What brings better results, purchasing a faster graphics card or investing your cash in a more powerful processor?
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We look at the power consumption and cost of running 35 AMD CPUs under varying conditions.
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We compare three and four core AMD Phenom X CPUs, along with a large number of Athlon 64 X2 and Intel Core 2 two and four core models.
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While CPU architectures are typically available for years, AMD and Intel tend to offer improved steppings throughout a product's lifecycle. We look at the history of the Athlon 64 X2 5000, complete with lab tests.
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According to our tests, this CPU is based on highly anticipated B3 stepping technology. And, it's meant to be error-free, allow higher clock speeds and still consume less power than AMD's Phenom 9300 and 9400 models.
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AMD's triple core Phenom 8000 series won't be available before the 2nd quarter of 2008. We simulate Phenom 8000 performance using a Phenom 9900 at one, two and three cores, and throw in four cores for good measure.
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We look at the 45 nm Core 2 Duo E8000's overclocking potential. We also focus on power consumption, simulating real-world applications with SysMark 2007. Wolfdale truly breaks performance-per-watt records.
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The past 19 months haven't been easy for the green team from Sunnyvale. Lately, there have been persistent rumors that AMD has become an acquisition target. What's really going on?
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Intel's new 45-nm E8000 series is more powerful and more efficient than any other dual-core processor architecture on the market today. But just how good is it, and more importantly, should you upgrade right away?
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Memory resident software can provide a level of security, but it can always be altered. We show you how special hardware on the motherboard works to shield PCs from a variety of threats.
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We compare the performance of the dual-socket Skulltrail system to that of Core 2 Extreme QX9770 and QX9650 CPUs. All three are Penryns and share identical features, but the test results were not what we expected.
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How overclockable is the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 and quad channel D5400XS motherboard combination? And what about power consumption?
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Intel's Skulltrail platform sports 8 cores running at 4 GHz each and uses a quad-core memory interface. Developed out of fear of AMD's Phenom, Intel's fastest hardware meets underdeveloped software.
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AMD fans who want to overclock their processors can rejoice at news that the CPU maker is offering a Black Edition of its current fastest quad-core model.
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We already compared performance per watt over four generations of Intel CPUs. Now we compare AMD's Sempron, Athlon and Phenom CPUs to see if efficiency has increased over time on the AMD side.
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We look at how well Phenom scales with increasing clock frequency, by comparing the Athlon 64 X2 and Phenom 9000 using only a single core.
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We added a new interactive charts page that allows you to compare most of Intel's mobile Core 2 Duo processors. The results can also be contrasted to those of our desktop CPU charts.
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We compare the Pentium 4, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme/Quad and track their power consumption at a given application workload. Core 2 is more efficient, but why this is so might surprise you.
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Though AMD has been unlucky with its Phenom, the new processor represents a major improvement over the Athlon 64 X2. But, just how much better is the Phenom?
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We've already seen how Intel's latest quad core CPU can easily push 4.0 GHz on air cooling, but how far will liquid cooling take it?
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In Germany AMD received a subsidy of over $384 million to help it survive its current economic situation. What does the future look like for the company.
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Apparently, our article caused quite a stir at a certain processor company's headquarters, so we thought it was time to give you an update on what has happened since this article went online.
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After a 1 year+ delay, AMD has released its first quad-core CPU, the Phenom, along with a new platform, Spyder. We ran all 3 Phenom models through our extensive benchmark suite. Check it out.
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Intel introduced it's 45 nm Penryn technology 3 weeks ago. Today, on the same day AMD launched it's Phenom 9700 quad-core processor series, Intel announced the QX9770 (due Q1 2008). What's up?
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When overclocking, are there significant advantages to using quad-core instead of dual-core CPUs? We do extensive testing using Intel's E6750 and Q6600 processors.
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Four cores, 45 nm structures and overclocking up to 4 GHz make Intel's Penryn Core 2 CPUs faster and more efficient. How bad does it look for AMD?
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Intel's Core 2 processors run the gamut with 1 MB, 2 MB and 4 MB of second-level cache. After comparing all three options at a 2.4 GHz clock speed, we learned that the importance of L2 cache must not be underestimated.
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Exciting news about AMD's new unlocked X2 5000+ Black Edition. Complete with test results and comparisons
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AMD and Intel stress idle and max power use by their processors and platforms. To tell the whole story, we look at how much power typical systems consume over time, under different workloads.
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Clock speed is only one part of the story. More and more PC components are laid out with multiple units to increase performance via parallelism. In part 1 of this article series, we compare single, dual and quad cores CPUs using identical architectures and clock speeds.
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