lower power consumption than a 45nm part if it is built to be low power. Rules always have exceptions.

[Apopas]

As a general rule that is true, also lower heat output.

You can still get a 65nm part with lower power consumption than a 45nm part if it is built to be low power. Rules always have exceptions.

So the thing they say that Opteron uses lesser power than Phenom is true or an Opteron 45nm and a Phenom 45nm in the same clock speeds will use the same?

[grege]

So the thing they say that Opteron uses lesser power than Phenom is true or an Opteron 45nm and a Phenom 45nm in the same clock speeds will use the same?

Different chips, different purposes, way different costs.

Plus TDW ratings and actual power consumption vary. The new Opterons do have lower TDW at the same speed. Plus there are 40w Opteron parts as well, designed for massive server farms.

[Apopas]

Different chips, different purposes, way different costs.

Plus TDW ratings and actual power consumption vary. The new Opterons do have lower TDW at the same speed. Plus there are 40w Opteron parts as well, designed for massive server farms.

I'm asking coz I've seen guys running Opterons in their desktop systems...

[grege]

I'm asking coz I've seen guys running Opterons in their desktop systems...

Second hand sever boards? An Opteron is going to cost three or fours times the price.

There are new low power consumption Phenoms on the way. Intel have a low power Quad as well, but it is not always easy to find someone to sell you one.

Getting way off topic now.

cheers