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."

Pricing between i7 and phenom II 3ghz

[CannonballHead]

Intel i7 (2.6GHZ I believe) ~ $288 on newegg.com, phenom II 3ghz ~ $219 (2.6GHZ version ~$170)

Re:Pricing between i7 and phenom II 3ghz

[CannonballHead]

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

Re:Pricing between i7 and phenom II 3ghz

[wjh31]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megahertz_myth [wikipedia.org]

Price diff is 4 more than just for the CPU, though

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Compare Same CPU's-AMD half the cost of Intel

[Anonymous Coward]

NewEgg REAL cost comparisons:
Intel Core i7 Unlocked Extreme Edition 3.2Ghz = $999.00
Intel Quad Core 940 i7 at 2.93Ghz = $559.00
AMD Phenom II 940 Deneb at 3Ghz = $219.00

The same comparable AMD chip is less than half the cost of the Intel chip. AMD is not as fast and they do not currently have anything close to the Extreme Edition i7 @ 3.2Ghz, but that chip cost nearly $1000 and not $200.

AMD get props for keep Intel competitively priced and my money for a great CPU's at a great price! I have a AMD Phenom II 9850 Unlocked 2.5Ghz for only $130.00 screaming at 3.2 Ghz solid, air cooled and can run 12-13K 3DMARK06 results with one 9600GT video card.

No affiliation to AMD, Intel or Newegg.
Nater - Geek and Custom PC Builder / Over-Clocker
[e-mail]

Re:retail vs build it yourself price..

[Zantetsuken]

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...

Re:Newegg

[Anonymous Coward]

* AMD Phenom II X4 940 (3.0 GHz)
Newegg: 219 + free shipping exact match

        * 4 GB DDR2-800 Memory (2 x 2 GB)
Newegg: 39 + free shipping G.Skill 5-5-5-15

        * AMD 790FX Based Custom Motherboard
Newegg: 100-200 depending on manufacturer

        * ATI Radeon 4850 Graphics, 512 MB
Newegg: 120-180 depending on manufacturer

        * Western Digital Velociraptor 150GB
Newegg: 160 (OEM) + free shipping exact match

        * 750W ATX Power Supply
Newegg: 60 - 110 depending on manufacturer

        * Custom Dell Chassis with AlienFX Lighting
Random guess (Didn't get enough details on what their case had and theres a huge choice) $100 + ~20 shipping

        * Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium x64
Newegg: 100 + free shipping for systems builders

~1038 considering 30 shipping and taking the middle on averages, note my own phenom 2 build hit closer to 800 using deals and not trying to match closely with DELL.

Re:Phenom II X4 940 Defect?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey EnderAndrew...
I've got 4x2GB = 8GB on my MSI K9A2 platinum v1 running in unganged mode (better multithreaded performance) without issue. It ran for the 9500 and the phenom ii 940 I just upgraded to.

You probably need to be using SINGLE SIDED modules to run them all at max speed. If you have DDR modules with little dram chips on both sides of the chip, those won't work (at full speed) on most boards. That's your issue, see if you can borrow 4 of those to confirm it.

As a VM user, I was miffed at the 9500's TLB issue - picked up 2 q6600s as a result, but the phenom ii is Absofrackinglutely amazing as a drop in upgrade to your AM2+ mobo.

I've been fighting with mine for over a month. The motherboard will see 4 sticks of DDR2 1066, but I can't much past POST before the computer locks up. I can't even run memtest. I sent back the mobo and the proc. I've swapped out the memory as well. I try a different brand of mobo, and still I can't run 4 sticks of memory.

Finally someone mentions on the AMD forums that there is a known defect with the processor affecting some customers where you can't run more than 2 sticks of DDR2 1066. I find a statement on Asus's website recommending you only run 2 sticks. Foxconn tells me they know about the defect, and so does Biostar.

I call AMD and ask if they're working on it, and if eventually I can get a warranty replacement that works. The AMD rep immediately cuts me off and insists that a memory problem can't be related to their processor. I point out the memory controller is in the proc, and they keep insisting I bought the wrong mobo. So I told them I used both a Foxconn and Biostar mobo. They insist I must have cheap off-brand memory. I bought Kingston, but I also tested Gskill.

They keep insisting that Kingston isn't on the authorized vendor list, and that no one supports Kingston memory. I'm about to laugh. AMD kept insisting up and down they know for a fact that memory problems just can not be related to them in any way shape or form. They're not winning me over with the argument that their product is infallible.

The proc runs amazingly fast for the price, but with customer support like that, I'm damned temped to send the proc back and build a more expensive Intel rig and never buy AMD again.