Will anybody buy an AMD Phenom?

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pwaddles

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# 18908 29-Jan-2008 12:08

Its not enough to say "oh yeah I'd get one of those", would you actually goto your pc supplier and hand over cash for one of these chips?

If you would, please let me know which one you'd get and why you'd get it over a Core 2 Duo.

Not looking for any brand slamming (either way), just curious in peoples reactions to AMD's new range. And please dont just say "yeah it'll beat the pants off any intel by atleast 400%", cause thats lies.

and obviously I'll get some smartypants posting "oh yeah I'd get one of those, cause it'll beat the pants off any intel by at least 400%"

bradstewart

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# 107381 29-Jan-2008 13:23

Hell no! I wouldn't touch one of those things. We have been very disappointed by the ones we have seen. We took them out of one of our gaming systems and replaced it with the Athlon 6000 and 64000.

When it comes to performance Intel wins hands down, but for price you couldn't overlook a 6000 or 6400. Just stay away from Phenom.

Fossie

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# 107391 29-Jan-2008 13:56

Don't the Phenoms have dedicated cache for each core, unlike intels shared cache?

I'd still buy an Intel anyday.

bradstewart

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# 107397 29-Jan-2008 14:23

Fossie: Don't the Phenoms have dedicated cache for each core, unlike intels shared cache?

I'd still buy an Intel anyday.

Yeah a whole 512kb lol

Fraktul

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# 107417 29-Jan-2008 16:09

Yes but remember AMD CPUs have had their memory controller onboard for some time which gives a significant advantage to them then they get a cache miss. Core and Core 2 Duos need the larger cache for a reason so its not an apples to apples comparison.

If I was you I would check out the extensive reviews with real world preformance testing which Anandtech and HardOCP amongst other publish. Anand in particular is very knowledgable about CPU architecture and its performance and commercial implications.

bradstewart

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# 107419 29-Jan-2008 16:12

The Phenom has been widely criticised by many of the leading sites for their very poor performance.

Fraktul

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# 107430 29-Jan-2008 17:38

I am not saying otherwise, my comments were in regard to the implied comparison of L2 cache size between the Phenom and Core architectures as a means of realworld performance comparison.

Core 2 Duo IPC out performs Phenom IPC in pretty much all realworld applications. Last time I checked pricing (some time ago) it was not that clear cut however in terms of FLOPS/OPS per $, especially if you have a AMD board supporting Phenom already.

His question is not which is faster but which you would buy, pricing also comes into the equation for most people.

Simonm

181 posts

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# 107472 29-Jan-2008 22:12

Looks to me AMD are still a step behind. Intels 45NM stuff is on its way, and intels with onboard memory controllers are roadmapped for 2H 08. (Using the new 1366 LGA socket, which Im told is going to be the same physical size as the 775 unit.)

If I was buying a system it would be an Intel no doubt. Quad Quads with 192GB of RAM... oh wait Im not that rich