The "AMD
or Intel?" debate has been renewed yet again with the introduction of AMD's latest Phenom II X4 series processor, the 975 Black Edition.
AMD's
Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition is a quad-core, 3.6GHz socket
AM3 chip with 6MB of L3 cache and 512KB of L2 cache per core. It's being
released in tandem with the AMD Phenom II X4 840 CPU. Both processors are ideally
suited to socket AM3 motherboards built around the recent AMD 890FX or 890GX
chipsets. The Phenom II X4 975 BE is
backwards compatible with socket AM2+ motherboards and forwards compatible with
the as yet unreleased socket AM3+ platform which is
anticipated for release in mid-2011. The upcoming Socket AM3+ platform is
for AMDs upcoming 'bulldozer' architecture that will see AMD processors with up
to eight cores and a rumored new iteration of TurboCore dynamic frequency adjustment.
The Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition constitutes
the current flagship quad-core offering from AMD and a 200MHz notch up in
clock speed and benchmark performance from the previous Phenom II X4 970 BE
chip. It is based on the AMD 'Deneb' architecture and rather than a 140W
TDP we're pleasantly surprised to see AMD launch with a more efficient stepping
at 125W TDP.
In most
respects the AMD Phenom II
X4 975 Black Edition architecture
is the same as previous "Deneb" based CPUs. The Phenom II's multi-core
design continues to promote a larger L3 cache that feeds faster L2
caches for the individual cores, a balance that continues to improve multi-threading performance, is
compatible with 32-bit/64-bit operating systems, etc. With a suggested retail price of $195 CDN ($195 USD, £117 GBP), the 3.6GHz
Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition is priced just below Intel's Core i5 760, the
entry level model for Intel's socket 1156 lineup.
Like all of AMD's Black Edition processors, overclockers will appreciate that the Phenom II X4 975
Black Edition is multiplier unlocked. Unlocked chips make overclocking a rather
fun prospect because they enable us to change the CPU multiplier (default:
18.0x) to rapidly boost the clock speed from to 4GHz and possibly even further.
PCSTATS will try its hand at pushing the PII X4 975 BE processor past 4.5GHz
shortly...
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AMD Phenom II
X4 975 Black Edition Processor
|
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|
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| Tech
Specs
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Phenom II X4 975 Black
Edition
Cores: 4 core/thread
Clock: 3.6 GHz
L1: (4x) 128KB
L2: (4x)
512KB
L3: 6MB
Multiplier: 18x
Package:
938-pin
Socket: AM3 (AM2+)
organic mPGA
Core: 45nm
SOI
Transistor: 758M
Power: 125W
Codename:
'Deneb'
Cost: $195 USD |
| |
Phenom II X4 975
BE Specifications:
Manufactured in Dresden Germany by Global Foundries
FAB1, the quad-core Phenom II
X4 975 Black Edition processor is built on the 45nm DSL silicon-on-insulator process.
Its monolithic CPU die measures 258mm2 in size and
contains roughly 758 million transistors.
This socket AM3 processor has a moderate thermal design power (TDP)
of 125 Watts so any recent AMD heatsink will be sufficient to cool it. If
a quiet and compact thermal solution is what's
needed, this Zalman heatsink is a good low noise candidate that's
not too bulky. PCSTATS partner site, Frostytech, has a list of five or so top
heatsinks suited to cooling AMD processors if
you're looking for
a few heatsink recommendations.
As with
recent Phenom II X4 CPUs, the
975 BE supports Hypertransport 3.0 with a 16-bit link running at 2.0GHz up and
2.0GHz downstream. Total system bandwidth
peaks at 37.3GB/s for DDR3 platforms and 33.1GB/s for legacy DDR2
systems. The Phenom II X4's on-board 128-bit wide memory controller supports DDR2 RAM at speeds
of up to 1066MHz and DDR3 RAM at speeds of up to 1333MHz. DDR2 memory
compatibility is expected to exit from future AMD processors in late 2011, but for the
time being it brings a nice level of backwards compatibility into the fold
for users upgrading older PC systems.
Legacy socket AM2+ upgrades aside, the AMD Phenom II
X4 975BE is best suited to socket AM3 motherboards based on the AMD
890FX or AMD 890GX chipsets that provide the full 37.3GB/s of
processor-to-system bandwidth. The AMD 890FX chipset is suitable for
multi-graphics card gaming systems, the AMD 890GX features integrated graphics
and a comprehensive assortment of video out ports like HDMI for home
theatre PC applications.
Core-by-Core CPU Power Draw
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. Stress Prime
SP2004 is used to stress each core of the processor individually. Total
system power draw is measured with an Extech Power Analyzer Datalogger (model
380803).
| Total System Idle Power
Draw
|
| Processor |
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 2 Duo E8500 |
114 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 Athlon II X4 645 |
120 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE |
145 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE |
143 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE |
155 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 840 |
114 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 910e |
131 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE |
148 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE |
150 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE |
134 Watts |
 AMD Phenom II X4 975
BE |
   140 Watts
|
| AMD Phenom II X6 1075T |
129 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X6 1090T |
130 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X6 1100T |
138 Watts |
The
Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition system idles at 140 Watts, a bit higher than the
previous X4 970BE model at 134Watts. We'll see where the power draw figures
stand once each of the four CPU cores come under stress.
| Total System Stressed
Power Draw - All Cores/Threads
|
| Processor |
Power Draw |
| Intel Pentium 4 540 |
223 Watts |
| Intel Pentium D 840 (2 Core) |
240 Watts |
| Intel Pentium D 940 (2 Core) |
253 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2 Core) |
156 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (2 Core) |
163 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (2 Core) |
158 Watts |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (2) |
149W |
| Intel Core i5 750 (4 Core) |
169 Watts |
| Intel Core i7 920 (8 Thread) |
213 Watts |
| AMD Sempron 3600+ |
148 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 4000+ |
172 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 FX-60 (2 Core) |
196 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+ (2 Core) |
173 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ (2 Core) |
207 Watts |
| AMD Athlon64 FX-62 (2 Core) |
235 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II X2 240e (2 Core) |
153 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II X2 250 (2 Core) |
163 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II X3 435 (3 Core) |
183 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II X4 620 (4 Core) |
195 Watts |
| AMD Athlon II X4 635 (4 Core) |
211 Watts
|
| AMD Athlon II X4 645 (4 Core) |
193 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE (2 Core) |
181 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE (2 Core) |
187 Watts |
| AMD Phenom
II X3 720 (3 Core) |
213 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 840 (4 Core) |
190 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 910e (4 Core) |
176 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 955 (4 Core) |
236 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 (4 Core) |
243 Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE ( 4 Core) |
214 Watts
|
| AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE
(1 Core) |
168
Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE
(2 Core) |
187
Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE
(3 Core) |
208
Watts |
| AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE (4 Core)
|
225 Watts
|
| AMD Phenom II X6 1075T (6 Core) |
228 Watts
|
| AMD Phenom II X6 1090T (6 Core) |
263W |
| AMD Phenom II X6 1100T (6 Core) |
243W
|
The AMD
Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition computer system draws 225Watts of power with all
four of the CPU cores 100% stressed. This figure is 11W higher than the previous
X4-970 BE based PC under similar load conditions. Compared to the slightly
faster Core i5 750 system (169W), the Phenom II
X4 975 Black Edition PC system is more demanding on the power front - a
continuing challenge all AMD processors face. Under single core load power draw
is a moderate 168W.
Next up,
PCSTATS tries its hand at overclocking the AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition
processor past 4.5GHz, then it's onto the benchmark portion of this processor
review.
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