AMD Performance Midrange
With Phenom II, an apology is no longer needed when putting together an AMD performance midrange system. While the Phenom was an honest competitor at the price points where AMD chose to compete, the poor overclocking of the AMD Phenom compared to Intel Core 2 Duo and Quad processors was always a nagging reality. Phenom II changes all that, and AMD in 45nm clothes is once again a screaming overclocker. We have reached 3.9-4.0GHz in internal Phenom II testing, which places the Phenom II squarely into Intel Core 2 overclocking territory. The days when AMD meant lots of overclocking headroom have finally returned - at least through the midrange CPUs.
| AMD Performance Midrange PC | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition (3.2GHzx4 125W 4x512KB L2, 6MB L3) | $200 |
| Cooling | Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail (after $10 Rebate) | $27 |
| Motherboard | MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 DDR3-2000+ | $170 |
| Video | MSI Radeon HD 4890 1GB OC Edition (After $30 Rebate) | $170 |
| Memory | OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 14400) Low Voltage Model OCZ3P1600LVAMGK 7-7-7-24 | $87 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1001FALS | $95 |
| Optical Drive | LG BD/HD DVD 8X BD read/16x DVD read/write CH08LS10 - Retail | $130 |
| Audio | On-Board | $ - |
| Case | Cooler Master Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Mid-Tower | $100 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750w 80 PLUS Certified SLI/Crossfire Ready Core i7 Power (after $20 Rebate) | $100 |
| Base System Total | $1079 | |
| Display | ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor (1920x1200) (after $30 Rebate) | $300 |
| Speakers | Logitech G51 155 watts RMS 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers - Retail | $120 |
| Input | Microsoft CA9-00001 Black PS/2 Standard Keyboard and Optical USB/PS2 Mouse - OEM | $16 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Vista Home Premium OEM | $99 |
| Complete System Bottom Line | $1614 | |
| SSD (Optional) | OCZ Vertex OCZSSD2-1VTX120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Disk | $339 |
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The Phenom II 955 Black Edition at 3.2GHz x4 is the fastest of the currently shipping AMD Phenom II processors. Recently the Phenom II 955BE has been frequently on sale, as it is right now for just $199.95. That is a great price on the flagship Phenom II and it brings tremendous value to the AMD performance midrange system. The Phenom II is very similar in L2/L3 cache configuration to the Intel Core i7, but i7 is clearly the better performer and the fact it sells for more reflects that reality.
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We've paired the Phenom II 940 with the MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard based on the 790FX chipset. While the 790FX is an older chipset than the 790X and 790GX, it still provides features like true dual x16 PCIe slots that are not available in the newer chipsets. Internal testing also shows performance is slightly better with the FX chipset than the newer chipsets, making this board an ideal match to the top 955BE Phenom II.
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Since the MSI supports dual-channel DDR3, the motherboard was populated with a 4GB kit of OCZ Platinum AMD Edition. This low-voltage memory is rated at 7-7-7 timings and DDR3-1600 at just 1.65V. It performs well at faster timings and lower voltages at slower speeds. Whether you use it as a stock DDR3 memory or overclock it to its limits, this OCZ memory should provide the headroom you need to bring out the best in this system.
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The Phenom II is not the hot CPU you find in the Core i7, but it still benefits from third party cooling - particularly if you plan to overclock. We paired the Phenom II 955BE with the Xigmatek S1283 120mm Rifle that performed well in the lab. At $27 after a $10 rebate, the Xigmatek is also an excellent cooling value. It is the same cooler recommended for the AMD value system.
Other components in the AMD performance midrange system are the same used in the Intel performance midrange. You can find descriptions and thumbnail images of those common components on the next page.
Finally, you should notice that the AMD performance system, using the current top Phenom II and DDR3 memory, is around $150 cheaper than the Intel Core i7 performance midrange system. The reason for this is very simple, namely the Core i7 is a better performing system that is priced accordingly. It just means AMD and Intel are competitively priced these days and the comparative costs of an Intel or AMD CPU is now a good indicator of the relative performance. There are always exceptions to a broad statement like this, but generally pricing and performance are fairly gauged in today's market.
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erple2 - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
To be fair, the article also suggests that you can add a second graphics card for more performance at almost every step of the way.While it's true that 750W is substantially more than you'd need at these performance levels, please also see:
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...">http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...
There's some (though not that much) more subtlety to the choice than just picking for max wattage.
I suppose the argument could be made that you'd like to pick the PSU such that it's maximum efficiency is reached along where the system will spend the vast majority of it's time. The choice at the low end of the midrange seems spot on with 500-600W PSU's - they tend to reach their peak efficiencies in the 150-350W range, exactly where these lower midrange systems will consume from idle to maximum usage.
C'DaleRider - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
About the comment, "The Editors' Choice BFG Tech LS-550 power supply has been discontinued."You'd better tell BFG about this....they're still listing it on their website and, at least according to JG, product manager for BFG power supplies, they've just introduced a new updated LS-550.
Hmmmmmm.....
(Hint: just because Newegg doesn't stock it doesn't mean it has been discontinued.)
Wesley Fink - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
The current model that we tested and gave the Gold Editor's Choice award has been replaced with an updated model we have not tested. Newegg and others report the model we have tested has been discontinued.We often see "updated" power supplies performing very differently than the models they replace. Until we have some experience with the new LS-550 model we prefer to recommend power supply brands we know well like OCZ and Corsair.
Noya - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
I bought the UD3p and a Q8200 off eBay last year when live cashback made it a steal. With the xigmatek s1283 I was able to hit 3.3ghz (475x7) without even pushing the temps. Then the blue screens started a few months ago...it's now at stock 2.33ghz and still has a random blue screen once a week or more. Why you ask? Cheap ass Crucial Ballistix (DDR2-800), the ones that had great reviews in a memory shootout last Nov/Dec here or Toms. Now I have 8gb's of shite memory and reading about 'lifetime warranty' replacements sounds like I'll have to RMA every 3-6 months :( Damn you appealing rebates!Summer - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
... just THIS weekend @newegg.com. $20 price increase!SiliconDoc - Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - link
And the $30 rebate on the 4890 recommended is not only 20, so it's $180 AFTER rebate, or $200 bucks plus shipping, plus the hassles with the paperwork.Good timing for again for red rooster fans - amazing.
SiliconDoc - Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - link
And the $20 rebate on the 4870 recommended is GONE - it's $150 now.Summer - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
BTW, great article. I thought the mentioning of stretching the mid-level budget to get an i7 was dead on. The 920 is easily within reach if you're already pushing money into a similarly priced Phenom 955.GeorgeH - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
I was really hoping NVIDIA would find a way to compete with ATI before the LGA-1156 + back to school sales start, but with $170 4890's it's not looking good.Hopefully they'll have at least one competitive product by Christmas - the lack of real choice in the GPU space is getting boring. :)
erple2 - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link
Right now, Gigabyte has a GTX275 available for 185 with a 20 dollar MIR. That's at least somewhat competitive with the 4890. only about 10-15% more expensive.