The New AMD Building Thread

Shaff,
I'm looking already! LOL!! Opps, here's one! bit-tech.net
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2009/04/23/amd-phenom-ii-x4-955-black-edition-cpu-am3/1 Fairly precise and I agree 100% with their overall conclusions for the 955's position and future!

Russ

 

The Bit-Tech report is a fairly precise article, but is nonetheless one that proves SPCR right Power-wise.
Why would SPCR only choose the most power-demanding apps to run the system with? iTunes? Not likely to be one of them I don't suspect.
Besides, a test known to run poorly on AMDs? TMPegEnc? Last time I checked, video compression was something AMDs were good at!

What's also interesting about the Bit-Tech review is the idle consumption of the 945 and 955 vs the 940 and 920, it's a full 18W higher, resting (albeit negligibly) above the Q9450 and Q9550.

Hehe, ouch at the 9950BE's c. 170W power consumption! :O

 

I have to disagree. The image quality is quite good, beyond my expectations, and is certainly passable for taking to LANs. I know the pixel density isn't ideal but it's not a problem. Text is very crisp. It even has a 2500:1 contrast ratio. I couldn't turn it down for $159.99!

That 1080P HD res monitor is an excellent deal though. It's tempting, but I think I'll be happier with the lower resolution as it's for use with mid-range video cards so I can enjoy newer games with them. Both the 9800GTX and the 8800GTS 512MB do struggle a bit with newer games at 1920 res.

 

Sam,
As you say, the difference is negligible. You are not understanding my meaning on those 6 tests. I know the AMD's compress video very well, but you were complaining about the wattage consumed during that particular test. All I'm saying is that for the differences in wattage, especially since we are not talking huge differences here, to judge power consumption of a chip overall, dictates that a lot more than 6 tests are needed to get a clearer, more accurate picture of overall power consumption for any chip. I guess it just depends on the apps used for the tests. I did notice the the x2 7750BE does quite well. In idle power consumption, it finished tied for third with the i7 920, while under load, it finished second, 5w behind the E8400. In turn the 7750BE uses 5w less at idle than the Q9550, and 32w less under load. I only mention that because we had speculated on the power requirements of the of the Kuma at one time.

From the brain dead department!
Normally when you buy a motherboard and install the memory, you usually have to raise the DDR2 voltage and then do the rest of the setup. I always wondered why the EPP mode was there, but lightened out. But if you set the voltage to normal, you can then turn on the EPP and let the memory chips themselves control the parameters of the memory voltage and timings. It makes a considerable difference in performance and memory bandwidth, using EPP! It's just so unnatural to leave the DDR2 voltage alone! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Agreed, and as stated I would rather a 22" 1680x1050 than 1920x1080 for gaming. A 22" 1920x1200, different story!

Russ: So the X2 7750 only uses 5W less at idle than a quad, and you say that AMDs are power efficient?
We've agreed the performance of AMD vs Intel is a close match, but you're not going to fool anyone that the AMD chips are remotely efficient.

 

Sam,
Well, they are apparently more efficient than all but one of dual cores as well. I mean it did finish third at idle and beat every other dual core doing it. Under load it finished second to the only dual core to beat it, the E8400, and that was only by 5w. Besides the i7 920 has 3 of it's 4 cores turned way down or off at idle. When you apply the load, the 920 zooms to 196w, 52w more than the Kuma at 147w. I would say that the Kuma is very power efficient compared to the competition!

With the 22" LCD Monitors, every inexpensive 1680x1050 22" I've ever used, was no match for the picture quality of my 20.1" Sceptre, at the same resolution. It bothers my eyes, just to sit at a 22" for very long!

Russ

 

I think you had bad monitors, it isn't inherently the screen size at fault. You can also do a lot better still than Sceptre as well.

From Bit-Tech
Idle: 5400+ 97W, 6000+ 98W, E5200 101W, 7850BE 125W, 7750BE 128W (24-27W / 24-27% more)
Load: E5200 133W, 7750/7850BE 186W, 5400+ 187, 6000+ 194W (53W / 40% more)


Quad cores
Idle: X4 940 98W, Q9550 108W, Q9550-DDR3 114W, X4 955 115W
Load: Q9550 DDR3 177W, X4 940 187W, X4 955 217W

Also, comparing a midrange dual core to a top-end enthusiast grade Quad core. It's very efficient compared to the 'competition', if that's what you think the competition is.

Come on man, just accept it. The AMDs are fine for performance, but at power efficiency they are real dogs. You've been avoiding facts and misrepresenting data for several posts now. If I ever do that (even if by accident), I get slammed for it, especially at Hexus.

 

Sam,
I can't see how I could have misrepresented anything. I just quoted the reviews from bit-tech-net. Which was only 1 of two reviews I could find at the moment! All I quoted was the data they reported! I didn't compare a mid-range dual core to a top-end enthusiast grade Quad core, it's just the way the numbers shook out. According to bit-tech-net the 7750BE uses 4 watts less at idle, and 5 watts more under load than the E8500. I did mention the fact the the E8500 beat it under load. I would expect any dual core to do well compared to the quads in power consumption. I only brought the 7750BE up because we had discussed power consumption of it a month or so back. I also compared it to the E8500! I don't see anything un-fair doing that! I'll be more than happy to post the pics from the reviews, since my statements were direct quotes from them! No one has slammed me yet, over my statements!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

The X2 7750 BE is pretty sweet, I've been using Core 2 Duos and Quads for a while and it still doesn't feel slow to me. It's well capable in gaming and runs cool.

 

Estuansis,
That's been my finding too! I'm very happy about the way it runs, especially after I figured out how to enable EPP! Everything is working the way it's supposed to, and that's what counts!

Russ

 

Any Response to this would Be Appreciated [Pros, cONS]
WD TV HD Media Player

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...325&Tpk=Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player

 

Myself...I wouldnt buy it. But, for the right people, this looks like a wonderful new technology, and from a reputable manufacturer no less! The reason I wouldn't buy it, is because I see the ability for a computer to do that. And I have multiple computers that are up to that task (HTPC). A computer can be taught to do virtually ANYTHING.

Dont get me wrong, I smiled at that little piece of technology. Especially coming from western digital A very good price too. I suppose it really depends on a persons situation, whether this is really the best idea FOR THEM. I imagine the price is VERY tempting for a lot of people. Its sure a lot better than building an HTPC, when all one needs is the capabilities that that device does, out of the box!

 

omegaman7..I've got my Computer hooked up to my TV, but not able to select what movie to watch unless I put them in a play list in VLC. This is not really a solution as with a remote to select a movie randomly

 

LOL. I can appreciate that Actually, Dragon naturally speaking is a wonderful program. Once its up and running(Usually pretty quickly), its generally pretty smooth running. And Windows 7 ultimate comes ready an able with speech recognition. Haven't played with the windows 7 version much yet, but it showed some promise

As I said, it depends on a persons situation. I can see the necessity for some people Heck, I might buy a couple for gifts possibly

 

I'll be honest, I'm actually more impressed with the X2 7850, despite its small clock speed increase (though the 7750 is ludicrously cheap now to try and keep competitive with the E5200, it's down below a quarter of the cost of a Q9550 at only £49)
The 7850 is a powerful chip for £57. The E5300, whilst probably a slightly faster CPU, really only has the merits of its efficiency and overclocking to go on to justify costing £15 more.

 

But the e5300 gets beaten in games and the 7850 can of very well aswell

 

I have been eyeing up the wdtv media player for acouplemonths. It's fantastic for £80, and I want one so badly, esp with mkv support. That swayed me. When rent is paid for my new house in June, if I have money, I'm buying that. But this isthe wrong thread for us to be discussing that

 

True, the E5200 needs to be run at 3.3Ghz to beat the 7750, 3.35Ghz to beat the 7850 and 3.55Ghz to beat it at max overclock (Far Cry 2) Neither are particularly mean feats though, it just means the AMD is the better stock performer. (Personally, on this basis I think Intel should really cut the price of the E5300 a bit)

Turn up the heat further in Crysis and the situation changes a little. The E5200 only need be at 2.7Ghz beat the 7750, 2.85Ghz to beat the 7850, and 3.15Ghz to beat the 7850 at max overclock. Even so, outside overclocking, a £50 AMD needs an £80 Intel to counter it, and a £60 AMD needs a £100 Intel to counter it.

Also, I see you post 'can oc very well' for just about anything these days, including a CPU that can't even manage a 10% overclock. I guess you've forgotten that even P4 Prescotts clocked better than that.

 

Sam,
I do like the 7750BE, but I'm going to have to RMA it, and get a new one. It was acting flaky with the UD4H I sent back. I was just hoping it was the duff motherboard causing the problem. It wasn't! With the old motherboard it all of a sudden, for no reason I could find, it never would run at 3.2gHz anymore, no matter what changes you make in the settings. I think part of it is the CPU temperature sensor in the CPU, because it keeps failing at lower and lower temps. I've checked the temps with Overdrive and they are spot on with Everest. It tripped out today on me while I was encoding. Motherboard was at 39C and the CPU was at 42C. It's done a few other strange things as well, like not posting, even at below stock speed. Jumper the CMOS pins for a few seconds, and do the setup again! Since every thing else has been changed, the only thing left to change is the CPU! LOL!! It doesn't give any trouble with the x2 2.6GHz 4800+ in it either! It's easier to list what I haven't replaced, as it's shorter! The Case, PSU and two fans! It's been a strange year!

My luck with processors has usually been good, so this time I got one on the low end! I guess it was bound to happen. Even the E6750 I replaced, hit 3.7GHz easy, before I sold it. AMD surprised me, and since their password thing would not work no matter how many times I tried it, I sent Tech an email, which was answered this morning, requesting my address, phone number, the model CPU and the serial number. It's already being processed! I wish I could make a deal for the 7850BE, but I don't guess they would do that! It's only $10 more than the 7750BE!

Russ

 

Sam,
I have no idea what you are referring to about a 10% OC. You know what? This is just getting silly. It's like playing If, And or But! The fact is, it doesn't matter to me. I just don't care!

This thread was created for people interested in building AMD's! It doesn't say "Intel vs AMD", so lets get this thread back on track and forget the whole darn thing!

You do see the humor in that quote, I hope. What's next? Pie charts and graphs? LOL!! Enough already, it all getting to silly! You have to admit, figuring that all out, is just a tad over the top, with way more math than I care to do! When it gets to the point that we have to figure out at what speed which processor does what and beats who, it's time to call it quits! This isn't the thread for it!

Respectfully,
Russ