Twice two: AMD Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2 processors. AMD Phenom II processor: characteristics, description, reviews Packaging and delivery

IntroductionIf you regularly read the materials published on our website, you have probably noticed that the number of reviews of dual-core processors released over the past year can be counted on one hand. And this fact does not at all mean our ardent commitment to the concept of multi-cores. On the contrary, at every opportunity we never tire of reminding you that at the present stage of development of the software market, processors with two computing cores are quite capable of demonstrating a more than sufficient level of performance. The weakening of attention to the “dual-core” market segment is explained by the fact that its development has almost completely ceased, since the leading manufacturers of x86 processors for desktop computers focus their main efforts on the development and promotion of quad-core models. All the activity associated with dual-core processors for a long time, in fact, consists of either a slight increase in clock speeds of existing product families, or a reduction in their prices.

However, small quantitative changes of this kind eventually yielded a qualitative result, which we were able to discover in the recently published article “”. As it turned out, AMD's dual-core offerings have ceased to be serious competitors to Intel Core 2 Duo processors, contenting themselves only with competing with inexpensive Intel Celeron models. Our testing has shown that even the relatively new Athlon X2 7000 series cannot be considered as a worthy alternative to at least Pentium processors based on the Wolfdale-2M core, not to mention the more “serious” offerings from Intel.

However, the renaissance AMD is currently experiencing, associated with the emergence and distribution of new cores produced using the 45-nm process, makes certain adjustments to this gloomy picture. So, in fact, the three-core Phenom II X3 700 processors turned out to be quite competitive, which, with certain assumptions, can be considered as some kind of alternative to Intel's Core 2 Duo. However, undoubtedly, for AMD to have a full-fledged presence in the middle part of the market, it still lacks normal dual-core processors capable of providing the modern level of performance. AMD specialists also understand this, so the release of updated dual-core processors based on the latest 45 nm cores was one of the company’s main priorities.

And finally, today AMD is closing the gap in the structure of its own offerings by releasing the much-anticipated dual-core processors, whose “official” (that is, manufacturer’s recommended) price ranges from $70 to $120, which is one of the peaks in consumer demand. . Moreover, AMD decided to give its fans an unexpected surprise and prepared two new-generation dual-core families at once: Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2. The processors of the first family are stripped-down derivatives of the Phenom II processors with a large number of cores, while the Athlon II X2 is in some way an independent product, although similar in microarchitecture and other characteristics to the Phenom II. In this article, we will get acquainted with the processors of both families, compare them with each other, and also see whether we can say that dual-core processors have appeared in the structure of AMD’s offerings, which can somehow change the situation on the market.

AMD Phenom II X2

The entire motley variety of Phenom II processors is a striking example of unification. The Phenom II X2 500 family being considered today is already the fourth version of the CPU, using the same Deneb semiconductor crystal, which was first used in the Phenom II X4 900 processors. Moreover, Phenom II X2 is, at first glance, one of the most irrational application options the original quad-core crystal, because in this case as many as two cores are disconnected. However, on the other hand, the remaining dual-core CPU with a third-level cache is also an amazing example of thrift: thanks to the Phenom II X2, AMD is able to use crystals with multiple defective blocks.

The resulting “cut” was codenamed Callisto. On the Phenom II family tree, it occupies an extreme position: AMD has no plans for even more stripped-down versions of its new quad-core chip, produced using 45 nm technology.

It is not difficult to guess that due to the use of the same semiconductor crystal, the new Phenom II X2 500 inherited the basic properties from their older brothers. This primarily concerns their compatibility with Socket AM3 motherboards and the ability to use high-speed DDR3 memory. Naturally, as for all other Phenom IIs, the possibility of installing new dual-core processors in Socket AM2/AM2+ of the board is also retained. In other words, the new dual-core Phenom II X2 can be used both to create new systems and to improve old ones.

At the same time, despite the fact that the Phenom II X2 is essentially a by-product for AMD, the company treated the quantitative characteristics of this family quite responsibly. So, along with the fact that these processors have a 6 MB L3 cache (the same size as the representatives of the Phenom II X4 900 family), their clock frequencies are at a fairly high level. The senior Phenom II X2 550 processor operates at a frequency of 3.1 GHz, and this is only 100 MHz less than the frequency of the flagship of the entire Phenom II squadron, the Phenom II X4 955 processor. At the same time, the estimated maximum heat dissipation of the representatives of the Phenom II X2 500 series due to the smaller number active cores turns out to be lower than the calculated heat dissipation of all other tri-core and quad-core Phenom IIs (with the exception of energy-efficient models) - it is 80 W.

In order to form a clear and complete picture of the position of dual-core new products among other processors of the Phenom II set, we have compiled a table with their main characteristics.

For testing, AMD sent us the older model of the new generation dual-core processor, the Phenom II X2 550. Its specific characteristics can be gleaned from the screenshot of the CPU-Z diagnostic program.

The utility, as we see, shows that the code name of our processor is Deneb, which, of course, is not inherently incorrect. But at the same time, it should be borne in mind that AMD itself calls the quad-core crystal used at the heart of the Phenom II X2 550 with two disabled computing cores its own code name Callisto.

Also, from the screenshot you can see that the Phenom II X2 550 processor belongs to the Black Edition class, that is, it has an unfixed multiplier, which means that it can be easily and easily overclocked. Considering the cost of this processor, which, according to official data, should be 102 US dollars, the Phenom II X2 550 may well be a good option for inexpensive overclocking platforms. Moreover, the new AMD processors, based on a 45 nm core, have quite good frequency potential.

The AMD Phenom II X2 550 is not the only processor in the Phenom II X2 500 series launching today. At the same time, AMD is releasing the 3-GHz Phenom II X2 545, which, like its twin brother, will compete with Intel Core 2 Duo E7000 processors. However, before looking at the results of comparative tests, let's take a look at another dual-core product that AMD prepared today.

AMD Athlon II X2

Judging by the characteristics, the Phenom II X2 500 series processors should be a very good offer in the price category of “about $100”. However, the release of such processors is a very expensive pleasure for AMD. The die area of this CPU can be compared to the area of the die used in Intel's flagship Core i7 processors, which means that their production cost for the Phenom II X2 500 is relatively high. From here it is obvious that the Phenom II X2 500 series was born only due to AMD’s desire to put defective quad-core Deneb crystals to good use. Most likely, if it happens, it will be with great reluctance to sacrifice full-fledged quad-core crystals for dual-core AMD processors. Simply put, AMD's ability to bring the Phenom II X2 500 to market is very limited, and these processors are unlikely to fully solve all of the company's problems with mid-price dual-core processors.

Therefore, it is not at all surprising that, simultaneously with the Phenom II X2, AMD is introducing another processor - the Athlon II X2, which, although similar in characteristics, is based on the Regor core, which is much cheaper to produce. The main differences between Regor and Deneb lie on the surface: this semiconductor crystal contains only a couple of computing cores, and in addition, to further reduce area and reduce cost, it is also devoid of third-level cache memory. Architecturally, the computing cores of the Athlon II X2 do not differ from the computing cores of the Phenom II X2 processors: they use an absolutely identical K10 (Stars) microarchitecture, which does not differ in any details. The only change made by AMD engineers is an increase in the size of the L2 cache belonging to each computing core from 512 KB to 1024 KB, which, obviously, should somehow compensate for the lack of a shared third-level cache in the Regor core.

As a result, the total area of the Regor semiconductor chip is 117.5 sq.mm, which is more than half the area of the Deneb core. And this value roughly corresponds to the area of the cores of dual-core Intel processors belonging to the Core 2 Duo E8000 family, which are also produced using a 45-nm process technology. However, it must be borne in mind that Intel processors are much more “complex”: they consist of approximately 410 million transistors, while the number of transistors in a Regor semiconductor chip reaches only 234 million. That is why modern dual-core Intel processors based on The Wolfdale core has a 6 MB L2 cache, while the similar Athlon II X2 cores are equipped with only 2 MB of L2 cache in total.

A semiconductor chip specially designed by AMD engineers with a dual-core Regor design, among other things, made it possible to lower the bar for heat dissipation and power consumption. Dual-core Phenom II X2 500, based on the Deneb core, have a calculated heat dissipation of 80 W, and the TDP characteristic of Athlon II X2 processors, built on the Regor core, is reduced to 65 W. Therefore, AMD hopes that as a result of the introduction of the 45 nm process technology in the production of dual-core processors, they will be able to compete with Intel's offerings not only in terms of performance, but also in terms of efficiency.

At the same time, AMD wants to present the Athlon II X2 family as if it were a simpler and cheaper processor than the Phenom II X2 500. That is why the clock frequencies of this family of processors will be lower, as well as the prices: for example, the older model Athlon II X2 250 has an official price of $87 - $15 cheaper than the Phenom II X2 550. However, looking at the differences between these processors, it is impossible It’s clear to say that the Athlon II X2 200 is at least in some way qualitatively inferior to the Phenom II X2 500. For greater clarity, let’s compare the characteristics of the new dual-core processors: the Phenom II X2 500 series and the Athlon II X2 200.

In our opinion, both processor families are dual-core solutions of the same class. And the fact that Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 are equally compatible with the new Socket AM3 platform makes all these inexpensive processors an excellent locomotive for promoting this platform to the market, interest in which, against the backdrop of lower prices for DDR3 SDRAM, will certainly only grow. Moreover, inexpensive Socket AM3 motherboards based on the AMD 770 logic set are currently appearing on store shelves.

To explore the capabilities of the Athlon II X2 200 processors, today we will use the senior representative of this model range, the 3-GHz Athlon II X2 250. The characteristics of this particular processor are visible in the CPU-Z screenshot below.

The diagnostic utility we use is still new to the new Regor processor core. However, it displays all the parameters correctly, and now you can notice that the core stepping of the Athlon II X2 processor differs from the Callisto core stepping used in the Phenom II X2, which once again emphasizes their different origins.

AMD Athlon II X2 Cache

Considering that the only fundamental innovation made in the cores of the Athlon II X2 family of processors was a change in the cache memory layout, we decided to pay a little additional attention to it. As we found out in our review of the first Phenom II processors, when introducing a technological process with 45 nm production standards, AMD engineers did not make any changes to the cache operation algorithms. As a result, the cache memory of Phenom II processors based on the Deneb core operates at exactly the same speed as the cache memory of the first generation Phenom processors. However, the Regor core may be fraught with some surprises, because its second level cache has doubled in size.

Phenom II X2 (Callisto)

Athlon II X2 (Regor)

However, despite this, the associativity of the L2 cache remained the same as it was: the Athlon II X2, like the Phenom II X2, uses a second-level cache with 16-channel associativity. This gives reason to expect approximately equality in L2 cache performance between the Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 processors. The advantage of the more capacious L2 cache of the Athlon II X2 will be a higher probability of data getting into it.

In practice it looks like this.

Phenom II X2 545 (3.0 GHz). Note that Everest incorrectly identifies the codename for this processor.

Athlon II X2 250 (3.0 GHz)

As expected, in real measurements we obtained approximately the same L2 cache speeds for both processors with the Deneb core and the new products with the Regor core. At the same time, the Athlon II X2 memory subsystem turned out to be slightly faster, which can be explained by the absence of overhead costs associated with the need to search for data in the third level cache.

Description of test systems

To fully test the new dual-core Callisto and Regor processors, we decided to compare them not only with competing offerings from Intel, but also with their predecessors offered by AMD, although they belong to a slightly different price segment. Therefore, when preparing this material, we had to use three different platforms.

1. Socket AM3 platform:

Processors:

AMD Phenom II X3 710 (Heka, 2.6 GHz, 3 x 512 KB L2, 6 MB L3);
AMD Phenom II X2 550 (Callisto, 3.1 GHz, 2 x 512 KB L2, 6 MB L3);
AMD Athlon II X2 250 (Regor, 3.9 GHz, 2 x 1024 KB L2).

Motherboard: Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P (Socket AM3, AMD 790FX + SB750, DDR3 SDRAM).
Memory: Mushkin 996601 4GB XP3-12800 (2 x 2 GB, DDR3-1600 SDRAM, 7-7-7-20).

2. Socket AM2 platform:

Processors:

AMD Athlon X2 7850 (Kuma, 2.8 GHz, 2 x 512 KB L2, 2 MB L3);
AMD Athlon X2 6000 (Brisbane, 3.1 GHz, 2 x 512 KB L2);
AMD Athlon X2 6000 (Windsor, 3.0 GHz, 2 x 1024 KB L2).

Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4H (Socket AM2+, AMD 790GX + SB750, DDR2 SDRAM).

3. LGA775 platform:

Processors:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 (Wolfdale, 2.93 GHz, 1067 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2);
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (Wolfdale, 2.8 GHz, 1067 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2);
Intel Pentium E6300 (Wolfdale-2M, 2.8 GHz, 1067 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2);
Intel Pentium E5400 (Wolfdale-2M, 2.7 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2).

Motherboards:

ASUS P5Q Pro (LGA775, Intel P45 Express, DDR2 SDRAM);
ASUS P5Q3 (LGA775, Intel P45 Express, DDR3 SDRAM).

Memory: GEIL GX24GB8500C5UDC (2 x 2 GB, DDR2-1067 SDRAM, 5-5-5-15).

In addition to the components listed, all tested platforms included the same general set of hardware and software components:

Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 4890.
Hard drive: Western Digital WD1500AHFD.
Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista x64 SP1.
Drivers:

Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility 9.1.0.1007;
ATI Catalyst 9.5 Display Driver.

It should be noted that in the framework of this study, we found it possible to use a full-fledged Socket AM3 platform equipped with DDR3 SDRAM to test relatively inexpensive dual-core AMD processors. This decision is explained by significantly reduced prices for memory of this type and its active distribution on the market.

At the same time, we continue to test LGA775 processors in a system with DDR2 SDRAM, since the use of higher-frequency memory with CPUs of the Core 2 Duo and Pentium families, whose bus frequency does not exceed 1067 MHz, is impossible due to the limitations inherent in the logic sets used with them. However, when overclocking LGA775 processors, where the use of memory operating at higher frequencies than 1067 MHz becomes possible, we replaced the above ASUS P5Q Pro board with a similar ASUS P5Q3, but equipped with slots for DDR3 SDRAM.

The evolution of dual-core AMD processors

AMD dual-core processors have a rich history: the first CPUs under the Athlon X2 brand were released back in 2005. And, surprisingly, many subtypes of dual-core AMD processors released since that time remain interesting to this day and do not leave store shelves. Speaking about such older, but relevant models, we, first of all, mean that among the Athlon X2 processors sold today, intended for use in Socket AM2 motherboards, there are representatives of the 5000 and 6000 series with the old K8 microarchitecture, released using technological processes with standards of 90 and 65 nm; and Athlon X2 7000, based on 65 nm cores with K10 microarchitecture. Now they are being supplemented by Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 processors with modern 45-nm cores, but this does not mean at all that the old Athlon X2 will disappear from retail offerings overnight. Dual-core CPUs based on the K8 microarchitecture continue to remain to this day, even in the official price list.

Therefore, it is very easy to trace the evolutionary development of dual-core AMD processors: most representatives of different generations of Athlon X2 have not yet become part of history. The following table contains the characteristics of the main cores used in CPUs compatible with the current Socket AM2 processor socket.

What did AMD bring from such multi-stage improvement of its products, which are, in fact, part of the same platform? Will the new Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 be much faster than the time-tested dual-core processors with 90 and 65 nm cores and K8 microarchitecture? Having asked this question, we tested all five types of processors listed above, forcing them to the same clock frequency - 3.0 GHz.

Progress does not stand still. With each new core (with the exception of one - Brisbane), AMD consistently improved the performance of its own processors. And all this has led to the fact that today's pinnacle of evolution - the Phenom II X2 processors - are about 25% faster than the first Athlon X2 in Socket AM2 version, operating at the same clock frequency. At the same time, the most significant increase in speed occurred with the introduction of the K10(Stars) microarchitecture, however, new products with 45 nm cores do not lose face. When operating at the same clock speed, the new Athlon II X2 is able to outperform the Kuma-based Athlon X2 7000 series by an average of almost 7%, and the Phenom II X2 increases this advantage to 11%.

In other words, the emergence of new dual-core processors manufactured using 45nm technology not only opens up room for AMD to further increase clock speeds, but also raises the bar for mid-range processor performance thanks to improvements in microarchitecture and increased cache capacity.

Phenom II X2 vs Athlon II X2

Despite the fact that the underlying reasons for the emergence of two similar families of dual-core processors are generally clear, the advisability of launching them simultaneously raises some questions. Comparison of the test results of the Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2, operating on identical platforms and at the same clock frequency - 3.0 GHz, can help answer them.

In general, the Callisto core, which has a third-level cache, showed better results in the vast majority of tests. And this fully corresponds to how their manufacturer positions the new families of dual-core processors relative to each other: Phenom II X2 will cost potential buyers about 7-10% more than the equal-frequency Athlon II X2.

In addition, it is quite interesting that the third-level cache memory of the Phenom II X2 processor gives the greatest positive effect in games and during office work. It is in applications of this nature that it makes sense to use Phenom II X2 500 series processors first. When processing media content, rendering, and other computing tasks, the presence of L3 cache memory provides a much smaller performance gain, so in these cases, cheaper processors of the Athlon II X2 family can boast a more favorable combination of price and performance.

The average advantage of the Phenom II X2 over its younger brother operating at the same clock frequency is not a very convincing 5%. This means that the Athlon II X2, which has at least a 200 MHz higher frequency, will already outperform the processor from the more expensive Phenom II X2 family. Therefore, in order to maintain harmony in product positioning, AMD will have to carefully monitor the “cleanliness of the ranks” of its new dual-core offerings, and not allow the standard frequencies of processors in the Athlon II X2 model range to grow too quickly.

Performance

Overall Performance

From the point of view of the SYSmark 2007 test, which evaluates system performance during normal operation, the new AMD processors look very, very tempting. Thus, the Athlon II X2 250 outperforms Intel's new product in the Pentium line with the processor number E6300, and the Phenom II X2 550 competes evenly with the Core 2 Duo E7500. That is, in both cases, the new AMD processors confidently outperform competing Intel offerings, which have a higher cost. And in light of our recent comparison of Ahlon X2 and Pentium processors, we can say that thanks to the transfer to the 45-nm process technology, AMD is truly returning to the mid-level dual-core processor market.

However, as you can see, the new Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 processors pose a hidden threat to AMD's triple-core processors. Thanks to their high clock speed, these dual-core models are faster than their triple-core counterpart Phenom II X3 710, which, by the way, is positioned by AMD as a higher-level processor that competes with the Intel Core 2 Duo E8000 series.

Analysis of the results shown by new products in various SYSmark 2007 scenarios allows us to draw several more interesting conclusions. For example, the ratio of CPU speeds in the Productivity subtest suggests that for normal office work, a very important characteristic of a processor is the size of its cache memory, the size of which is often more significant than the clock frequency. But when working with video content, the Athlon II X2 250 processor without L3 cache shows even higher speed than the Phenom II X2 550. Another interesting case is working in 3D modeling programs. In such tasks, despite the general lag in other scenarios, Intel processors show their strengths, outperforming not only the new dual-core AMD products, but even the new generation triple-core CPU Phenom II X3 710.

Gaming Performance

The new dual-core AMD processors also perform very well in games. This is especially true for the Phenom II X2 550, which, thanks to its L3 cache, outperforms not only the Pentium E6300 and Core 2 Duo E7400, but often also the Core 2 Duo E7500. This makes the Phenom II X2 550 an excellent budget dual-core gaming processor. As for the Athlon II X2 250, its performance in gaming applications turned out to be weaker than that of its older brother. However, it significantly outperforms its 65 nm predecessor, the Athlon X2 7850 - by 13-17%. True, the new Athlon II X2 250 still does not reach the performance level of Core 2 Duo processors.

In addition, it should be noted that many modern games can already quite effectively use more than two processor cores. That is why the triple-core Phenom II X3 710, operating at a frequency of 2.6 GHz, in some cases can offer better performance than dual-core three-gigahertz CPUs with a similar microarchitecture.

Audio and video encoding performance

Encoding mp3 audio in Apple iTunes is much faster if the heart of the system is an Intel processor. Here, AMD's new dual-core processors are not helped by either the increased cache or the K10 (Stars) microarchitecture. But when encoding video both using the DivX codec and using the increasingly popular x264, the Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 processors can boast relatively good speed. In fact, thanks to the clock frequency finally reaching a decent level, the new products may well compete for the palm with representatives of the Core 2 Duo E7000 series. By the way, please note that media content encoding tasks relate to applications that are quite indifferent to the size and structure of cache memory. And the clock frequency plays a decisive role here.

Other Applications

We have repeatedly drawn attention to the relatively low performance of AMD processors when performing final rendering, especially in the popular 3ds max package. With the advent of new 45 nm cores in AMD processors, the situation has not changed. The eldest of today's new products, the Phenom II X2 550, can only boast of the fact that its performance has reached the performance level of the budget Intel Pentium E5400 processor. It is generally a shame to talk about the younger Athlon II X2. Thus, in this case, only triple-core AMD processors can compete with Core 2 Duo.

Although Folding@Home also applies to computing tasks, the results of the new dual-core AMD processors are slightly better here. The Athlon II X2 250 performs on par with the Pentium E5400, and the Phenom II X2 550 is as fast as the Core 2 Duo E7400.

When performing arithmetic calculations using Microsoft Excel, the new dual-core AMD processors continue to show dismal performance. Just like in 3ds max, today only the triple-core Phenom II X3 can become a worthy alternative to dual-core Intel processors.

Things aren't going well in Adobe Photoshop either. As can be concluded from the results, the new dual-core processors Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2 are not always able to solve AMD's problems with the performance of mid-range processors. There are still a fairly large number of popular tasks where AMD products are significantly inferior to Intel processors, and the roots of this state of affairs lie in the weaknesses of the K10 (Stars) microarchitecture. It is especially annoying that there is no hope for correcting the situation in such applications in the foreseeable future.

But new processors built on cores produced using a 45-nm process technology can boast high data compression speeds in archivers. The test results in WinRAR are a clear illustration of this. Even the Athlon II X2 250 is ahead of the Core 2 Duo processors of the E7000 series. The Phenom II X2 550, in comparison with its younger brother, demonstrates another 11% higher result.

Energy consumption

Previous tests have shown that AMD's offerings based on cores produced using the 65nm process technology cannot compete with modern dual-core Intel processors. It seems that AMD’s release of the new Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2 CPU series is quite capable of turning this situation around, because these new processors use obviously more economical semiconductor crystals produced using a 45-nm process technology. This is especially true for the Athlon II X2, since it is based on the new Regor core with significantly reduced complexity. In addition, for this processor AMD itself indicates a 65-W typical heat dissipation level - the same as Intel sets for its dual-core models.

That is why we approached testing the power consumption of AMD's new products with particular interest. The figures below represent the total power consumption of the test platforms assembled (without monitor) “from the wall outlet”. During measurements, the load on the processors was created by the 64-bit version of the LinX 0.5.8 utility. In addition, to correctly assess idle power consumption, we activated all available energy-saving technologies: C1E, Cool"n"Quiet 3.0 and Enhanced Intel SpeedStep.

Despite AMD's best efforts to reduce the power consumption of its platforms and the introduction of Cool"n"Quiet 3.0 technology, which introduces additional power-saving states for 45nm processors, systems built on dual-core Intel processors remain slightly more energy efficient.

We see approximately the same picture under load: Pentium and Core 2 Duo processors clearly consume less than the new dual-core models from AMD. Unfortunately, in terms of performance per watt, AMD has never been able to catch up with its competitor's products. At the same time, it is impossible not to notice the tendency that the power consumption of AMD processors is gradually entering acceptable limits. The consumption of the Phenom II X2 550, which, by the way, is built on an initially quad-core semiconductor chip, turned out to be almost 20 W less than that of the dual-core processor of the previous generation, the Athlon X2 7850.

But the consumption of the platform with the Athlon II X2 250 processor is much more impressive. The 65-watt thermal package was assigned to it for good reason. Under load, the power consumption of a platform with these processors is only 10 W higher than that of a system built on a Core 2 Duo E7500. This means that from the point of view of electrical characteristics, the Athlon II X2 250 can be compared with the Core 2 Duo E8000 series, which is a significant achievement for AMD.

However, so far there is no talk of any particular successes from AMD in creating dual-core processors that are efficient in terms of performance and power consumption. However, AMD has not yet exhausted all its capabilities. In the near future, the company is going to introduce even more economical dual-core processors based on the Regor core, which differ from the Athlon II X2 250 being reviewed today with a lower TDP of 45 W.

Overclocking

Another aspect of practical research of new dual-core AMD processors that we could not leave aside is overclocking. The fact is that the emergence of new cores, the production of which uses a technological process with 45 nm production standards, has returned the interest of enthusiasts to AMD products. The new Phenom II class processors can be overclocked very well, especially in comparison with their predecessors. And although we know that the overclocking limit for processors based on the Deneb core and its derivatives when using air cooling is around 3.7-3.8 GHz, we tried to overclock the Phenom II X2 550 and Athlon II X2 that came into our laboratory 550. The relatively old but proven Scythe Mugen was used as a cooler in our experiments.

First of all, the Phenom II X2 550 went to the test bench. Note that this processor belongs to the Black Edition class, and therefore it can be overclocked by simply changing the multiplication factor, which is not blocked by the manufacturer.

To be honest, we did not expect overclocking results from this processor that would be significantly different from those we received when testing the Phenom II X3 and Phenom II X4. But, nevertheless, this processor was able to surprise us a lot. The fact is that by increasing the supply voltage by 0.15 V above the nominal value (up to 1.475 V), it was able to operate at a frequency of 3.98 GHz. The stability of operation in this mode was confirmed by testing using the LinX utility, which severely loads the processor by executing Linpack code.

This is a very unexpected result, contrary to the achievements that we were able to obtain earlier when overclocking AMD processors on Deneb and Heka cores. However, unfortunately, the joy was short-lived, and as further performance testing showed, despite passing many “heavy” processor tests in this mode, the system turned out to be unstable in 3D applications, including games.

Therefore, we had to reduce the achieved frequency quite significantly. The Phenom II X2 550 could boast of unconditionally stable operation only at a frequency of 3.8 GHz.

As can be seen from the screenshot, the CPU supply voltage was increased to 1.475 V. The second processor voltage, related to the CPU NB, did not change during overclocking, since even increasing it did not allow increasing the frequency of the north bridge built into the processor above the standard 2.0 GHz. Already at 2.2 GHz the test processor began to have memory problems. As a result, despite the promising start, the Phenom II X2 550 processor behaved almost the same as its older brothers. Obviously, the use of the same semiconductor crystal as in the Phenom II X3 and Phenom II X4 predetermined the results of overclocking this processor.

Another thing is the Athlon II X2 250. This processor is based on a truly unique semiconductor core, which is not yet used in any other processors. And since this core has a smaller area and lower calculated heat dissipation, you can expect certain surprises from it in terms of overclocking.

However, we did not obtain fundamentally different results. By increasing the voltage by 0.175 V (to 1.5 V), this processor was able to operate stably at 3.9 GHz - and this turned out to be the limit.

Note that since the Athlon II X2 250 does not belong to the Black Edition class, it was overclocked by increasing the clock generator frequency, which eventually reached 260 MHz. Here, by the way, the absence of an L3 cache in the processor played into our hands: thanks to this, the Athlon II X2 250 was quite calm about the acceleration of the northbridge built into it, and we didn’t even have to reduce the corresponding multiplier. The result of the overclocking was an increase in its frequency to 2.6 GHz, which it handled perfectly with a slight increase in its supply voltage by 0.1 V.

As a result, the Athlon II X2 250 proved to be a slightly more overclocking-friendly processor than its older brother, the Phenom II X2 550, even though it does not belong to the “Black Edition” overclocking series. Of course, it is too early to draw any conclusions based on the results of studying the first copies, but it seems that the Regor core does have a slightly better frequency potential than Deneb and its derivatives - Heka and Callisto.

We would like to supplement what has been said with a small number of tests. The fact is that after overclocking, we wanted to compare the performance of the Phenom II X2 550 and Athlon II X2 250 with each other, as well as with the performance of dual-core Intel processors, also operating in free-lance mode. Therefore, the charts below contain the performance indicators of the following overclocked processors:

AMD Phenom II X2 550 at 3.8 GHz = 19 x 200 MHz. Memory – DDR3 1600 with timings 7-7-7-20;
AMD Athlon II X2 250 at 3.9 GHz = 15 x 260 MHz. Memory – DDR3 1386 with timings 6-6-6-18;
Intel Pentium E5400 at 4.0 GHz = 12 x 333 MHz. Memory – DDR3 1333 with timings 6-6-6-18;
Intel Pentium E7400 at 4.0 GHz = 10 x 400 MHz. Memory – DDR3 1600 with timings 7-7-7-20.

Note that the overclocking frequency of 4.0 GHz for Intel processors was chosen as the most typical result, easily achievable with air cooling.

Performance testing has shown that dual-core Intel processors are more attractive solutions for use in overclocked systems. Even compared to AMD's new 45nm processors, they are able to offer better overclocking potential, higher final frequencies and, as a result, faster performance in overclocked systems. However, the situation for AMD processors is not so dramatic, and often the gap in the speed of platforms is not so great. So given that overclocking is a bit of a lottery, we don't think enthusiasts should give up on AMD's new dual-core offerings.

At the same time, choosing the most optimal option for overclocking from the reviewed AMD products is quite difficult, even after familiarizing yourself with the tests. Although we were able to increase the frequency of the Athlon II X2 250 more than the Phenom II X2 550, it was not able to demonstrate a clearly superior result. After all, the L3 cache found in the Phenom II X2 in some cases turns out to be much more important than a high clock frequency.

Enabling locked kernels

It seems that there is no need to remind our readers in all details of the main pleasant surprise that accompanied the release of the three-core Phenom II X3 processors. Since these processors were based on the same quad-core semiconductor die as their Phenom II X4 family brethren, it suddenly appeared that there was an undocumented ability to enable a deactivated core and turn a tri-core processor into a quad-core processor. Moreover, what’s especially nice is that this procedure does not require any hardware modifications; you just need to activate the BIOS option, which is responsible for the operation of the Advanced Clock Calibration (ACC) technology. Of course, the fourth core is not successfully enabled in all processors, but only in those that are based on a full-fledged semiconductor crystal without defects. Fortunately, for the first batches of the Phenom II X3, the likelihood of getting a “successful” processor was quite high, and the trick of increasing the number of cores in the Phenom II X3 significantly increased the popularity of this AMD product.

Whether a similar number will work with dual-core processors is a question that worries many enthusiasts. Let's figure it out.

First of all, it is necessary to recall that talking about enabling locked cores in dual-core processors makes sense only in relation to the Phenom II X2. After all, its younger brother Athlon II X2 initially uses a dual-core core, in which there are no blocked parts.

Secondly, since the release of the Phenom II X3, something has changed in the situation with the implementation of Advanced Clock Calibration technology in the BIOS of many motherboards. AMD did not quietly look at the rejoicing of enthusiasts and tried to get board manufacturers to update the microcode so that the unlocking capabilities would be eliminated. But, fortunately, not all companies satisfied AMD’s desire. For example, new BIOS versions of the Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P motherboard we used in our tests received an additional option that allows you to choose which version of the microcode to use: the new one, without the ability to enable cores, or the old one.

This option is called EC Firmware for Advanced Clock Calibration, and setting it to Hybrid and then activating Advanced Clock Calibration allows the cores to turn on as before. Moreover, to our great joy, we can report that this method works not only for the Phenom II X3, but also for the new Phenom II X2 too.

Thus, our instance of the Phenom II X2 550 allowed us to activate both locked cores and in the blink of an eye turned into a full-fledged quad-core processor. Which, by the way, was immediately overclocked to 3.8 GHz.

In other words, the dual-core Phenom II X2 550 could easily be a high-speed quad-core processor. But it may not turn out to be - everything here, naturally, depends on what kind of semiconductor crystal underlies a particular instance: fully functional with blocked cores, or still defective. Moreover, given the fact that AMD is going to sell its dual-core processors at very affordable prices, the likelihood of a favorable outcome of unlocking cores in dual-core models seems to us extremely low. Most likely, successful copies of Phenom II X2 processors will be found quite often only in the first deliveries. Therefore, if you seriously hope to get a “lucky” dual-core device, then we recommend that you do not delay the purchase.

In addition, we should not forget that to successfully unlock the Phenom II X2, you need not only a good processor, but also a suitable motherboard that has the ability to enable “old-style” ACC, the number of which is steadily decreasing under pressure from AMD.

By the way, it should be noted that the unlocked Phenom II X2 is still different from the real Phenom II X4. Firstly, it is identified by the motherboard as an unknown processor called Phenom II X4 B50. And, secondly, just as in the case of triple-core processors, unlocking the cores leads to the inoperability of processor thermal sensors.

conclusions

Unfortunately, we still cannot say that AMD has managed to unconditionally surpass its main competitor in at least something. But this does not mean at all that the new dual-core processors are a failure. On the contrary, compared to their predecessors, the Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2 look more than revolutionary. If previously dual-core AMD processors could only be opposed to the younger representatives of the budget Intel Pentium series, and even then with certain reservations, now we can say that among AMD’s offerings there are quite worthy dual-core processors that cover the price category from 80 to 100 dollars.

Among the new products, the Phenom II X2 processors look especially attractive, which aroused exclamations of admiration from us several times during testing. Among the main positive aspects, we should note the high (for their price) performance of these processors in games, office applications and video encoding, as well as the existing non-zero probability of unlocking two additional cores. These qualities make the Phenom II X2 a very attractive proposition, even despite its relatively high power consumption for dual-core processors and not the best overclocking results. In other words, thanks to Phenom II X2, AMD has a real chance to squeeze out some models of competing processors from the Core 2 Duo family on the market.

However, some concern is caused by the availability of these models. The use of quad-core Deneb semiconductor crystals in their basis makes the production of such dual-core chips a low-profit endeavor for AMD. Therefore, most likely, their production will mainly be made from rejects from the production of three-core and quad-core processors. This means that supply volumes of Phenom II X2 will directly depend not on demand, but on the quality of the 45-nm technological process and production volumes of older processor models. That is why you should be mentally prepared for the fact that there will be some shortage of Phenom II X2 on the market, entailing an undesirable price increase.

AMD assigns the role of a truly massive dual-core solution to another family of processors – the Athlon II X2. But it has noticeable weaknesses in comparison with the Phenom II X2. These processors use Regor's own dual-core semiconductor chip, which lacks L3 cache. As a result, the performance of the Athlon II X2 in a number of applications is significantly lower. In fact, we can even say that processors of this type are capable of real competition only with the older representatives of the Pentium series, but not with the younger Core 2 Duo. In addition, the Athlon II X2 does not present any gifts such as the ability to activate locked cores.

However, in comparison with the previous generation Athlon X2, the new Athlon II X2 family is still a huge step forward. These processors offer good overclocking potential, much lower power consumption and, of course, increased performance. At the same time, it is obvious that AMD is not going to stop there, and the Athlon II X2 series will soon receive further development both in the direction of increasing clock frequencies and in the direction of reducing power consumption and heat dissipation.

And, of course, we cannot deny the fact that to promote the Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2, as well as all its other processors built on 45 nm cores, AMD has chosen an extremely attractive pricing policy from a consumer point of view. It obeys a very simple rule: any Phenom II and Athlon II models currently offer higher average performance than Intel processors of similar cost.

Diversity

The family has collected many different processor models, which are divided into three categories depending on the number of cores: two, four and six. Each of them also fell into a specific line. For example, six-core crystals were released under the code name Thuban. The same variant was released with two cores disabled, resulting in only four active "hearts", but under a different name - Zosma.

There was a series with four cores without spares turned off - Deneb. Then these models first had one core disabled and called the line Heka, and then two cores were disabled and called Callisto.

Specifications

Each processor from the AMD Phenom II family could be installed in the Socket AM3 format with 2 GHz HyperTransport. All models supported dual-channel memory of two types - DDR2 and DDR3. The power consumption of each model in the line was different. Six-core models could absorb up to 125 W. The core frequency in the lower variations ranged from 2500 to 3000 MHz, and in the older ones - from 3300 to 3700 MHz (in Thuban).

Branded sets

The AMD Phenom II processor became very popular in its time. The company decided to use the four- and six-core versions in a special kit for gamers. This is how gaming platforms began to appear based on a quad-core crystal, with a 700-series processor and a proprietary graphics accelerator.

AMD Dragon was created specifically for players who would like to get all the necessary devices for a gaming PC at once. Initially, variations of motherboards with a socket for an AM2+ chip and DDR2 memory type were available on the market. After the rebranding, they began to use the AM3 socket and DDR3 memory. In addition, the motherboard had an ATI Radeon HD 4800 graphics card.

AMD Leo is another platform for gamers, which consisted of high-performance components. Instead of a crystal with four cores, a six-core processor was presented here.

We will look at the three main most popular models of AMD Phenom II processors. Their characteristics vary, and each crystal also shows its overclocking capabilities differently. Thus, among the dual-core models the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition stood out, among the quad-core ones - the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, and among the six-core ones - the Phenom II X6 1055T.

Younger relative

Since the new product received the proud name Black Edition, the company accordingly packed the crystal in a strict black box. There are practically no bright graphic elements on it. On the front there is only information about the model family and the main specifications are indicated in the corner. The buyer can immediately note the increased frequencies - up to 3 GHz, a large amount of cache memory and a processor socket.

There is nothing unusual inside. In addition to the crystal, inside we find instructions and a cooler for the AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE. As practice shows, despite the presence of a cooling system, users prefer to purchase an additional cooler. But for some, the branded option will do.

The appearance of the processor did not present anything unusual. In front there is service information with codes and abbreviated wording. On the back you can count 938 contacts, which are designed for the AM3 connector type. In addition, this option is compatible with the older generation of connectors - AM2+.

It’s worth saying right away that this crystal was codenamed Callisto. There are four cores inside, but half of them work, so the model is considered dual-core. The 45nm process technology is used. The processor consumes from 80 W. The clock frequency is 3.1 GHz. The cache memory has three levels. The total volume is 7 MB.

It was possible to reduce the power consumption of crystals and the noise of computing systems. AMD CoolCore was responsible for regulating the operation of inactive processor units, which, in turn, affected power consumption and heat dissipation. The memory could reach a frequency of 1333 MHz.

Those users who were able to unlock two “dormant” cores received an excellent processor. The dual-core model has become a quad-core model. The chip with a starting frequency of 3100 MHz had high overclocking potential. But even without overclocking, performance has already increased by almost 50%.

As a result, overclocking of this AMD Phenom II model showed excellent results - the frequency increased to 3838 MHz. At one time the chip cost $110. For this money, the user could create a quad-core crystal with a frequency of 3.8 GHz from a dual-core crystal.

Reviews

After 3-4 years, users continued to leave good reviews about this model. It was really hard to find any flaws. Buyers praised the good initial clock frequency reserve, sufficient cache memory and a universal connector. Those who were not afraid to unlock cores received a huge performance boost and an excellent overclocking rate.

Middle brother

The middle niche is occupied by processors of the AMD Phenom II X4 family. Here we will look at another successful popular model - Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition. Since this chip also belonged to the “black series”, the box did not change from the previous time. Inside are the same standard cooler, instructions and the chipset itself.

The core was codenamed Deneb, which indicated four active blocks. Otherwise, the model was practically no different from the previous one. The base frequencies indicated a value of 3.2 GHz. The cache memory reached 7 MB. Technological process - 45 nm. Consumption has increased (up to 125 W).

AMD Phenom II X4 models did not have strict restrictions in the voltage range, unlike dual-core variants. Thus, increasing the current supply could help in successful overclocking. The only thing that could cause problems is overheating. In this case, the standard cooling system would definitely not help. Although it is quite good, it is not designed for more powerful processors. Especially if you use overclocking.

Since this option did not have blocked cores, one could not expect unprecedented growth from it. Although, in principle, increasing the frequency potential to a stable value of 3716 MHz still yielded results. And although not everyone considers increasing core speed by 16% a good result, even this option could slightly increase the performance of the system as a whole.

If you install a more powerful cooler, you can safely raise the frequencies to 3.8 GHz. But we must remember that at the same time the voltage should also be increased, which will entail an increase in energy consumption.

AMD's current policy in terms of processor production is extremely clear. All efforts are aimed at creating Deneb chips for the Phenom II X4 9*0 line of processors. However, the production of such high-tech crystals is far from simple, even by modern standards. The percentage of defects is so high that recycling it irrevocably would lead to a significant increase in the cost of full-fledged working chips. That is why, having successfully systematized the rejected crystals, AMD provided naturally discounted models, united in the Phenom II X4 8 * 0 line (Deneb core); Phenom II X3 7*0 (Heka core) and even Phenom II X2 5*0 (Callisto core). You can get acquainted with the characteristics of some representatives of all lines, the Phenom II family, by looking at the table below.

Name	Phenom II X4 945	Phenom II X4 910	Phenom II X4 810	Phenom II X4 805	Phenom II X3 720	Phenom II X3 710	Phenom II X2 550
Technical process, nm
Core
Connector
Frequency, MHz
Factor
HTT/Bclk
L1 cache, KB
L2 cache, KB
L3 cache, KB
Supply voltage, V
TDP, W
Limit temperature, °C
Set of instructions		RISC, IA32, x86-64, NXbit, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a	RISC, IA32, x86-64, NXbit, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a	RISC, IA32, x86-64, NXbit, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a	RISC, IA32, x86-64, NXbit, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a	RISC, IA32, x86-64, NXbit, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a	RISC, IA32, x86-64, NXbit, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a
Approximate price as of 07/14/09, $

The Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor tested today is the fastest in its line, however, it is this model range that has undergone the most significant “amputations” compared to all Phenom II representatives. The series lost two whole cores, with the same amount of third-level cache memory. But, first things first - first, about its packaging.

Appearance of packaging

Let us remind you that the Phenom II X2 550 is “crowned with the title” Black Edition. Accordingly, the packaging, according to AMD tradition, is exclusively black without any “flashy” logos.

The blue square on the front of the package displays the main advantages of the model. This is a fairly high clock speed of 3.1 GHz, a total cache memory of 7.0 MB, and is also designed for installation in the Socket AM3 processor socket.

Equipment

The packaging of the boxed model of the Phenom II X2 550 BE did not bring any surprises, but it did not cause disappointment either.

The delivery includes:

Processor Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition;
CPU cooler FOXCONN(N)1A018E000;
Installation instructions and three-year warranty;
Sticker on the system unit.

The “lightweight” model of the FOXCONN(N)1A018E000 cooler is already familiar to us firsthand. This model is included with all “stripped down” Phenom II models. However, its effectiveness in cooling the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor being reviewed today will be tested in practice and described below.

There is a sticker included. Let us remind you that it was absent in the first tested models of the Phenom II family. Based on letters from readers, we received information that all models of the Phenom II family of new batches are equipped with a sticker.

AMD processor Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition

After examining the heat distribution cover of the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor, it became known that its place of production is Malaysia. The marking is represented by the alphanumeric combination HDZ550WFK2DGI, which can be deciphered as follows:

HD – AMD K10.5 architecture processor for workstations;
Z – processor with a free multiplier;
550 – model number indicating the family (first digit) and the position of the model within the family (the remaining digits - the higher the number, the higher the operating clock frequency);
WF – processor thermal package up to 80 W at a supply voltage in the range of 0.875 – 1.425 V;
K – the processor is packaged in a 938 pin OµPGA (Socket AM3) case;
2 – the total number of active cores and, accordingly, the amount of L2 cache memory 2x512 KB;
DGI - Callisto core (45 nm) stepping C2.

It should be noted that there is some discrepancy with the labeling. The letter combination DGI was used to mark the previously reviewed processors Phenom II X3 710 and Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition. which have a Heka core, which assumes the presence of three active computing cores. But the Phenom II X4 810 processor, also reviewed earlier, is labeled as FGI, and has four active computing cores, but a “cut down” third-level cache. Well, the most surprising thing is that the full-fledged processors Phenom II X4 920 and Phenom II X4 940 are also labeled DGI, although they did not fall under the “scalpel”. However, the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor we are considering today is dual-core.

The back of the processor exposes the 938-pin package. This is Socket AM3. Let us remember that it is backward compatible with the AM2+ connector, and the memory controller built into the processor can work with DDR2 and DDR3 memory.

Specification:

	AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE
Marking
CPU socket
Clock frequency, MHz
Factor	15.5 (starting)
HT bus frequency, MHz
L1 cache size, KB
L2 cache size, KB
L3 cache size, KB

Number of Cores
Instructions support	MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, x86-64
Supply voltage, V
Thermal package, W
Critical temperature, °C
Technical process, nm
Technology support	Cool'n'Quiet 3.0 Enhanced Virus Protection Virtualization Technology Core C1 and C1E states Package S0, S1, S3, S4 and S5 states

Proprietary technologies:

Enhanced virus protection technology (NX bit / Enhanced Virus Protection). Supported by operating systems starting from Windows XP SP2, it is designed to prevent the spread of some viruses that use a buffer overflow error (for example MSBlaster and Slammer), i.e. allows you to prohibit the execution of program code located in memory areas intended for data.

128-bit SSE block and SSE4a instruction set. Includes 6 new instructions to fully and efficiently support the respective applications.

AMD Virtualization (AMD-V)- improved technology that allows you to simultaneously run two independent Operating Systems on one PC.

AMD Cool 'n' Quiet 3.0 Technology provides an effective reduction in power consumption, thereby enabling the creation of quieter computing systems. For the technology to function, support/activation in the BIOS and a software driver is required.

AMD CoolCore- hardware technology allows you to disable currently unused processor units to reduce power consumption and heat dissipation; no driver or activation in the BIOS is required.

Dual Dynamic Power Management Technology- Provides independent power to all processor cores and memory controller for optimal performance and power consumption.

By tradition, confirmation of the characteristics is a screenshot of the CPU-Z program.

However, even the latest version of the CPU-Z program brought a surprise. Pay attention to the Code Name cell. Codename for the core is Deneb, when the real name should be Callisto. Most likely, this embarrassment is due to the fact that the Phenom II X2 processor line is quite “fresh” and the authors of the CPU-Z program at the time of creating version 1.51 simply did not know that this processor model would exist.

The Cahce section of CPU-Z showed the cache distribution. 128 KB L1 cache per core. 512 KB of L2 cache also per core and a total of 6 MB of L3 cache.

DDR3 memory worked at the “native” frequency of the controller built into the processor, 1333 MHz, with a corresponding set of timings.

During testing we used Processor Test Stand No. 1

Motherboards (AMD)	ASUS M3A32-MVP DELUXE (AMD 790FX, sAM2+, DDR2, ATX)GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P (AMD 790X, sAM3, DDR3, ATX)
Motherboards (AMD)	ASUS F1A75-V PRO (AMD A75, sFM1, DDR3, ATX)ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX (AMD 990FX, sAM3+, DDR3, ATX)
Motherboards (Intel)	GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P (Intel P45, LGA 775, DDR2, ATX)GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4 (Intel X58, LGA 1366, DDR3, ATX)
Motherboards (Intel)	ASUS Maximus III Formula (Intel P55, LGA 1156, DDR3, ATX)MSI H57M-ED65 (Intel H57, LGA 1156, DDR3, mATX)
Motherboards (Intel)	ASUS P8Z68-V PRO (Intel Z68, sLGA1155, DDR3, ATX)ASUS P9X79 PRO (Intel X79, sLGA2011, DDR3, ATX)
Coolers	Noctua NH-U12P + LGA1366 KitScythe Kama Angle rev.B (LGA 1156/1366)ZALMAN CNPS12X (LGA 2011)
RAM	2x DDR2-1200 1024 MB Kingston HyperX KHX9600D2K2/2G2/3x DDR3-2000 1024 MB Kingston HyperX KHX16000D3T1K3/3GX
Video cards	EVGA e-GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB GDDR3 PCI-EASUS EN9800GX2/G/2DI/1G GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0
HDD	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS, 500 GB, SATA-300, NCQ
power unit	Seasonic SS-650JT, 650 W, Active PFC, 80 PLUS, 120 mm fan

Select what you want to compare the AMD Phenom II X2 550 with

Knowing the approximate drop in performance when testing triple-core models compared to quad-core models of the same Phenom II family, it was not difficult to guess the performance of dual-core models of the same family. The clock frequency of the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition increased by 100 MHz compared to the Athlon II X2 250 and the presence of 6 MB of third-level cache gave a slight increase in performance. Otherwise, the standard dependence of the number of computing cores on performance, adjusted for clock frequency. But this slight increase in performance allows you to try to compete with equal-frequency dual-core Intel processors, especially when taking into account the cost of these processors.

Efficiency of a boxed cooler

The FOXCONN(N)1A018E000 cooling system, which comes with all processor models of the Phenom II X4 8** and Phenom II X3 7** lines, did not demonstrate much efficiency. This was especially evident when testing the Phenom II X4 810 processor, although when the processor was running at “standard” voltage and frequencies, it coped with its responsibilities.

Let us remind you that this cooler consists of a solid aluminum radiator, the dimensions of which are 30x68x77 (HxWxD) mm. The central thermal column is square-shaped in section; heat-dissipating ribs extend diagonally from it, four of which are thickened, because They also serve as a fan mount.

The radiator is fastened with a “traditional” clip, which fits into the corresponding “grooves” in the radiator.

The fan is marked as FOXCONN PV701512F2BF 1G. Its standard size is 70 mm, and its height is only 15 mm, which means that it is low-profile. The fan drive is equipped with a PWM (PWM) converter, which makes it possible, when connected to the appropriate 4-pin connector, to automatically adjust the speed of rotation of the impeller. The maximum rotation speed of the blades during testing reached ~3000 rpm, while the noise level can be described as moderate and does not stand out from the background of other fans in the system. For a more realistic idea of the effectiveness of a “boxed” cooler in cooling the dual-core processor Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, it was given the most serious opponent Scythe Kama Angle . Moreover, the rotation speed of the blades of the latter was maximum, i.e. 1200 rpm In parallel with monitoring the processor temperature, the power consumption of the system as a whole was measured to assess the energy efficiency of the Phenom II X2 550 BE processor. Energy-saving technologies C1E and Cool`n`Quiet have been disabled due to possible distortion of results.

First, measurements were made at “standard” frequencies and voltages. The clock frequency is 3100 MHz, and the processor supply voltage is 1.34 V, i.e. the one installed by the GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P motherboard in AUTO mode.

As you can see, the “boxed” cooler was able to “maintain” the temperature under load at 58°C, which is 8°C less than that of the Phenom II X4 810 and as much as 18°C more than the performance cooler Scythe Kama Angle. The energy efficiency of the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor in idle mode is almost the same as that of the dual-core Athlon II X2 250, which AMD positions as more economical. But under load, processor consumption diverges significantly. This is due to the presence of a large third-level cache memory in the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition.

Efficiency of using DDR3

The Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor is capable of working with both DDR2 and DDR3 memory. Despite the fact that at the moment DDR3 memory is almost equal in price to DDR2 memory, new AM3 motherboards will be able to use it. That is why we present to your attention comparative tests of the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor using DDR3-1333 and DDR2-800 memory.

Test package		Result		Decrease in productivity, %
Test package		We use DDR3	We use DDR2	Decrease in productivity, %



	Rendering CB-CPU
	Shading, CB-GFX



Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Demo, High, 1280x1024, AA2x
	DirectX 9 High, fps
	DirectX 10 Very High, fps

The overall average performance drop was only 2,68% . Only the buyer himself can decide whether this is a lot or a little, focusing on the difference in price. In any case, if you have a motherboard with a Socket AM3 connector and DDR3 memory at an affordable price, you shouldn’t give up the extra three to five frames per second.

Overclocking

Since the Phenom II X2 550 processor model we are considering today is the Black Edition, which implies a free, not blocked, multiplier, we decided to try to overclock it without increasing voltage, because not all motherboards have the ability to change the processor supply voltage in a sufficient range.

Stable operation was achieved at a processor clock frequency of 3817 MHz. What's on 23% higher than the nominal clock frequency. It is worth noting that the multiplier changed from x15.5 to x19.0, while the reference bus frequency remained unchanged.

The processor temperature when overclocked without raising the voltage using a “boxed” cooler increased by only 2°C at idle, and by 3°C under load, but still remains acceptable. But power consumption increased by 12 watts and amounted to 237 watts, which, even without the results of overclocking with increased voltage, makes you think not only about a productive cooler like the Scythe Kama Angle, but also about a powerful power supply, as well as a good motherboard that will be capable of " feed" the processor during overclocking.

By raising the voltage to 1.44 V, it was possible to achieve stable system operation at a processor clock frequency of 3939 MHz. In this case, the multiplier value was x19.5. Compared to the “standard” clock frequency, the increase was 27%. In fact, this is a very solid overclocking, since not a single “brother” model of the Phenom II family was able to achieve stable operation at this clock frequency. For example, the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition model was able to overclock to only 3608 MHz at a rather dangerous voltage of 1.536 V. The Phenom II X4 810 model, which is not a representative of the elite Black Edition division, was overclocked in the classical way, i.e. raising the reference frequency, and reached a clock frequency of only 3445 MHz at 1.44 V. The only exception can be considered the Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition processor, which reached a clock frequency of 3811 MHz at a voltage of 1.44 V. However, do not forget that this is a representative of a full-fledged line that can only work with DDR2 memory, which naturally affected the results of its overclocking.

It’s not for nothing that the “boxed” cooler is missing from the table above. Its effectiveness turned out to be extremely insufficient– the system “freezes” under load. But Scythe Kama Angle once again demonstrated his “icy heart”. Difference between the highest recorded temperature in nominal mode and during acceleration with increasing voltage was only 6°C and as much as 32°C lower than the critical temperature declared by AMD. Power consumption during overclocking with increased voltage increased by another 23 watts. The assumptions were confirmed; to operate the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor in an overclocked state with increased voltage, you will need a high-performance cooler, a good power supply and a motherboard with a high-quality processor power supply. We suggest evaluating the increase in performance of the overclocked Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition in the following table.

Test package		Result
Test package		Rated frequency	Overclocked processor
	Rendering CB-CPU
	Shading, CB-GFX
Fritz Chess Benchmark v.4.2, knodes/s


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Demo, High, 1280x1024, AA2x
	DirectX 9 High, fps
	DirectX 10 Very High, fps

When overclocking the processor to 27% the average increase in productivity was 16.4%. This nonlinearity is due to the fact that the “standard” processor frequency is 3100 MHz, which is quite high even by today’s standards, and not all tasks depend only on the core clock frequency.

Activating blocked kernels

At the moment, it’s no secret that for all modifications of the “cut down” processors of the AMD Phenom II family, you can try to unlock and restore previously disabled blocks. Naturally, to claim that all models are capable of “unlocking” is an absolute fallacy. However, the culprit of today's review made us sweat... The approach applied to the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor was unsuccessful, i.e. by setting the option Advanced Clock Calibration (ACC) in meaning AUTO no changes were noticed. Using the method of “scientific poking” and studying the information posted on the Internet, the following values were set for the BIOS items in the Advenced Clock Calibration section.

EC Firmware Selection
Advanced Clock Calibration
Value (all cores) [-2%]

Fingers crossed, the system was launched, and a few minutes later a wonderful screenshot of the task manager window and the CPU-Z program was taken.

The dual-core Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor has turned into the non-existent quad-core Phenom II X4 B50 BE! Now we have in our hands a full-fledged Deneb processor with a “starting” clock frequency of 3100 MHz. Let us recall that the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor, with the Advanced Clock Calibration option set to AUTO, just like today’s Phenom II X2 550 BE, became quad-core and received the non-existent “official name” Phenom II X4 20. A system with an already quad-core Phenom II X2 The 550 Black Edition was surprisingly absolutely stable. No nuances in operation were noticed during testing.

Test package		Result		Productivity gain, %
Test package		Phenom II X2 550 2 cores	Phenom II X2 550 4 cores	Productivity gain, %









	Rendering, CB-CPU
	Shading, CB-GFX
Fritz Chess Benchmark v.4.2, knodes/s


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Demo, High, 1280x1024, AA2x
	DirectX 9 High, fps
	DirectX 10 Very High, fps

This is where productivity has improved significantly! This suggests that increasing the clock frequency above ~3.0 MHz does not provide as much performance gain as increasing the number of active cores. Thus, activating two previously blocked cores at a constant clock frequency gave an average increase in performance 46% . At times almost linear with the number of cores. That is why there were special hopes for successful overclocking of the newly-made quad-core processor.

The fact of stable operation at a clock frequency of 3838 MHz of the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor with two unlocked cores speaks for itself. This is the highest result that was achieved when overclocking any processor from the Phenom II family in our test laboratory. In this case, the voltage supplied to the processor was 1.4 V. Which does not even go beyond the limits set by the manufacturer. Fabulous! By paying ~$110 you can get a processor whose characteristics lie between the most expensive and advanced models of the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition and Phenom II X4 945 family today.

Naturally, one fact of fantastic characteristics is not enough. This is why the decision was made to pit the unlocked and overclocked Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition against some of the most powerful processors from competing Intel. So, the competitors will be Core 2 Quad 9550 and Core i7 940 , previously reviewed on our website, as well as the “brotherly” Phenom II X4 940. To achieve more adequate results, only processor tests will be compared.

Futeremark PCMark`05 showed an absolutely linear dependence of performance not so much on the number of computing cores but on the processor clock frequency.

CrystalMark has already shown more realistic performance results for multi-core processors. Although the threefold difference between the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, operating at standard frequencies with two computing cores, and the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, overclocked to 3838 MHz with two cores unlocked, seems unrealistic. Nevertheless, the quad-core Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor operating at a clock frequency of 3838 MHz confidently holds superiority over its far from weak competitors, which are two to three times more expensive.

Futeremark PCMark`06, in turn, gave the most interesting results, showing that in general, gaming performance primarily depends on the video subsystem, and only then does processor performance become important.

Well, coming to the conclusions of this article, I would like to show the results of “dancing with a tambourine” over the extraordinary Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor in all its glory.

Test package		Result		Productivity gain, %
Test package		Phenom II X2 550 2 cores	Phenom II X2 550 4 cores @3838 MHz	Productivity gain, %









	Renderin, CB-CPU
	Shading, CB-GFX
Fritz Chess Benchmark v.4.2, knodes/s


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Demo, High, 1280x1024, AA2x
	DirectX 9 High, fps
	DirectX 10 Very High, fps

The overall average performance increase when activating two cores and overclocking to 3838 MHz was 67.45% (!). In the editor's memory this is first case such an increase in performance directly, and not in the percentage of characteristics. Moreover, the acceleration noticeable to the “naked eye” is observed not only in specific synthetic tests, but in real applications and games. And the most amazing thing is that such an increase in productivity was obtained without the use of “sophisticated” technologies, such as cooling with liquid nitrogen, multi-level freon units, or even the ubiquitous water cooling system. Paradox or incredible luck? Most likely, the second, since it was not possible to find more suitable logical reasons.

Conclusion

As for using the AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor in nominal mode, this prospect is a little doubtful. The fact is that the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition is generally inferior to the more technologically advanced Athlon II X2 250 processor, both in terms of power consumption, heating, and even cost. After all, although in terms of performance at nominal frequencies there is a slight superiority of the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, But the same energy consumption, heating and price completely neutralize it. Here I would like to advise you to either save a little and get almost the same performance at lower costs, or, conversely, add a little and buy at least a three-core processor. The only thing that can improve the situation a little is if you look at this processor as a Black Edition model with mandatory subsequent overclocking. But if you choose the AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition as an object of real overclocking with an attempt to unlock two more cores, then its purchase will be more than justified!

As already stated, 67% "free" The increase in absolute productivity does not require any explanation. There is simply no processor that is more profitable for an overclocker today. However, please note that:

To use the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor overclocked to 3838 MHz with two cores activated, you should, at a minimum, acquire a good power supply, an appropriate motherboard with a high-quality processor power supply and an 8-pin power connection, as well as an alternative high-performance cooler.

have “good” luck, since world practice shows that not every processor of the Phenom II family “cut down in cores” can be unlocked. However, if there is an opportunity to “choose”, not using it would be not only stupidity, but real laziness!

We talked to some overclockers and learned that some of them have been using 45nm AMD processors with voltages between 1.50 and 1.56V since the Deneb announcement last winter. This level of voltage tolerance is much higher than that of competing Intel models, but to eliminate potential problems, we decided to limit ourselves to a maximum voltage of 1.50 volts (give or take a few millivolts) under full CPU load, with no peak idle voltage. exceed 1.55 V.

AMD offers its own overclocking utility called “AMD OverDrive Utility”, which allows you to change the most important settings directly under Windows. While the utility is really useful for finding CPU overclocking limits, many users will want to make the settings permanent by changing BIOS options.

The traditional method of overclocking is to increase the clock speed and then run stability tests until the processor starts to crash. Overclockers then increase the voltage to improve stability and repeat the tests until they hit the heat dissipation threshold (the processor is too hot) or the frequency threshold (when increasing the voltage no longer helps). However, tests of the Phenom II X2 550 showed that most processors continue to overclock if the voltage is set above our threshold. Therefore, we immediately set the specified voltage threshold and tried to find the highest stable frequency at which the processor would operate. The following BIOS screenshots show the results of our efforts, so let's see what we ended up with after each tweak.

The X2 550's stock clock speed is 3.10 GHz, which is obtained by multiplying the 200 MHz HT frequency by a factor of 15.5. The MSI BIOS lists the HT frequency as "CPU FSB frequency", which is technically inaccurate since AMD insists that the HT is not an FSB bus. Since we took the processor from the Black Edition line, most of our overclocking efforts will be devoted to increasing the stock 15.5x multiplier.

In the MSI BIOS, the “CPU VDD Voltage” parameter corresponds to the base processor voltage at which it will be detected, and “CPU Voltage” is used to fine-tune the voltage under load. We started by setting the “CPU VDD Voltage” voltage to 1.50 V, and the memory voltage “DRAM Voltage” to the manufacturer’s recommended level of 1.65 V. We then increased the CPU multiplier, which is set in the BIOS by the “Adjust CPU Ratio” parameter to 16x.

For stability tests we used Prime95 utility, while version v25.8 4 (64-bit assembly for Window) allowed loading each core. You can select several types of tests from the menu. We chose the “Small FFTs” option because this utility fully loaded the processor without putting much strain on the memory.

After about 20 minutes of testing, we rebooted the system and increased the CPU multiplier to 16.5x, then ran the Prime95 tests again. We continued to increase the multiplier until the system crashed at 18.5x. CPU-Z told us that the CPU voltage was dropping to 1.48 V, so we went back into the BIOS and increased the “CPU Voltage” setting by 0.20 V (to 1.520 volts) to try to compensate.

After a reboot, the 18.5x multiplier resulted in Prime95 already running stable, so we continued to increase the multiplier by 0.5x until the system crashed again with a 21x multiplier in the BIOS.

Since we had already reached the threshold voltage level, we tried reducing the “Adjust CPU Ratio” multiplier in the BIOS to 20.5x and ran a longer stability test. After about 45 minutes, the system still crashed. We got the same thing when we set the multiplier in the BIOS to 20x.

With the “Adjust CPU Ratio” multiplier in the BIOS at 19.5x, the system worked stably for several hours. Knowing that we were able to achieve 19.5 x 200, but not 20 x 200, we began to increase the HyperTransport frequency, that is, the “200” parameter in 19.5 x 200. We used the “Adjust CPU FSB Frequency (MHz)” option in BIOS MSI, after which we set the HT frequency to 202 MHz and obtained stable operation in tests for more than one hour. We then tried to set it to 204 MHz, but the system crashed after about 45 minutes. At 203 MHz, the system crashed after about one hour of Prime95 testing, so we returned to a stable value of 202 MHz.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Test configuration of AMD Phenom II X2
	Regular mode	Overclocking
CPU	AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1 GHz, 1 MB L2 cache + 6 MB L3 cache, 1.288 V	3.94 GHz (19.5x 202 MHz), 1.50 V
Memory	DDR3-1333 CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.50 V	DDR3-1616 CAS 6-6-5-18, 1.65 V
Motherboard	MSI 790FX-GD70 Socket AM3, 790FX/SB750, BIOS 1.3 (04/27/2009)
Video card	Zotac GeForce GTX260², GPU 576 MHz, shaders 999 MHz, 896 MB GDDR3-2484
HDD	Western Digital VelociRaptor WD30000HLFS, 300 MB, 10,000 rpm, 16 MB cache
Sound card	Built-in HD Audio
Net	Built-in 1 Gbps
Software
operating system	Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP1
Video card	GeForce 182.08 Desktop

An increase in CPU clock speed by 27% is unlikely to surprise many experienced overclockers, but the fact is that the Phenom II X2 550 already operates at a fairly high frequency of 3.10 GHz. The resulting clock rate of 3.94 GHz is truly impressive for an AMD processor, even if the percentage increase is not that large. How will overclocking affect CPU performance?

CPU arithmetic performance improved by 25%, and multimedia performance by 26%. The slight difference between the frequency increase and performance can be associated with the HT frequency being close to the standard one, as we discussed above.