The Phenom II is AMD's crème de la crème microprocessor; 45nm silicon, the best clock speeds, the largest caches, and the largest
number of processing cores. While these attributes have made the AMD Phenom processor
line a darling amongst AMD enthusiasts and overclockers, there is a dark side to
the Phenom which is manifest in relatively poor power efficiency and high heat output.
Today,
AMD seeks to shift that tide with the introduction of the energy efficient AMD Phenom
II X4 910e processor for socket AM3. This 2.6GHz quad core chip has as all the
Phenom II features that you expect: 2.6GHz quad-core design based on the "Deneb"
microarchitecture, 6MB of shared L3 cache and 512KB of L2 cache per core, and
a 4GHz HyperTransport 3.0 processor-to-system bus. Unlike AMD's flagship
Phenom II X4 965 Black
Edition chip
and its scorching 140W TDP
(later slimmed down to a more reasonable 125W
TDP revision), this
quad-core AMD Phenom II processor draws a miniscule
65W.
Manufactured by Global Foundries FAB 1 in Dresden Germany, the
socket AM3 Phenom II X4 910e processor contains 758 million transistors on a
258mm2 die. The 2.6GHz quad-core CPU is
compatible with the Hypertransport 3.0 specification, operating with a 16-bit
link at 2.0GHz up and down stream. Total system bandwidth rises to 37.3GB/s on DDR3 platforms and 33.1GB/s for DDR2
systems.
AMD's Phenom II X4 910e processor
will run about $180 CDN ($170 USD, £117
GBP), placing it
in direct competition with Intel's midrange LGA1156 Core i5 processors and
AMD's own socket AM3 Phenom II 955 Black Edition processor. Let's see how
it handles!
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|
|
AMD Phenom II X4 910e Processor
( 65W revision
) |
|
|
 |
| Tech
Specs |
|
Phenom II X4 910e
Clock:
2.6 GHz
L1: 4x 128KB
L2: 4x 512KB
L3:
6MB
Multiplier: 13x
Package: 938-pin
Socket: AM3
(AM2+)
organic mPGA
Core: 45nm SOI
Transistor:
758M
Power: 65W
Vcore: 0.85-1.25V
Cost: $169 USD
|
| |
65 Watts for an Energy Efficient AMD Quad Core
With such low power requirements, the AMD Phenom II X4 910e processor is designed for
more than just high-end gaming rigs and content creation workstations. Small
form factor (SFF) computers and home theatre PCs (HTPC) will also be able to
take advantage of the low heat levels and power draw of the Phenom II X4 910e
processor.
AMD's Phenom II X4 910e processor is natively a socket AM3 processor, with
support for DDR3 memory at speeds up to 1333MHz. However like all Phenom II
processors it's also backwards compatible with Socket AM2+ and select AM2
motherboards as well. The Phenom II X4 910e has native support for AMD's 780G
and 790GX chipsets, and will also support AMD's upcoming 880G chipset when it
launches in Q1/Q2 2010.
The 65W TDP revision chip also lowers heat output, boding well for overclocking
potential. While the Phenom II X4 910e is not one of AMD's Black
Edition processors, it's still possible to overclock its core operating
frequency. PCSTATS will see just how much we can crank up the Phenom II X4 910e
processor a little later on in this review.
Along with the $169USD Phenom II X4 910e, AMD has also
introduced the 2.9GHz Athlon II X4 635, 3.2GHz Phenom II
X4 555, 3GHz Athlon II X3 440 and 3.1GHz Athlon II X2 255 processors. Prices for
these mainstream chips range from ~$120 - $75.
|
AMD Phenom
II Processors |
|
Processor Models |
Thermal Design
Power |
Clock
Speed |
Cache |
Price (USD) |
|
AMD Phenom II X4 910e
|
65W |
2.6GHz |
8MB (2MB L2 +6MB
L3) |
$169 |
|
AMD Athlon II X4 635 |
95W |
2.9GHz |
2 (2MB L2) |
$119 |
|
AMD Phenom II X4
555 |
80W |
3.2 GHz |
7MB (1MB L2 +6MB L3) |
$99 |
|
AMD Athlon II X3 440 |
95W |
3.0 GHz |
2MB (2MB L2) |
$84 |
|
AMD Athlon II X2 255 |
65W |
3.1 GHz |
1.5 (1.5MB L2) |
$74 |
Before we get to overclocking however, it's time to put AMD's power draw
claims to the test...
Core-by-Core CPU Power Draw
Tests
CPU power draw (expressed in Watts) can be easily
measured by way of total system power if you have a simple electrical power
meter. To determine how much juice the CPU is consuming, we only need to compare
power draw with the processor resting at idle, and with each core at 100% CPU
utilization. For an accurate measurement it's necessary to disable power saving
features and CPU clock speed throttling technologies like Cool 'n' Quiet, EIST
(speedstep) and C1E power states, etc. To stress each core in the processor
individually, PCSTATS uses a free program called Stress Prime SP2004).
Stress Prime SP2004 is a multi-threaded application
so several iterations can be run concurrently to escalate load on each CPU-core
to 100%utilization (designated CPU-0, CPU-1, CPU-2, etc. using the 'Small FFTs -
stress CPU' test). The power draw for the entire PC system is measured with an
Extech Power Analyzer Datalogger (model 380803). The Extech Power Analyzer is
located between the main 120AC supply and the PC's power supply. An inexpensive
device like the P3 Kill-A-Watt power meter will do the trick too. Given that
motherboards vary across these test systems this is not a pure 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
| 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 i5 750 |
124
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 Athlon II
X2 240e |
122 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II
X2 250 |
128 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II
X3 435 |
128 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II
X4 620 |
130 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II X4 635 |
127 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition |
145 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition |
143 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II
X3 720 |
155 Watts |
 AMD Phenom II X4
910e |
   131 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II
X4 955 |
148 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II
X4 965 - 125W TDP |
150 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 - 140TDP |
154 Watts |
At idle
we see the Phenom II X4 910e test system drawing 131 Watts, the same as
the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 PC (also a 65W TDP). Having a total idle
system power draw of 131W makes this the
most energy efficient Phenom II processor tested thus far by PCSTATS.
| 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 i5
750 (4 Core Load) |
169 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 Athlon II
X2 240e (2 Core Load) |
153 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II
X2 250 (2 Core Load) |
163 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II
X3 435 (3 Core Load) |
183 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II
X4 620 (4 Core Load) |
195 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II X4 635 (4 Core Load) |
211 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition (4 Core
Load) |
181 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition (2 Core Load)
|
187 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X3 720 (3 Core Load) |
213 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 910e
(1 Core Load) |
143 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 910e
(2 Core Load) |
154 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 910e
(3 Core Load) |
165 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 910e
(4 Core Load) |
176 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II
X4 955 (4 Core Load) |
236 Watts |
AMD Phenom II X4 965 - 125W TDP
(4 Core Load) |
243 Watts |
AMD Phenom II
X4 965 - 140W TDP
(4 Core Load) |
264 Watts |
With all
four cores of the AMD Phenom II X4 910e under load the test system draws
176W, a marked reduction in power consumption compared to the other Phenom
II processors measured. The PII X4 910e computer system is nearly 90W less
intensive given an otherwise identical computer system.
Overclocking is up next, with the Phenom II X4 910e break 3.5GHz?
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