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The core i5-2410M from Intel is a comparatively fast processor belonging to the 2nd generation Intel Core i5 processor. The most dramatic improvement as compared to the 1st generation Intel core i5 processors is in the area of Integrated graphics Unit that is powered by the Intel HD Graphics 3000. Integrated graphics is a part of the unified silicon die and not a separate discrete component or a card. The Integrated graphics and the processor cores are all in one die unlike the earlier 1st generation processors, in which the processor ( 32 nm) and the integrated graphics ( 45 nm) were on separate die.

The base frequency of the graphics runs at 650 MHz that can extend to 1.20 GHz depending upon the demand. The new Turbo boost 2.0 significantly improves the performance of the processor

Source : The complete specification is at Intel website at

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52224

Processors

The Feature and the benchmarking difference between AMD’s Phenom ii N830 and the Pentium P6200 has been compared in the next two tables.

We appreciate the readers’ comment on the usefulness of this article. Feel free to comment at the end of this article.

Table : Phenom ii N830 Vs Intel Pentium P6200 Feature Differences

Feature	Phenom ii N830	Intel Pentium P6200
Core Frequency	2.1 GHz	2.13 GHz
No. Of Cores	3	2 (No Hyperthreading)
Cache Organization	1.5 MB	512KB L2 + 3MB L3
Turbo Frequency	No Turbo	No Turbo
TDP Rating	35 Watts	35 Watts
64 Bit Support	Y	Y
Lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Integrated Memory Controller	DDR3-1333	DDR3-1066
Integrated Graphics	No Integrated Graphics	Yes, Base 500 MHz, Turbo 667 MHz

 

Table : Phenom ii N830 Vs Intel Pentium P6200 Benchmarking Comparison

Benchmarks	Phenom ii N830	Intel Pentium P6200
PassMark Score	1938	1668
Super Pi 2M (Lower in better)	72 seconds	46 seconds
3D Mark 06 CPU	2420	1950
Windows 7 Experience Score	6.2	5.8

Here are some questions you may have in your mid when comparing the AMD’s Phenom ii N830 and the Intel’s Pentium P6200.

Q.  Is it true that the Pentium P6200 t has Integrated Graphics Unit ? What is its implication on comparison with Phenom ii N830 ?

A. Yes, the Intel’s Pentium P6200 has integrated Graphics Unit which helps in video encoding, video display and some entry level graphics.  A Phenom ii N830 based system will have a separate discrete graphics. The performance will depend upon the graphics component.

Q. So which one is better  ?

A. Phenom ii N830 seems to be better in overall performance and in real life computing. The Pentium P6200 does takes lead in the Super Pi calculation, but it is not reflective of the real world performance.

Some more details of Phenom ii N830

The N830 competes with the Intel’s entry level Core i3 processors ( and also with the Pentium P6100, P6200, P6300 etc) and does well in case where the number of threads are more. For low to moderate performace it is a good processor with its decent architecture. It has integrated Memory Controller and a fast HyperTransport Bus.

Some more details of Intel Pentium P6200

The Pentium P6200 belongs to the Arrandale architecture, the same architecture that powers the first generation core i3 processors. It enjoys the benefit of integrated memory controller and is suitable for low cost entry level notebooks. It has integrated gpu unit with entry level graphics performance. The lack of the Hyperthreading (One thread per core) reduces performance slightly as compared to the similarly clocked core i3 processors. Intel has attempted to gain by encashig the Pentium brand name that it created over the years

Processors

The core i3-330M is the First Generation Intel Core i3 processor that are found in the entry level notebooks. This has been mostly superseded with the higher clocked core i3-380M. Newer 2nd generation core i3 processor will likely make it almost obsolete in next one year or so. The core i3-380M should continue to be sold for the next two years.

Table : Core i3-330M Features and Specs

Feature	Core i3-330M
Core Frequency	2.13 GHz
No. Of Cores	2
Cache Organization	512KB L2 + 3MB L3
Turbo Frequency	No Turbo
TDP Rating	35 Watts
64 Bit Support	Y
Lithography	32 nm
Integrated Memory Controller	DDR3-1066
Integrated Graphics	Yes, Base 500 MHz, Turbo 667 MHz

 

Table : Core i3-330M Benchmarking

Benchmarks	Core i3-330M
PassMark Score	1964
Super Pi 2M (Lower in better)	49 seconds
3D Mark 06 CPU	2210
Windows 7 Experience Score	6.2

Some more details of Core i3-330M

The Hyperthreading in the core i3-330M processor allows 4 threads running simultaneously. The processor is built with two dies on the chip, the 1st die containing the two processor cores and the second die containing the Integrated memory controller and the integrated GPU. The performance of the Integrated GPU is for entry level graphics and not really great for gaming, though, it helps reduce system cost by not requiring a separate discrete graphics component. The core i3-330M is for entry level notebooks. More recently, the higher clocked, the core i3-380M has become more popular choice for the notebook manufacturers. The communication with the chipset is using fast differential DMI Bus

Processors

AMD Phenom II P960

AMD Phenom II P960 is a quad core processor clocked at 1.80 GHz. The missing Level 3 Cache is one reason that leads to its slow performance. Single threaded applications will show slow performance, but the multithreaded applications or software written to take advantage of the 4 cores are expected to be fast.

The P960, has integrated memory controller, and it communicated with the memory directly. In other words it does not has the traditional front side bus to chipset to memory type communication. It communicates with the peripherals using HyperTransport Bus.

The Cache organization consist of 128 KB of L1 cache and 512 KB of L2 Cache per core. The small cache memory is partially made up by the fast integrated memory controller. Other features include the support for the 64 bit instruction set, support for MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 instructions sets.

As a customer this processor will be useful only if you are going to take advantage of the multiple cores of this CPU.

Table : Phenom ii X4 P960 Features and Specs

Feature	Phenom ii X4 P960
Core Frequency	1800 MHz
No. Of Cores	4
Cache Organization	2 MB L2 Cache
Turbo Frequency	No Turbo
TDP Rating	25 Watts
64 Bit Support	Y
Lithography	45 nm
Integrated Memory Controller	DDR3-1066
Integrated Graphics	No Integrated Graphics

Table : Phenom ii X4 P960 Benchmarking

Benchmarks	Phenom ii X4 P960
PassMark Score	2160
Super Pi 2M (Lower in better)	Not available
3D Mark 06 CPU	Not available
Windows 7 Experience Score	Not available

Some more details of Phenom ii X4 P960

Phenom ii X4 P960 should be good if your application need multi threads running in parallel. In single threaded applications, its performance may not turn out to be as great. Intel’s dual Core i5 and even some core i3 processors ( take a look at core i3-380M), should surpass in performance

Processors

Here are some facts we know about AMD Bulldozer processor, that are set to release in June 2011.

1. The bulldozer processor will be available in 4 core, 6 core and 8 core variations with initial part numbers FX-4011, FX-6011 and FX-8011 and FX-8011P.

2. The Bulldozer processors will use AM3+ sockets. Newer motherboards for these processors have been designed by Asus and will be launched alongwith the processor launch.

3. The existing AM3 socket based motherboards may also be used, with BIOS upgrade in many cases. Though newer AM3+ will be better able to take advantage of new features like faster DDR3 memory and faster HyperTransport Bus.

4. The Bulldozer processors will use 32 nm technology

5. AMD is also releasing 9 Series Chipset that these processors will connect to.

5. The bulldozer processors will support Turbo similar to that of the hex core phenom processors.

6. The 8 core bulldozer processors will take on the Intel’s core i7-2700K and will be priced about the same.

Processors