AMD Phenom II benchmarks out!! Goodbye Q94xx

[desiibond]

AMD finally has a processor that can beat Intel Quad cores that are at a higher price point.

But the sad truth. Phenom II is nowhere near to core i7.

Phenom II 940 can do is compete with Core2Duo E8600 and Q9400 and Q9450.

I am looking at Extremetech and in real time tests:

1) Video Transcoding, photoshop and after effects, lags seriously behind i7 920, core2quad q9xxx series, E8600. this phenom II is running at 3GHz and is a quad core processor. In some tests, even Q6600 is able to beat Phenom II
2) PC Games:
Crysis: At near bottom of the table. better than Q6600 and Q9450
Company of Heroes: Here, it looks much better. beats q6600, e8600, q9400.
Supreme commander: no difference between any of the processors
World in conflict: beaten by every processor except q6600
enemy territory:quake wars: beats q6600 and q9450.
URT3: same as above
FarCry2: at the bottom. beaten by every other processor

Here, point to note is that Phenom II 940, running at 3GHz has AMD wholesale price of 250$. This means that it is set to compete against Q9450 and Q9400. This, it is able to achieve to perfection. With little bit of overclocking, it can easily beat Q9450 and am sure that cost to build rig around phenom II 940 will be less than that of Q9450 or 9400
Retail Price of Q9400: around $270
Retail price of Q9450: around $350
Retail price of Phenom II 940: expecting to be around $275

Overclocking:

Phenom II 940 can be easily overclocked to 3.5GHz and at this speed, it is competing with Core2Quad Q9550 and QX9770. And as far as i know, Q9550 costs 1.7x times phenom II940.

My conclusion:

Dual core: E8600
Quad core: Phenom II 940
Killer peformance: Core i7 920 or higher

Those who are thinking of buying a rig now, just wait. Intel will definitely do a heavy price cut. Their quad cores (except i7) will not stand any chance against Phenom II if they are kept at current price points..

AMD Dragon platform, comprising Phenom II, 790G chipset and HD48xx cards now is a serious threat to core2duo based platform from Intel. If you want to get a new rig that doesn't cost a bomb, this is the one to consider now. You get a processor for, say 12k and mobo for 5k and are ready for gaming. A similar performance system from intel will definitely cost much more.

Benchmark links:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2338338,00.asp
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...-940,2114.html
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/sho...spx?i=3492&p=1

[GauravCJ]

Very impressive! I mean seriously, WOW!

[amitash]

This brings nice competetion to intel...let the price cuts begin...but i fear the phenom 2 will be killed by the core i5 in a few months time IF its priced the same.

Ah..lookie what i found:

Ok, I lied, Intel Spoils the Party. Rumored Intel Price Cuts

At the end of last year Intel made some minor price cuts across its product lineup. There was no reason to do anything more serious as AMD hadn't even begun to threaten anything above the Core 2 Quad Q6600.
I've heard, through reliable but very quiet channels, that before the end of January Intel will aggressively cut prices on its entire quad-core lineup. Given how Intel historically cuts prices, we could expect the Core 2 Quad Q9550 would take the place of the Q9400 and have the Q9400 move down to the price point of the Q8300, thus creating a price war; and you thought 2008 was the last of that.
If Intel were to push its prices down like that, the Q9550 would compete with the Phenom II X4 940, and the Core 2 Quad Q9400 would go up against the Phenom II X4 920 instead. If this happens, the conclusion I mentioned on the first page changes. The Phenom II X4 940 can't beat the Q9550, and the 920 can't beat the Q9400. Intel has the ability to do this; it's got faster chips that are more expensive and has just enjoyed 2+ years of unchallenged competition. The Intel from the Pentium 4 days may have let AMD launch Phenom II unchecked, but today's Intel is much more...dynamic.
The take away is that today Phenom II competes with the Q9400 and the Q8300, but by the end of this month that may change to the Q9550 and Q9400.

If that happens...could it be the same old thing for AMD?

[Ecko]

Better The Competition Better We Are ....!!!

[spidy333]

Arghh.. I hate this price cuts... Now I have to keep waiting for my new build..

[amitash]

If you wait you can keep waiting forever...First phenom 2 then price cuts..next they will announce core i5 and you will wait for that...meanwhile AM3 will be out...Just wait for price cut and go for it.

[desiibond]

Originally Posted by amitash

This brings nice competetion to intel...let the price cuts begin...but i fear the phenom 2 will be killed by the core i5 in a few months time IF its priced the same.

Ah..lookie what i found:


If that happens...could it be the same old thing for AMD?

Remember, AMD hasn't fully moved to the new platform. They still have AM3&ddr3 setup to bring out. Then comes the Fusion.

I still remember saying that the big thing for AMD is Fusion. They had to get the graphics, chipset and the cpu right. They got the GPU and chipsets to perfection. They are on good track now for CPU too, finally challenging the intel counterparts.

One more change and they will be ready to go for the kill. The way they did with Athlon XP, Athlon X2.

On the other side of the coin, Intel has become too powerful to be kicked down. After changing their business and design strategy, they seem to be ready for anything.

Time will only tell. Let's wait and see. And, for me, am going to upgrade in March and it will be core i7 or phenom II.

The biggest problem for AMD has been funds. They got the problem 50% solved after the booming sales of HD4850 series and by selling off few things.

Now, that they have a competitor at hand (in CPU), say atleast for a year, they can finally think of putting heavy amounts into R&D. I would say that you will see the real AMD (that we saw so long) from the year 2011 or 2012. CPGPU market will be in AMD's pocket, thanks to the asset they have named ATI.

PS: am not dreaming!!!

[amitash]

^I am somewhat skepticle about fusion taking on the high end market...Its just me...I dont have a good feeling about fusion.

[desiibond]

^^ yes. it's not just about high end market. market share increases when a company campures that mid range market. Right??

If AMD get's Fusion right and they make it in a way that you get processor mobo inside 12k, and it beats Intel counterpart that costs 15k, definitely their market share will increase.

as of now, what AMD has to do is to find the right competitor to Intel's E8xxx series core2duo processor, a cpu that costs around 6k (say in India). This will increase their bank balance like anything. You already saw what ATI did to nVidia by pricing HD4850 at 11k (in the beginning) and then dropping the price to 9.5k (through manufacturers).

Before HD48xx, ATI was having a really rough time, losing market share, heat issues, unable to compete with nvidia 8xxx series cards. They reduced the gap little bit with 3xxx series and then with 4xxx they totally got it right.

Before, I felt that AMD is kind of sinking and I never thought that phenom II will compete with quad core Intel processors. And yes, Intel will answer by doing price cuts and with core i5. Now, Core i5 can't be as fast as core i7. That means AMD will have a better chance to target the mid range market if they get the phenom II into the right place. With a powerful 780G chipset in their hands, they can easily become the no.1 choice in budget gaming and in mid range market.

In the high end and extreme gaming market, Intel has already established as a force that can't be dethroned anytime soon.

[IronManForever]

^ I expected Phenom II to be more revolutionary. The thing is, AMD isnt able to do what Intel did to Netburst by introducing Core.

[desiibond]

Intel took one big leap and AMD is taking small strides. What Intel did with core microarchitecture is second to none. They pulled it out of thin air!!!

[4T7]

Best review imo

[amitash]

wont intel larrabee compete with fusion though.

[desiibond]

Larrabee is set to compete with nvidia and ati gpu's right. it's not like Fusion CPU.

[amitash]

Best review imo

This review imo does not show real world performance benchmarks...they have older games which dont really benefit from multithreading like farcry2...surprisingly crysis warhead on core i7 gives much better performance than phenom2 on anandtech but its the other way around on this review....Anandtech appears to have the best review there.

[LoRdKsHiTiJ]

sorry to say but phenom II is still not as good as it states itself in comparison with intel counterparts.

as for am3 & fusion etc etc. i dont think intel will just be sitting quiet doing nothing. plus the fact that intel have come to support nvidia gpus better even more & more.

im not any company's diehard fan or anything. im just a simple consumer like everyone else. whichever company has better technology i buy from them accordingly. But sadly as to how rumours are that phenom II are better than intel quad cores, its not actually true. intel quad cores are still much more capable than phenom II series.

[desiibond]

^^ What makes you feel that phenom II is not as good as it looks.

Do you mean that when you compare it to core i7? or is there any specific reason. Please please explain in detail the reason why.

[LoRdKsHiTiJ]

Originally Posted by desiibond

^^ What makes you feel that phenom II is not as good as it looks.

Do you mean that when you compare it to core i7? or is there any specific reason. Please please explain in detail the reason why.

im not comparing phenom II with core i7. the difference is just too high to even consider comparing phenom II with core i7.

im talking of a stock speed phenom II with a stock speed of intel quad cores. the performance that you expect to have with a phenom II can also be obtained with an intel build too. sure the machine will have to be twisted expertly for the same but then the question arises, IF this is possible, why the heck should you spend for a phenom II at all? specially for those who live in india.

the difference ain't that impressive w.r.t graphics, multimedia, multi-threaded apps, multi-core usage, games such as crysis, far cry series, fallout series, call of duty 4 & 5, quake 4 engines & so on. the FPS difference is hardly that big.

but then again, all of us are entitled to our own opinions. if you have the booze, please go ahed with your dream to owning a phenom II whereas i think majority will hold on to their current rigs & if situation permits, will go for core i7 in the future instead of phenom II

bottomline: intel overall has leaped too far ahead for AMD to beat them in the race.

[desiibond]

^^see, first of all. Phenom II 940 directly competes with Q9450 and Q9400 at stock speeds and this what it is expected to do. compete with those midrange quadcore processors from Intel.

And the dragon platform looks promising. Phenom II + 7xx chipset + HD48xx GPU looks to be a good platform for gaming and multimedia.

[amitash]

^I agree....and once price cuts come in then i would prefer the intel Q9550 to the x4 940....simply as it performs better and will be cheaper....As far as i see the only people who will benefit from phenom 2 AT THE MOMENT are people with am2+ boards already...Keep in mind though that AM3 boards are comin next month and if AMD can outperform Intel Q9550+P45+DDR3 with a cheaper x4 940+am3+DDR3...THEN i regeard it as a return to competetion...just not yet.

[LoRdKsHiTiJ]

Originally Posted by desiibond

^^see, first of all. Phenom II 940 directly competes with Q9450 and Q9400 at stock speeds and this what it is expected to do. compete with those midrange quadcore processors from Intel.

And the dragon platform looks promising. Phenom II + 7xx chipset + HD48xx GPU looks to be a good platform for gaming and multimedia.

i only use my intel rig for surfing & playing occasionally. im not a gamer or anything.

i just dont understand amd's intentions/motives behind releasing something thats still miles behind intel in the processor race. whats the point competing with intel's midrange products at this point?

and the performance of HD48xx (in crossfire mode) is still arguable compared to nvidia's monster gtx 280 (single mode or 2-way, 3-way SLI mode)

IF price is the only issue behind abandoning intel build overall then its not enough an argument FOR ME atleast. i for one will still stick to intel all the way till i have enough funds to own core i7 and the rest of the parts accordingly.

[IronManForever]

whats the point competing with intel's midrange products at this point?

Thats where the market lies dear. Mid-range is what any company should look for if on a way to capture the market. Just see that they did with HD 4xxx series? They now have enough time and money to R&D for a while.

And you said why AMD is releasing something thats miles behind intel? What do you think designing a new architecture is? making pot-pouri?

[desiibond]

Originally Posted by amitash

^I agree....and once price cuts come in then i would prefer the intel Q9550 to the x4 940....simply as it performs better and will be cheaper....As far as i see the only people who will benefit from phenom 2 AT THE MOMENT are people with am2+ boards already...Keep in mind though that AM3 boards are comin next month and if AMD can outperform Intel Q9550+P45+DDR3 with a cheaper x4 940+am3+DDR3...THEN i regeard it as a return to competetion...just not yet.

True. The real competition lies a month away. I do hope that AMD beats Q94xx and Q95xx in performance/price and performance/watt. Not that I like AMD, but that will spice up the competition and make quad cores more and more affordable.

Originally Posted by LoRdKsHiTiJ

i only use my intel rig for surfing & playing occasionally. im not a gamer or anything.

Okay. Fine. In this case, you need not worry about any of this. Max that you need is Pentium Dual core with a decent motherboard and 8400GS. End of story!!!

Originally Posted by LoRdKsHiTiJ

i just dont understand amd's intentions/motives behind releasing something thats still miles behind intel in the processor race. whats the point competing with intel's midrange products at this point?

hmm. you need to take marketing classes
most of the processors sold are in mid or lower price range. That's where the market is. You excel there and you get the lion's share of the market.

Originally Posted by LoRdKsHiTiJ

and the performance of HD48xx (in crossfire mode) is still arguable compared to nvidia's monster gtx 280 (single mode or 2-way, 3-way SLI mode)

at what price?? If I am right, you are the first person on earth that says HD4870 crossfire setup can't beat gtx280. funny. Also, ever came to know about a GPU named HD4870X2???

Remember how much nvidia is struggling now to get back into the competition. defective chips, company stock value crash, xfx opting not to be exclusive partner..... Please read the news!!!

Originally Posted by LoRdKsHiTiJ

IF price is the only issue behind abandoning intel build overall then its not enough an argument FOR ME atleast. i for one will still stick to intel all the way till i have enough funds to own core i7 and the rest of the parts accordingly.

Seriously, for surfiung and occasional gaming, you don't need core i7 at all!!!

PRICE is the biggest entity in the sales market. This is what drives a product. People want to have a product that does what they want to do at a good price and they pick the brand that provides the same at best price. Don't forget that similar pricing has made nvidia run for cover!!!

[amitash]

And the dragon platform looks promising. Phenom II + 7xx chipset + HD48xx GPU looks to be a good platform for gaming and multimedia.

IMHO the "dragon" platform is just a fancy name given to a combo of hardware just to promote sales as amd owns all three things there....Maybe Intel can just name corei7 + x58 + nvidia gtx as "dragon killer at twice the price" platform or something.

[desiibond]

^^ hehe.

one name to refer to cpu+mobo+GPU

[amitash]

I think AMD feels that people will go "OMG!! its called Dragon!!!" and when ppl see intels long names they will go like "Its core2quad qx9xxx + intel x48 express chipset + err...Nah sounds fishy, ill buy the dragon."

[desiibond]

^^nah. come on. earlier combination was called Spider.

Next one could be vampire

anyways, whatever the name is, when you go to SP Road (bangalore) and say I want a set of Dragon. First thing you will hear is the f word

It's just for reference. Nothing more than that. I think nobody but tech followers will ever get to know that there were architectures called nehalem, deneb, dragon etc.

PS: Dont' worry. It will take atleast another year for the dragon to blow your rig

[4T7]

Originally Posted by amitash

This review imo does not show real world performance benchmarks...they have older games which dont really benefit from multithreading like farcry2...surprisingly crysis warhead on core i7 gives much better performance than phenom2 on anandtech but its the other way around on this review....Anandtech appears to have the best review there.

For an AMD fanboy it's the best

[amitash]

^lol thats true...

PS: Dont' worry. It will take atleast another year for the dragon to blow your rig

I never expected phenom 2 to come close to my rig...thats why i bought it owthout waiting for for phenom2.....In another year ill have westmere.

[damngoodman999]

Phenom 2 940 is meant for compete with the Q94XX series only

As desibond is correct ,, only it is compared with the core2 duos & core2 quads


corei7 is different !!!