AMD’s Phenom ii vs. Intel Core i3
Sheela Murthy from Wisconsis asked this question
Question – Which of the two processors is better – AMD’s Phenom ii vs. Intel Core i3 ? The reason I am aksing is that, I have two computers that look identical in terms of the look, keyboard, hard disk, RAM etc. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both? Thank you for your time.
Answer - Dear Sheela Murthy, thanks for contacting starredreviews for your question. Unfortunately, your question is incomplete and it is difficult to give a straightforward Yes or No answer. We generally require that you give the part number of the processor that you wish to be compare against, so that we can give you a complete answer. Take the example of the Intel core i3 processor. It can be Core i3-330M, i3-350M, i3-370M or i3-380M. The least performing i3-330M is clocked at 2.13 GHz while the core i3-380M is clocked at 2.53 GHz. Obviously, we are going to see a lot of difference between the core i3-330M Vs core i3-380M.
Now if I compare a phenom processor with core i3-330M, it may come out to be faster that it but may be slower than the core i3-380M. I hope you understand. Further complicating is the fact that we do not know that Phenom processor part number which can vary in frequecy range.
That being said, we present here a comparison of the Core i3-330 with Phenom ii N830. They are both clocked about the same.
| Benchmark | Phenom ii N830 | Core i3-330M |
| Super Pi 2M ( Lower is better) | 72 seconds | 50 seconds |
| Windows 7 Experience Index – CPU | 6.2 | 6.2 |
| Pass Mark Score | 1960 | 1950 |
| 3D Mark 06 CPU Score | 2400 | 2210 |
| Number of Cores | 3 | 2 |
| Processor Frequency | 2.1 GHz | 2.13 GHz |
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According to the video uploaded at youtube, we have a little bit of information about the to be launched AMD’s bulldozer processor – the FX-4110.
Note that the FX series from the AMD launches on the April 11 ( or April 20 according to some other sources)
1. That FX-4110 should have a frequency of 3.40 GHz – give or take 200 MHz. We expect the frequency to ramp a little higher. But we will keep our lips tight till the release of the processor.
2. The Windows 7 Experience Index is 7.9 according to the Video releases. Take a look at the picture below.
AMD has claimed 50% performance improvement in the 8 core bulldozer processor with respect to the Intel Core i7 950 processor. It is learned that this information has been given to the system manufacturers and is probably under NDA.
The AMD FX-4110 is a 4 core processor.
The AMD’s FX-8110 is the end high Bulldozer processor that will feature Hex 8 cores. The cores have been nicknamed Zambezi and has been built with 32 nm technology.
( Thanks Johnson, [see comment below] for pointing the typo / mistake that it is an eight core processor not 6 core processor)
Notable feature includes upto 8 MB of L3 Cache memory and 8 MB L2 Cache. It will support DDR3-1866 and will connect to the chipset using high speed HyperTransport 3.1 ( 3.2 GHz)
The AMD’s turbo core 2.0 should boost the performance. The exact nominal clock frequency and the turbo clock frequencies are not yet known.
Stay tuned for more information on the FX-8110 which is expected to be launched in June 2011.
| Feature | FX-8110 |
| Core Frequency | TBD |
| Number of Cores |
8 |
| L2 Cache Memory |
8 MB |
| L3 Cache Memory |
Upto 8 MB |
| TDP |
95W |
| Integrated Memory Controller |
DDR3-1866 |
| Package |
AM3+ |
| Turbo |
Yes |
| Lithography |
32 nm |
| Black Edition |
Yes |
According to the information available, the bulldozer processor requires AM3+ based motherboard. Motherboard manufacturers including ASUS has readied the AMD’s 8 Series based motherboards.
According to ASUS the existing AM3 based motherboards may also work for the latest processors
Here is what Asus says
Current owners of an AM3-based board* will make their AMD 8-Series motherboards compatible with the latest AM3+ CPUs with a simple BIOS** update from the official ASUS website.
http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/AM3_PLUS_Ready/
MSI is also providing similar support for its AM3 motherboards. The existing motherboard will require the BIOS update
Here is the list of the AMD Bulldozer Processor that are to launch in June 2011
Table : AMD Bulldozer Processor List
| Feature | FX-8130P |
FX-8110 |
FX-1110 |
FX-4110 |
| Core Frequency | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Number of Cores |
8 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| L2 Cache Memory |
8 MB | 8 MB | 6 MB | 4 MB |
| L3 Cache Memory |
Upto 8 MB | Upto 8 MB | Upto 8 MB | Upto 8 MB |
| TDP Rating |
125W | 95W | 95W | 95W |
| Integrated Memory Controller |
DDR3-1866 | DDR3-1866 | DDR3-1866 | DDR3-1866 |
| Package |
AM3+ | AM3+ | AM3+ | AM3+ |
| Turbo |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lithography |
32 nm | 32 nm | 32 nm | 32 nm |
| Black Edition |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The bulldozer processors will take on Second Generation Core ix ( Core i3, core i5 and core i7) – the Sandy Bridge processors.