Testing Configuration
To put the Phenom II AM3 processors to the test, we’ll be using the same standard configuration that was used to test the original Phenom II processors. All results will be comparable as a result.
AMD Testing Configuration
- AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition (2.8GHz)
- AMD Phenom II X4 810 (2.6GHz
- Noctua NH-U12P Heatsink with Noctua NF-P1 Fan
- MSI DKA790GX Platinum Motherboard (AMD 790GX Chipset)
- 2x1024MB Corsair XMS2 PC2-8500 Memory
- Western Digital 320GB SATA2 Hard Drive (WD3200AAKS, 7200RPM)
- HIS AMD Radeon HD4850 512MB GDDR3 Video Card
- Corsair TX750 Power Supply
- Pioneer Optical Drive
Intel Testing Configuration
- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor (3.0GHz)
- ASUS P5K-E Motherboard (P35/ICH9 Chipset)
- 2x1024MB Corsair XMS2 PC2-8500 Memory
- Western Digital 320GB SATA2 Hard Drive (WD3200AAKS, 7200RPM)
- HIS AMD Radeon HD4850 512MB GDDR3 Video Card
- Corsair TX750 Power Supply
- Pioneer Optical Drive
The system memory is run at 1066MHz on both the Phenom and Intel Core2 processors. Timings are set to 5-5-5-15-2T via the EPP SPD profile in the dual channel kit. The X2 processor cannot run 1066MHz memory natively, so the memory is set to 800MHz, with the same timings. Due to the nature of the IMC on the X2 processors, the memory frequency runs slightly lower than 800MHz. After conducting some preliminary testing, leaving the Phenom memory controllers ‘unganged’ for dual 64bit operation seemed to yield the best results in a variety of benchmarks.
OS/Driver Configuration:
We’ve taken the full step to Windows Vista for processor and graphics card testing due to the availability of DX10. Vista does pose some challenges for benchmark sessions as some of its features can create inconsistencies between testing runs. Although some reviewers prefer to ‘train’ their systems to make the most of features like SuperFetch, we have disabled these features to ensure a higher degree of predictability. Other ‘scheduled’ or unnecessary background tasks have also been disabled (as listed below).
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit), Service Pack 1
OS Disabled Features: “SuperFetch”, “Windows Search” service, Defender, Sidebar, Scheduled Defrag, System Restore and UAC.
OS Performance Features Enabled: “High Performance” PM setting enabled (except for power consumption testing)
Intel Chipset Drivers: Intel INF 9.0.0.1008
ATI/AMD Graphics Drivers: ATI Catalyst Version 8.12 Drivers
Benchmark/Applications:
The following benchmarks and revisions were used for testing:
- PCMark Vantage – Version 1.00
- 3DMark Vantage – Version 1.01
- Cinebench 64-bit – Release 10
- Crysis – Version 1.2
- X264 Benchmark – Version 2.0 (results posted from x264.exe v0.59.819M)
- Sisoft Sandra 2009 – SP2 (build 15.72)
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