AMD Phenom II X4 810 Review

Page 2 - Test methods and configuration

For the purpose of the review we choose components that adequately match the platform we're testing. We included tests of AMD Phenom II X4 810 at default frequency with 2x2GB 800MHz 5-5-5-18 DDR2 memory, the same we used in the tests of AMD Phenom II X4 940. We also compared the processor to Intel Q9550 Quad Core + 2x1GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 333x8.5, Core i7 965 XE (3.2GHz) 3x1GB and Intel Dual Core E8400 (9x333 = 3GHz) with 2x2GB DDR2 800MHz memory. Of course we also included older Phenom 9850 X4 with the same 2x2GB DDR2 5-5-5-18 and Phenom II X4 810 and Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition in order to see how does the changes in the architecture affect the performance of the newer one compared to the older.

Tests are a bit unfair, mostly towards Q9550, that uses faster memory, but these are results already available to us from the Intel Core i7 review that took place in the past. By the time of reviewing of AMD Phenom II X4 (810 anf 940 BE) we also had no NVIDIA GeForce 280GTX within our reach (the type od card we tested Intel Q9550 and Intel Core i7 965). Now we had "only" 2xHD4870X2. So, sadly, there will be no direct comparison between AMD Phenom II X4 and the above mentioned Intel quad-core processors in game tests.

Common components

• Hard drive 1: Western Digital Velocity Raptor 10 000rpm 150GB
• Hard drive 2: Seagate Barracuda 9 7200rpm 300GB
• Optical drive: ASUS DVD+/-RW 24x Ligthscribe SATA
• PSU: Raptoxx RT-EBAD1200 Exxtreme 1200W
• Cooler: ZALMAN 9700 LED
• Case: NOX Coolbay HX with 2x140mm fans and one big 200mm fan on the side cover blowing on the whole motherboard
• Monitor: Belinea o.display 4_24" LCD 1920x1200

Configuration 1: AMD Phenom II X4 810 Deneb 45nm @ default 200x13 (2.6GHz); DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz 5-5-5-18

• Video card: Sapphire HD4870X2 2GB and 2 x Sapphire HD4870X2 2GB in Crossfire mode
• Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 Deneb 45nm
• Memory: 2x2GB Corsair Dominator 800MHz (5-5-5-18)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790GP DS4H (AMD 790GX Chipset)

Configuration 2: AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 45nm @ default 200x15 (3GHz); DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz 5-5-5-18

• Video card: Sapphire HD 4870 X2 2GB
• Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 Deneb 45nm
• Memory: 2x2GB Corsair Dominator 800MHz (5-5-5-18)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790GP DS4H (AMD 790GX Chipset)

Configuration 3: AMD Phenom 9850 X4 Deneb 65nm @ default 200x12.5 (2.5GHz); DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz 5-5-5-18

• Video card: Sapphire HD 4870 X2 2GB
• Processor: AMD Phenom 9850 X4 65nm
• Memory: 2x2GB Corsair Dominator 800MHz (5-5-5-18)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790GP DS4H (AMD 790GX Chipset)

Configuration 4: Core i7 965 XE @ default (133x25 = 3.2GHz, 3x1GB DDR3 1600MHz памет)

• Video card: MSI N280GTX 1GB за Intel Q9550 и Intel Core i7 965
• Processor: Intel Core i7 Nehalem 965 XE [default 3.2GHz (133x25)]; >>>> [3.84GHz (160x24)]
• Memory: 3x1GB A-DATA Extreme Edition DDR3 1600MHz (9-9-9-24)
• Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe (Intel X58 Chipset)

Configuration 5: Intel Q9550 @ default 333x8.5 (2.83GHz) с DDR3 3x1GB 1333MHz памет

• Video card: MSI N280GTX 1GB за Intel Q9550 и Intel Core i7 965
• Processor: Intel Core2Quad Q9550 default 2.83GHz (333x8.5)
• Memory: 2x1GB A-DATA DDR3 Extreme Edition 1600@1333MHz
• Motherboard: ASUS P5K3 Deluxe (Intel P35 Chipset)

Configuration 6: Intel E8400 @ default 333x9 (3GHz) с DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz 5-5-5-18

• Video card: Sapphire HD 4870 X2 2GB
• Processor: Intel Core2Duo E8500 3200MHz (400x8)
• Memory: 2x2GB Corsair Dominator 800MHz (5-5-5-18)
• Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E WiFi (Intel P35 Chipset)

Tests were conducted under Windows Vista x64, since this is the only modern OS capable of handling all the capabilities of the platform and running 4 or more GB of memory with no problem.

Here is the list of tests:

• Cinebench 10
• WPrime (32MB & 1024MB)
• SuperPI (32MB)
• Everest Ultimate (memory copy, read, write & latency)
• SiSoft Sandra Lite XII.SP2c (memory bandwidth & memory latency)
• DivX & x264 video encoding
• Paint.NET image operations
• WinRAR & 7-zip
• 3DMark Vantage
• Crysis
• Crysis Warhead
• Far Cry 2
• Enemy Territory Quake Wars
• World in Conflict
• Unreal Tournament 3

The tests included in the review are of various types - from purely synthetic, single & multi thread, to fully functional as compression of video files, image processing, WinRAR & 7-Zip compression and even a wide array of games - after all the processor is not intended for the mass of common users. No, it is aiming for the hearts of the hardcore gamers and hardware enthusiasts. Well, time to see the results.