The story sounds familiar: Intel hits a new milestone in nanometer architecture, and AMD waits a while to follow up. It happened with 65nm processors, and it's happening again now. Two days shy of a year since Intel launched Penryn, its first 45nm chip, AMD is finally ready to counter with a few 45nm CPUs of its own--Phenom II has finally arrived. But based on our hands-on testing of two Phenom II machines--the Dell XPS 625 and the Maingear Dash--the chip isn't quite as dominating as AMD would have you believe.
AMD Phenom II Explained
AMD is positioning Phenom II in between Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core i7 offerings. Phenom II chips are available in two versions, the X4 920 and the X4 940 Black Edition, which compete tit-for-tat against Intel's highest Core 2 Quad CPU frequencies at 2.8 and 3.0 GHz, respectively.
Though limited overclocking of the 920-edition processors is available through AMD's OverDrive software, the company is tipping its hat toward the extreme-performance crowd with its Black Edition processors. These CPUs run multiplier-unlocked, which liquid-nitrogen-armed enthusiasts have been able to exploit to frequencies above 6 GHz, surpassing the world record for Intel Core i7 processors, which stands at 5.5 GHz.
Performance
The Phenom II's integrated memory controller and HyperTransport interface give it a technical edge over competing Core 2 Quad chips, which lack those features. Intel moved to an integrated memory controller and began incorporating its own version of HyperTransport--dubbed QuickPath Interconnect--only with its Core i7 platform. The integrated memory controller and HyperTransport interface allow Phenom II processors to achieve a higher memory bandwidth than Core 2 Quad processors can, by eliminating the bottlenecks created by a frontside bus and an external controller. The arrangement, in theory, improves system performance.
But not in practice, apparently. In comprehensive PC World lab testing of two $1499 Phenom II-based desktops, Dell's XPS 625 and Maingear's Dash, these brand-new chips failed to blow Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core i7 offerings out of the water.
Upgraders' and Overclockers' Dream?
That said, AMD is waging its war against the speedier Core i7 chips on price, not performance--especially for potential upgraders. Moving from a Core 2 Quad CPU to a Core i7 chip requires a obtaining a new motherboard and new memory, in addition to the processor. Moving from a Socket AM2+ processor to a Phenom II requires buying only the new processor. And if you decide to upgrade to an AM3-socket Phenom II CPU, expected to be released in early 2009, you'll be able to keep your DDR2 memory--possibly even your motherboard. But from what we've seen so far, the price benefit isn't as drastic if you're in the market for a new computer: The two Phenom II systems we tested each rang up at $1499; three of our higher-performing power PCs (including both Core i7 and Core 2 Quad models) cost from $1600 to $1800.
AMD is launching its next-generation platform alongside the Phenom II processors. The successor to the company's Phenom quad-core-based Spider platform, the new Dragon platform consists of AMD's Phenom II processors, 4800-series Radeon HD graphics cards, and 790-series motherboard chip sets. The platform focuses on energy savings, thanks to a combination of AMD's Cool'n'Quiet 3.0 software and 45nm architecture. Together, they allow Phenom II processors to reduce their heavy-load power consumption by a reported 30 to 40 percent versus Phenom processors, with a savings of up to 50 percent at idle.
Considering that AMD had a full year to ponder Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core i7 chips, it isn't exploding out of the gate. Core i7 remains the high-end processor to beat for average consumers. Judging from our testing, a Phenom II will require a solid system backed by strong overclocking to surpass the prowess of even a midrange or high-end Core 2 Quad processor. If you're looking to upgrade and you care more about simplicity than you do about high stock clock speeds, AMD's single-CPU upgrade is a powerful statement. As for performance, perhaps AMD's products will seem more appealing once extreme-system manufacturers start pushing their Phenom II chip sets past the 4-GHz range. We'll hold our breath to see how everything pans out.