To determine how much power multi-core processors draw, PCSTATS will be measuring total power consumption what the CPU is
in idle and several CPU-stressed states.
To get
an accurate measurement, it's necessary to disable AMD and Intel's power saving and CPU clock
speed throttling technologies like Cool 'n' Quiet, EIST (speedstep) and C1E
power states.
To simulate
single-core load a program called Stress Prime (SP2004) is used. PCSTATS set
about stressing each processor from one to all cores. This programs gives better
insight into different power draw scenarios. The SP2004 program is
multi-threaded, allowing individual CPU cores to be stressed by each instance of
the program. Total system power consumption was
read with the Extech Power Analyzer Datalogger (model 380803). The Extech Power
Analyzer is located between the main 120AC supply and the PC's power
supply.
Given that
motherboards vary across these test systems this is not a "true" measure of CPU
power draw alone, but rather a measurement of the total computer system power
draw, which we can compare for each specific platforms between the CPU idle and
CPU stressed states.
965 Black Edition - 140W TDP
AMD's
Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU continues to be manufactured on
the 45nm SOI process, but to reach the lofty heights of 3.4GHz
AMD has boosted TDP for the chip. The previous heavyweight 3.2GHz Phenom II X4 955 BE ran at 125W;
apparently for AMD engineers to achieve the 200MHz speed boost a substantive leap to a 140W TDP was necessary.
Under
system idle situations the 965 Black Edition draws a little less than 10W extra, but
with all four cores fully loaded the Phenom II X4 965 BE pulls in an extra 30W.
| Total System Idle Power
Draw |
| Processor |
Total System
Power Draw |
| Intel Pentium 4 540 |
   150 Watts |
| Intel Pentium D 840 |
165 Watts |
| Intel Pentium D 940 |
168 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 |
117 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 |
123 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 |
131 Watts |
| Intel Core i7 920 |
144 Watts |
| AMD Sempron 3600+ |
   120 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 4000+ |
163 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 FX-60 |
127 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+ |
143 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ |
156 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 FX-62 |
168 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X3 720 |
155 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 955 |
148 Watts |
 AMD Phenom II X4 965 |
  154 Watts |
Idle power draw for the AMD Phenom II X4 965
Black Edition system is on the high side compared to most of today's
processors, 154Watts. This is 6W more than the X4 955BE, which is clocked 200MHz slower.
The X4 965 BE is rated at 140W TDP, while the previous
flagship processor, the X4 955 BE is pegged at 125W.
| Total System Stressed Power
Draw - All Cores/Threads |
| Processor |
Total System
Power Draw (All Cores) |
| Intel Pentium 4 540 |
223 Watts |
| Intel Pentium D 840 (2 Core ) |
240 Watts |
| Intel Pentium D 940 (2 Core Load) |
253 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2 Core Load) |
156 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (2 Core Load) |
163 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (2 Core Load) |
158 Watts |
| Intel Core i7 920 (8 Thread Load) |
213 Watts |
| AMD Sempron 3600+ |
148 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 4000+ |
172 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 FX-60 (2 Core Load) |
196 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+ (2 Core Load) |
173 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ (2 Core Load) |
207 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 FX-62 (2 Core Load) |
235 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II
X3 720 (3 Core Load) |
213 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 955 (4 Core Load) |
236
Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 (1 Core Load) |
 182 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 (2 Core Load) |
207 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3 Core Load) |
234 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 (4 Core Load) |
264 |
With all four of the AMD Phenom II
X4 965 Black Edition's cores loaded to 100%, total system power draw reaches 264 Watts, a new record. The 50W difference between
the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition running four threads and the Core i7
920 running eight threads is a bit disconcerting. The difference between idle and
a single core load is a moderate 30Watts. It's clear that AMD is pushing the
'Deneb' architecture a little harder than before.
Remember that these are power draws for the entire
system, not just the processor. In most cases a modern 500W power supply won't
even break a sweat.
Overclocking is up next, and you won't want to miss
these overclocking results...
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