Frankly speaking, considering test results of Phenom X4 9850, we were not keen on starting our tests of a lower-clocked Phenom X3 8750 with fewer cores: there were clearly no surprises in store, only disappointments. However, our initial negative thinking served the good turn, because we were not disappointed. On the contrary, we decided that some people may seriously like this curiosity. We even came up with something, but we'll inform you a bit later.
A brief description of this product is very simple: it's a reject of Phenom X4 with one non-operational core. AMD does not hide this fact (no need - it's too evident). Unlike quad-core processors from Intel, which are actually two dual-core processors "glued" in a single package, quad-core processors from AMD contain just a single die. So the die surface is relatively large. And the larger the surface, the more rejects. Phenom X3 was "invented" in order not to waste all these rejects.
However, it's not enough to invent a processor in our modern world that is ruled by marketing. One should also come up with its positioning. Apparently, AMD didn't think too long, because it offered the following positioning: triple-core Phenom X3 will compete with dual-core Core 2 Duo. Meaning that the competitor offers "only" two cores, while AMD offers whole three.
Actually we think this original decision has been affected by the fact that a dual-core Phenom is heavily outperformed by the equally-clocked Core 2 Duo in all tests. And three cores will help this processor look more or less decent, especially in applications well optimized for multiprocessing.
Well, let's see whether this product comes up to AMD's expectations.
Testbed configurations
| CPU |
Motherboard |
Memory |
Video |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 |
ASUS Maximus Extreme |
Corsair CM3X1024-1800C7DIN |
GeForce 8800 GTX |
| Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 |
ASUS Maximus Extreme |
Corsair CM3X1024-1800C7DIN |
GeForce 8800 GTX |
| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 |
ASUS Maximus Extreme |
Corsair CM3X1024-1800C7DIN |
GeForce 8800 GTX |
| Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 |
ASUS Maximus Extreme |
Corsair CM3X1024-1800C7DIN |
GeForce 8800 GTX |
| AMD Phenom X4 9850 |
ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe |
Corsair TWIN2X4096-9136C5DF |
GeForce 8800 GTX |
| AMD Phenom X3 8750 |
ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe |
Corsair TWIN2X4096-9136C5DF |
GeForce 8800 GTX |
- Memory: 4 GB (4 x 1 GB modules)
- HDD: Samsung HD401LJ (SATA-2)
- Coolers: Thermaltake TMG i1, Thermaltake TMG A1
- PSU: Cooler Master RS-A00-EMBA
| Processor |
Phenom X4 8750 |
Phenom X4 9850 |
Core 2 Duo E6600 |
Core 2 Duo E7200 |
Core 2 Quad Q6600 |
Core 2 Quad Q9300 |
| Core name |
Toliman |
Agena |
Conroe |
Wolfdale |
Kentsfield |
Yorkfield |
| Process technology, nm |
65 |
65 |
65 |
45 |
65 |
45 |
| Core clock, GHz |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.53 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
| Number of cores |
3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
| L1 cache, I/D, KB* |
64/64 |
64/64 |
32/32 |
32/32 |
32/32 |
32/32 |
| L2 cache, KB** |
3x512 |
4x512 |
4096 |
3072 |
8192 |
6144 |
| L3 cache, KB |
2048 |
2048 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| FSB clock***, MHz |
533 (1066) |
533 (1066) |
266 (1066) |
266 (1066) |
266 (1066) |
333 (1333) |
| Multiplier |
12 |
12.5 |
9 |
9.5 |
9 |
7.5 |
| Socket |
AM2+ |
AM2+ |
LGA775 |
LGA775 |
LGA775 |
LGA775 |
| Heat dissipation**** |
95 W |
125 W |
65 W |
65 W |
95 W |
95 W |
* Per single core in multi-core processors.
** "X x Y" means "X KB per each of Y cores".
*** In AMD processors it's memory controller bus frequency.
**** Specified differently in Intel and AMD processors, so a direct comparison is not correct.
Benchmarks
| |
64-bit application |
Multi-threaded application* |
| Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 |
+ |
+ |
| Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 |
+ |
+ |
| Autodesk 3ds max 9 SP2 |
+ |
+ |
| V-Ray 1.5 SP1 |
+ |
+ |
| Autodesk Maya 2008 Ultimate |
+ |
+ |
| NewTek Lightwave 3D 9.2 |
+ |
+ |
| SolidWorks 2007 SP0.0 |
+ |
+ |
| PTC Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0 M120 |
+ |
- |
| UGS NX5 5.0.0.25 |
+ |
+ |
| Wolfram Research Mathematica 6 |
+ |
+ |
| MapleSoft Maple 11 |
- |
+ |
| MathWorks MATLAB 2007 |
+ |
+ |
| Adobe Photoshop CS3 10.0 |
- |
+ |
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 |
+ |
+ |
| Apache HTTP Server 2.2.8 |
- |
+ |
| PHP 5.2.5 |
- |
+ |
| MySQL Community Server 5.0.51a |
- |
+ |
| ACDSee 10 Photo Manager |
- |
+ |
| xat.com Image Optimizer 5.10 |
- |
- |
| IrfanView 4.10 |
- |
- |
| XnView 1.93.4 |
- |
- |
| Paint.NET 3.30 |
+ |
+ |
| 7-Zip 4.57 |
+ |
+ |
| WinRAR 3.71 |
- |
+ |
| UltimateZip 3.2 |
- |
- |
| FLAC 1.2.1 |
- |
- |
| LAME-MT 3.97 |
+ |
+ |
| Musepack MPC Encoder 1.16 |
- |
- |
| Nero Digital Audio Encoder 1.1.34.2 |
- |
+ |
| Ogg Encoder 2.83 (Lancer) |
- |
+ |
| Canopus ProCoder 3.0 |
- |
+ |
| DivX Codec 6.8.2 |
- |
+ |
| XviD Codec 1.1.3 Final |
- |
- |
| x264 Codec rev 807 |
- |
+ |
| VirtualDub 1.8.0 |
- |
+ |
| Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Patch 1.5) |
- |
+ |
| Call of Juarez (Patch 1.1.0.0) + DX10 Enhancements Pack |
- |
- |
| Crysis (Patch 1.2) |
+ |
+ |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Patch 1.006) |
- |
+ |
| Unreal Tournament 3 (Patch 1.2) |
- |
+ |
| Company of Heroes (Patch 1.71) |
- |
+ |
| World in Conflict (Patch 1.007) |
- |
+ |
* Means that two or more simultaneously active threads are actually present during tests; not just the fact that a process generates several threads.
