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Reviews Around The Web
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Choose Web Reviews from this Maker:
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Friday, September 11, 2009
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Every time AMD releases a new processor, one question is on the tip of the tongues of enthusiasts everywhere: Is this the product to finally take the performance crown from Intel? I have to say that the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU isn?t that product. This latest CPU from the green machine is simply a revision to the previous Phenom II X4 955 CPU. As we know this line of processors is still only able to compete with Intel?s Core 2 Quad line of CPUs, rather than take on Intel?s Core i7 beast.
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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As we could expect from a budget product for less than $100, Athlon X2 7750 turned out to be a practical solution. This processor is not much faster in general. But in a number of tests, including popular games and archivers, this processor looks much better than Pentium E5200.
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Friday, March 13, 2009
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The ATI FireGL graphics cards have been a staple of the workstation graphics scene for about a decade, but last year AMD made the decision to end the FireGL series and create the FirePro 3D series in its place. The FirePro 3D series is now made up of graphics cards ranging in price from under $100 USD and built using their RV730 GPU to their highest-end models costing well over $1,000 and using the RV770XT graphics processor. The ATI RV770XT is what is used by the consumer-grade Radeon HD 4870, which was greeted by same-day Linux support and other firsts for their Linux Catalyst driver like OverDrive, RandR 1.2 support, and CrossFire. The support for the new FirePro graphics cards is also first-rate under Linux with their Catalyst driver, but how is their performance? In this article we are examining the ATI FirePro V8700 1GB workstation graphics card under Linux.
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Monday, March 9, 2009
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With the launch of Deneb, AMD has finally moved to the 45nm process and are breaking in a new socket interface at the same time. The main difference with AM3 is the introduction of DDR3 support. But rather than require a forklift upgrade, AMD has incorporated both DDR2 and DDR3 memory controllers into the AM3 chips. One of the first of these chips debuted last month with the tri core X3 BE 720, running at 2.8Ghz. But with only three cores, is the 720 even a viable upgrade for someone with a first generation Phenom quad or is it just a hamstrung slug of silicon?
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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Nearly two months ago AMD launched the Phenom 2 with the main benefit over the original Phenom being enhanced performance on the higher end model. That was not the only improvement though as technology such as cool n quiet was improved and as a result the launch was quite successful, even if the processors were priced a little high. At that point the one thing which was missing from the AMD line-up was support for DDR3 which Intel have been providing for quite some time, today we look at the first couple of CPUs which resolve that issue.
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Friday, February 20, 2009
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Phenom II may have just launched last month, but AMD didn't want to waste time in following-up with their first AM3-based processors. We're taking a look at two, including the X4 810 and X3 720 'Black Edition'. Both offer great performance at their respective price-points, but the X3 became the more appealing chip, thanks to its overclocking ability.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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We can conclude that Phenom II processors demonstrate more attractive performance than their direct competitors from the Core 2 series. For example, the 810 processor looks much better than Q8200 and Q6600 that has a much larger cache.
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Monday, February 16, 2009
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The AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor overclocked much better with Dry Ice cooling since the multiplier could be increased and the CPU voltage was able to go up to 1.90V in the BIOS since ASUS allows for higher voltages on the Black Edition processors. After playing around with the HT reference clock frequency and multiplier we managed to reach 4590MHz from the 2800MHz processor. This is 200MHz shy of a 2GHz overclock and is what we expect from Dry Ice cooling...
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Friday, February 13, 2009
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AMD, creator of the Phenom labeled processors, finally releases their X4 810. We are very excited about this product because it is focused towards lower costs for the consumer without sacrificing performance. Take a look as Matt tests it, and tells us whether or not it will make the cut into the TechwareLabs hall of fame.
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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
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Finally, AMD is mostly lacking stock - right now, even a few days after release you still can't buy any of these CPUs - that's a mirroring of the Athlon X2 7750 and Phenom II X4 940/920 launches where actual product was unavailable for several weeks. We seriously hope AMD rectifies this soon, because it only gives Intel more chance to fill the gap.
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Nearly every enthusiast who has overclocked a computer system has wished that processors weren't restricting them from the hobby they love. Even I can still recall the good old days (less than four years ago) before Intel and AMD locked the clock multiplier on their processors and overclocking was a combination of factors and no limited to the stability of a motherboard. Intel believes that their Core i7-965 Extreme Edition (EE) processor series is worth the $1000 price tag, but AMD begs to differ. Perhaps the timing is right then, and consumers won't hastily spend unnecessary cash on an expensive unlocked processor when AMD offers their Black Edition Phenom II X4 940 CPU for just $220. Benchmark Reviews compares the field, and tests the X4 940BE HDZ940XCGIBOX against the Intel Core i7-920.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
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The Phenom II X4 Quad Core 940 Black Edition is undoubtedly AMD's fastest and most overclockable Phenom yet, but it's still a million miles away from competing with Intel. While AMD can't keep up with Intel on raw performance, the company is at least keeping high-end computing within reach of mass market. As an added bonus, AMD-based 790GX motherboards are cheaper than those using Intel's X58 chipset, so you can build a quad-core system much more cheaper than an Intel-based solution. While that?s true, X58 boards generally offer more robust overclocking features, including BIOS setup programs which make life easier for seasoned tweakers. With the Phenom II X4 Quad Core 940 Black Edition you get what you pay for. If you want maximum performance and cost isn't an issue, you'll want Intel's Core i7.
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In our mind, today's biggest winner is AMD's new X3 720 Black Edition. At $145, we would not hesitate for a second to recommend it over Intel's E series dual core processors. With a healthy 2.8GHz operating frequency and the full 6MB of L3 cache on tap, it is a potent performer that even fast dual cores can't compete with. Weighing in at a full $20 cheaper than the E8400's pricepoint, the X3 720 is really a no-brainer.
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Three is a number not normally associated with processors, although it's actually gaining momentum thanks to Intel's triple-channel memory architecture that caters to the 3GB sweet-spot for Windows XP. Dispite this, a triple-core processor just doesn't seem natural to many of us, because we're so used to seeing everything come in twos. But three isn't a bad thing at all, because AMD's Phenom II X3 720 BE processor is actually quite good. Benchmark Reviews compares the 2.8GHz Black Edition AM3/AM2+ CPU against the Intel Core i7-920 and other AMD processors. You might be surprised by how well the odd man out can fit in.
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Monday, February 9, 2009
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The AMD Phenom II X4 810 is an interesting processor in that it is locked and has a multiplier of 13x with a default HT clock frequency (bus speed) of 200MHz. With multiplier options ending at 13x I figured I'd just see how high I could crank up the bus speed till the processor needed more voltage. Without touching any other option in the BIOS other than the HT clock frequency I managed to hit 3.32GHz! This is a 715MHz overclock for doing nothing more than adjusting a single setting in the BIOS! The AMD Phenom II X4 810socket AM3 processor really comes to life at 3.3GHz...
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