AMD Launches Budget Processor Refresh 209
MojoKid writes "AMD has again launched a bevy of new processors targeted squarely at budget-conscious consumers. Though Intel may be leading the market handily in the high-performance arena, AMD still provides a competitive offering from a price/performance perspective for the mainstream. HotHardware has a performance quick-take of the new 3.2GHz Phenom II X2 555 and 2.9GHz Athlon II X4 635. For $100 or less, bang for the buck with AMD is still relatively high."
I agree... (Score:5, Informative)
I agree, I have a Phenom x2 and my whole system cost me a mere €300, - including sound, HDD and good enough video to have a 3d gnome desktop.
Re:watts of boom (Score:5, Informative)
i know we're not to rtfa, but you're off by ~100w
for both phenom ii processors in the review
which are 80w and 95w.
Re:It's been a while since I considered AMD (Score:5, Informative)
Would you please elaborate on the "poor performance". What are/were you doing? Gaming, video encoding, or what? I have a 64-bit X2 dual in a system I built for $300. The only reason I considered a 64-bit processor was so I could stick 4gb of RAM into it, so please further elaborate on how "they burned (you) with their 64 bit processors". What additional benefit were you expecting from 64-bit architecture? I've used this machine for some CPU-heavy statistical/programming work (Natural Language Processing), and it performed adequately. It even handles high-detail Civ4 games well, despite using only onboard video.
The Atom is FAR inferior in terms of performance, so to answer your question, no. The Atom is designed for mobile computing, so it sacrifices performance for power-saving gains. This is meant to compete with intels low priced desktop-orientated CPUs.
Re:It's been a while since I considered AMD (Score:4, Informative)
Actually I think with Intel you can get burned more easily. Phenom II X2 3.2GHz tells you really all you have to now. If you are buying higher numbers you get a better CPU.
On the other hand with a Core2 the case is not that clear. Is a Core2 Duo 3000 MHz better than a Core2 Duo 2833 MHz? Nope, the former one is an E6850, the latter an E8300. And even those numbers won't tell you much. Higher model numbers are often better, but not always. For example the Q6xxx models have Intel VT, the Q8xxx don't.
That is not a big problem for us enthusiasts who get and understand every information about that CPU. But to less tech savy people I will always suggest AMD. Even if Intels good chips are better than AMDs chances are they pick a bad one and would be better served with AMD.
Re:It's been a while since I considered AMD (Score:5, Informative)
What are you talking about? AMD64, also known as x86_64 or EMT64T was invented by AMD.
The performance is absolutely stellar.
AMD did this so well, Intel decided to try to copy them, and came up with Intel 64T.
As a whole, there is barely a noticeable performance difference between the two platforms.
Of course there are some low-performing 64-bit procs for budget users, just like there are slow Intel procs for budget users.
But overall, Intel 64-bit procs are no better than AMD 64-bit procs.
Also, when it comes to hardware virtualization and IOMMU, AMD has a very significant edge.
Don't blame AMD because you bought the wrong proc model for your system, or misconfig'ed it. Processor is definitely not the only thing that impacts performance. There are many other ways you can screw your system's performance in picking hardware components -- not all procs are ideal for all configurations.
Hell, i'm very often getting better performance with Linux and Windows (dual boot) out of my AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz than with my Intel Core2 Quad Core Q9400 2.66Ghz, and much better benchmarks for certain types of workloads.
Even though the Quad Core machine has 8gb of RAM, and my dual-core machine only has 4gb...
I blame it on the Linux and Windows kernels' poor support for multi-processing and seedy memory management.
Re:I'd just like to say FUCK YOU to the "troll" mo (Score:5, Informative)
1. Screaming and yelling at a poster for being a idiot because they do not agree with you,
2. Failing to recognize that the commenting system on
3. Not understanding that capitalization of words is to be done in accordance with proper rules of grammer, and not as a means to yelling louder over your percieved persecution.
Thank you, the AC who burned 3 mod points on one poster in one article. Posting as AC, obviously, to preserve my moderation.
Re:anyone recommend a good AMD mobo for a hackinto (Score:2, Informative)
Don't get me wrong, imho the AMD 785G motherboards with a nice Athlon X2/X4 are a great starter platform, just not a great hackintosh platform. I've built 4 780/785 based setups in the past year and a half, they run great for mom, grandma, my media center etc. What does seem like it *should* be promising would be an nvidia 9300 series board with a core2 quad. Note: if you're into heavy gaming at a higher resolution than say 1650x1024 or so, then you won't be happy with onboard graphics.
Re:Would the quad cores work in a small case? (Score:5, Informative)
As for the case... I don't have a suggestion for that at the moment.
(Best place to pickup the AMD CPU & MB is over at MWave since they'll bundle it, assemble the CPU and RAM onto the MB, and test it for you. So you're never left holding a bag full of incompatible parts.)
Re:Would the quad cores work in a small case? (Score:5, Informative)
Like you I need a Linux machine for work-related computing-intensive work, so I assembled one last fall. I use a decent quality MicroATX case with the Gigabyte MA785GPMT motherboard and the Phenom 2 X4 955. Add 8Gb of memory, a drive and you're set. I was going to add a separate graphics card at one point but so far I actually use the on-board graphics, with the 2d-only free drivers. I don't need speedy graphics for showing terminal output and static graphs after all.
The system came in cheap, it's really quiet and it's surprisingly speedy. True, it's barely half the speed of the 8-core Xeon machine I have at work - but at only an eighth of the cost.
My only advice is, don't go too cheap on the case. That's the single most important part for determining the noise level, and there's nothing so irritating as having a constant high-pitched whine from under your desk all day long.
Intel v AMD (Score:5, Informative)
I build new boxes every 6-8 months or so and rotate them into production boxes to make room for the next set. Until recently the Intel chipsets were ahead of the game vs the AMD chipsets with regards to things like E-SATA, AHCI, and PCI-e. AMD has caught up in the last 8 months, though. High-end Intel cpus tend to be a bit faster than high-end AMD cpus and you can also stuff more memory into small form-factor Intel boxes vs small form-factor AMD boxes.
On the flip-side, AMD boxes tend to be cheaper all-around and aren't quite so gimicky when it comes to managing cpu speed vs heat dissipation. Whole systems based on AMD seem to eat less power and from a cost standpoint when running systems 24x7. Power is getting to be quite important.
If you are trying to create the fastest, highest-performance box in the world Intel is probably your game (and for graphics you are going to be buying a 16x PCI-e card anyway with that sort of setup).
If you ratchet down your expectations just a bit, however, you can slap together a very good box with AMD at its core for half the price and 85% of the performance, and that is going to be plenty good enough for just about anything considering how overpowered machines have gotten in the last few years vs what people actually run on them.
Personally speaking I see no point purchasing the absolute bleeding edge when it is just going to become non-bleeding edge in 8-months when I can instead purchase two of something just slightly behind the bleeding edge at a much lower price.
These are just my observations.
-Matt
Re:Would the quad cores work in a small case? (Score:1, Informative)
Get a 785G based Micro ATX motherboard, I personally recommend the Gigabyte versions.
Pair that either with a Phenom II X4 620 or the refresh, 4Gb of DDR3 a 640Gb drive,
a 500-600w PSU and maybe a low profile Nvidia card (for the Linux Driver Support).
That methinks would be a sufficiently beefy linux box. Just be carefull if you buy a full
sized card. A good friend of mine paired the above combo with a GTX260, after I told him
to buy an HD5770 and he ended up blocking off half of his SATA ports. If you want to go
the full sized card route either get an ATX 790 series board, or you can find ATX 785g boards.
Also Apevia has a mid tower desktop that called like the XServer gaming case, I bought one
for 30$ for black friday. Its pretty sleek and the PSU is held underneath the drive cages, makes
one helluva case (and its pretty small). Otherwise I have heard good things about the Silverstone SUGO.
Good Review of the 555 (Score:2, Informative)
It's a pretty decent/entertaining review. He also speaks about over clocking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNcE3GND3sQ&feature=sub [youtube.com]
Re:watts of boom (Score:5, Informative)
Having worked on these processors at the circuit level(*) I can tell you that your '100W over TDP' number is rubbish.
If you'd like to know more about what happens when chip vendors fudge on this "invalid metric" search for "nvidia bumpgate". If our chips were running at 100W over spec'd TDP we'd have a lot of very unhappy customers.
* yes, I'm an engineer at AMD and I designed major components on the parts discussed ITFA. I did my time at Intel as well.
Re:Why do you feel I owe you an explanation? I don (Score:4, Informative)
Why? I don'thave to explain/justify anything, so why would I?
Well, you demanded the same thing from other people [slashdot.org], to cite your own words:
"I want youto support your assertions. YOU MADE THEM after all" [sic]
So it's entirely reasonable to ask you of the same thing.
Re:I'd just like to say FUCK YOU to the "troll" mo (Score:3, Informative)
Your posting history clearly identifies you as a troll, so you don't get the benefit of doubt anymore. If it looks trollish, and it comes from you, then it will be considered one.
Using ALL CAPS and calling people idiots doesn't help, either.