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AMD Phenom 9600
The battle between AMD and Intel have once
again come head to head with both companies launching a plethora of
different CPU's in order to dominate the market. A few years ago, the
Dual Core CPU was the preferred CPU, however now both companies have
upped the ante with their Quad Core CPU's and AMD have released the
Phenom 9600 2.3Ghz Quad Core processor that may revolutionize the future
of PCs and how software is designed. Or will it?
AMD Phenom™ 9000
Series Quad-Core Processor Product Brief
INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE
The ultimate megatasking experience. Featuring true multi-core design
and award-winning AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture, AMD
Phenom™ 9000 Series processors deliver the ultimate megatasking
experience by providing direct and rapid information flow between
processor cores, main memory, and graphics and video accelerators. AMD
Phenom™ 9000 Series processors have the technology to break through the
most challenging processing loads. AMD Phenom™ 9000 Series processors
feature low latency access to main memory for amazingly rapid response
and phenomenal system performance. AMD Phenom™ 9000 Series processors
were designed for megatasking—running multiple, multi-threaded
applications. Surge through the most demanding processing loads,
including advanced multitasking, critical business productivity,
advanced visual design and modeling, serious gaming, and visually
stunning digital media and entertainment.
Phenomenal performance with advanced processor design. The AMD Phenom™
9000 series processors are the most advanced processors for true
multitasking with true quad-core design. Don’t get bogged down by
non-native quad-core processors and obsolete front side bus
architectures. With an integrated memory controller and shared L3 cache,
AMD Phenom™ 9000 Series processors have low-latency access to main
memory for amazingly rapid system response and phenomenal system
performance.
Blast through performance bottlenecks. All AMD Phenom™ 9000 series
processors feature AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture to blast
through performance bottlenecks. Award winning HyperTransport™ 3.0
technology just got faster, providing support for full 1080p
high-definition video and extreme total system bandwidth.
Shatter the memory barrier. Superior AMD64 architecture offers direct
access to DDR2 memory. Enjoy virtually unlimited memory options with
AMD64 technology and 64-bit Windows Vista.® Shatter the memory barrier
with AMD Phenom™ 9000 series processors and 64-bit Windows Vista.®
INTENSELY VISUAL
Experience Windows Vista.® Harness the power of Windows Vista® with the
AMD Phenom™ 9000 Series quad-core processor. The AMD Phenom™ 9000 Series
quad-core processor divides and conquers the most complex tasks with
true multi-core design. Enjoy the ultimate megatasking experience on
Windows Vista.® Enjoy virtually unlimited memory options with AMD64
technology and 64-bit Windows Vista.® Shatter the memory barrier with
AMD Phenom™ 9000 Series quad-core processors and Windows Vista.®
STRIKINGLY EFFICIENT
Strikingly efficient Cool‘n’Quiet™ 2.0 technology.With the next
generation of award-winning Cool‘n’Quiet™ technology, Cool‘n’Quiet™ 2.0
technology reduces heat and noise so you can experience amazing
performance without distraction. Combined with core enhancements that
can improve overall power savings, the AMD Phenom™ 9000 Series quad-core
processor delivers seamless multitasking and optimum energy efficiency.
Work, play, talk, and share a PC that’s seen, not heard.
The "Phenom" name is the catchy new
word for AMD's latest processor that sounds like venom or may come from
the world phenomenal which offers amazing performance in both
application, design and gaming. The Phenom processor is also based on
the 65nm process technology as shown below and features just about 450
million transistors and a die size of about 288 mm^2.
Unlike Intel Quad Core
processors, the Phenom 9600 is the first CPU to have all 4 cores are on
the same physical die which is a world first for this type of CPU.
Whereas with previous AMD CPU's, the Phenom has increased bandwidth between
the L1 and L2 caches which allows for increased performance and speed.
AMD go one step further
by adding in a third cache which is the key to its architectural
improved performance. Interestingly enough, each of the cores of the CPU
has 64K of L1 data cache, 512K of dedicated L2 cache and 2MB of L3 cache
that is shared between all caches. Even though the CPU core speeds may
not be pushing the 3.0Ghz marks, this new design "in theory" allows for
far superior PC performance.
For the Uber-geek, the
Phenom memory controller can transfer data to dual channels of DDR2
memory to speeds up to 1066Mhz and can also access its two 64-bit
channels independently. Add in the new AMD technology called
HyperTransport 3.0" which basically doubles the effective clock speed
and data rate and this is a huge improvement over past AMD CPUs.
HyperTransport 3.0 also boasts up to 20.8GB/s of bandwidth transfer.
Key
Architectural Features
The industry's first
true Quad core x86 processor
-
True quad-core designed from
the ground up for better
communication between cores.
-
BENEFIT : Cores can
communicate on die
rather than on package
for better performance
AMD64 with Direct
Connect Architecture
-
Helps improve system
performance and efficiency
by directly connecting the
memory controller and I/O to
the CPU.
-
Designed to enable
simultaneous 32- and 64-bit
computing
-
Integrated DDR2 Memory
Controller
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BENEFITS :
-
Increases application
performance by reducing
memory latency
-
Scales memory bandwidth
and performance to match
compute needs
-
HyperTransport™
Technology provides up
to 14.4GB/s peak
bandwidth per
processor—reducing I/O
bottlenecks
-
Up to 27.2GB/s total
delivered
processor-to-system
bandwidth (HyperTransport
bus + memory bus)
AMD Balanced Smart Cache
-
Shared L3 cache
-
In addition to the 512K L2
cache per core, up to 2MB of
L3 cache shared by up to 4
cores.
-
BENEFIT : Shortened
access times to highly
accessed data for better
performance.
AMD Wide Floating Point
Accelerator
-
128-bit floating point unit
(FPU)
-
High performance (128bit
internal data path) floating
point unit per core.
-
BENEFIT : Larger data
paths for quicker
floating point
calculations and better
performance.
HyperTransport™
technology
-
One 16-bit link up to
3600MT/s
-
Up to 8 .0 GB/s
HyperTransport™ I/O
bandwidth; Up to 14.4GB/s in
HyperTransport Generation
3.0 mode
-
Up to 27.2GB/s total
delivered
processor-to-system
bandwidth (HyperTransport
bus + memory bus)
-
BENEFIT : Quick access
times to system
resources for better
performance.
Integrated DDR2 DRAM
Controller with AMD Memory
Optimizer Technology
-
A high-bandwidth,
low-latency integrated DDR2
memory controller
-
Supports PC2-8500
(DDR2-1066*); PC2-6400
(DDR2-800), PC2-5300
(DDR2-667), PC2-4200
(DDR2-533) or PC2-3200
(DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered
DIMMs
-
Support for 64-bit DDR2
SDRAM memory
-
Up to 12.8GB/s memory
bandwidth
-
BENEFIT : Quick access
to system memory for
better performance.
AMD Virtualization™
(AMD-V™) With Rapid
Virtualization Indexing
-
Silicon feature-set
enhancements designed to
improve the performance,
reliability, and security of
existing and future
virtualization environments
by allowing virtualized
applications with direct and
rapid access to their
allocated memory.
-
BENEFIT : Helps
virtualization software
to run more securely and
efficiently enabling a
better experience when
dealing with virtual
systems
AMD Cool'n'Quiet™ 2.0
technology
-
Enhanced power management
features which automatically
and instantaneously adjusts
performance states and
features based on processor
performance requirements
-
For quieter operation and
reduced power requirements
-
BENEFIT : Enables
platform designs
providing less heat and
noise efficient
performance and energy
usage.
AMD CoolCore™ Technology
-
Reduces processor energy
consumption by turning off
unused parts of the
processor. For example, the
memory controller can turn
off the write logic when
reading from memory, helping
reduce system power.
-
Works automatically without
the need for drivers or BIOS
enablement.
-
Power can be switched on or
off within a single clock
cycle, saving energy without
comprimised performance.
-
BENEFIT: Helps users get
more efficient
performance by
dynamically activating
or turning off parts of
the processor.
Dual Dynamic Power
Management™
-
Enables more granular power
management capabilities to
reduce processor energy
consumption.
-
Separate power planes for
cores and memory controller,
for optimum power
consumption and performance,
creating more opportunities
for power savings within the
cores and memory controller.
-
BENEFIT Helps improve
platform efficiency by
providing on demand
memory performance while
still allowing for
decreased system power
consumption
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AMD have added the Cool
n' Quiet 2.0 technology to the CPU which allows each core to run at
different frequencies and voltages, allowing the CPU to determine how
much performance is needed to the end-user and how much power is
consumed. This allows for a more stable system, less power and of course
a much quieter CPU which is fine in anyone's books.
Benchmarks
Benchmarks can be a tricky beast and
although mimic real-world applications, they can be tweaked which makes
it very difficult. However we at impulsegamer have ensured to keep the
benchmarking fair without tweaking one CPU over the over. Our first
benchmark was with SYSmark 2004 which is a great program to test
CPU's as it simulates real-world applications such as Adobe
Photoshop, Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer to name a few of the
programs.
As you can see from the results, the AMD
Phenom 9600 although behind the Intel "big boys", still gave them a true
fight in this category and baring in mind that this CPU is cheaper and
is more accessible to those upgrading, it should definitely be choice to
existing users.
SYSMark 2004
Overall results
| Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 |
(392) |
| Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 |
(365) |
| AMD Phenom 9600 |
(325) |
Business Winstone 2004
is another program that gives similar results to real-world tests and
the Phemon performed quite well when compared against the Intel QX6700.
It should also be noted that not all programs support Quad Core CPU's
and until this is a standard, this makes benchmarking and testing
sometimes difficult.
Business Winstone 2004
| Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 |
(33.9) |
| AMD Phenom 9600 |
(30.9) |
| Intel QX6700 |
(28.3) |
Gaming is a real test
for a CPU, considering the power that it uses to create vast gaming
worlds as its renders graphics, calculates artificial intelligence and a
wide gamut of other options, it can sometimes be considered the true
test for a CPU. Doom is the grand daddy of first person shooters and the
AMD Phenom 9600 performed considerably well when compares against other
high-end Intel CPU's and with results like this, there is little to
complain about.
Doom 3
Low Quality
| Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 |
(241.2) |
| Intel QX6700 |
(235.2) |
| AMD Phenom 9600 |
(192.2) |
Halo
Time Demo
| Intel QX6700 |
(258.2) |
| AMD Phenom 9600 |
(210.2) |
Team Fortress 2
| Intel QX6700 |
(91.2) |
| AMD Phenom 9600 |
(80.1) |
BioShock
| AMD Phenom 9600 |
(71.2) |
| Intel QX6700 |
(64.3) |
Interestingly enough,
the Phenom 9600 was the clear winner with BioShock which was one of the
top games of 2007. Unfortunately when compared to the Intel QX6700 CPU, the
Phenom 9600 still does perform as well in the gaming field as Intel
CPU's. This also brings forth a variety of development issues with
Intel, AMD and Microsoft and how well the later supports new
technologies.
Intel have always had a
lead on the CPU market, however AMD are definitely trying to give the
consumer a second choice and with new technologies like the Phenom 9600
with its potential to truly give Intel a run for the money, especially
at the price, this CPU could still a definite viable choice to the
consumer.
This is where the Phenom
series of CPU's will shine with its aggressive price points because even
though the the processor was just behind the Intel in performance, when
new patches are released, bios upgrades and more software supports Quad
Core CPU's, the Phenom should definitely be considered. Last but not
least, depending on your motherboard, some users may not need to upgrade
their boards in order to install this CPU which is definitely a bonus
over Intel CPU's. |
