Video Perspective: AMD A8-3850 vs Core i3-2105 on Modern Warfare 3
Subject: Graphics Cards, Processors | November 21, 2011 - 10:00 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: video, sandy bridge, mw3, modern warfare 3, Intel, APU, amd
There is little denying that Call of Duty: Modern Warfar 3 is a success; I think it sold like 19 billion copies on the first night. Something like that. So, as we have done quite a bit in recent months, we wanted to see how our processor-graphics based solutions compared to each other in the title. We recently took a look at how Battlefield 3 performed and we had a lot of great feedback on that post - so let's try this again!
Luckily for gamers (or not, depending on your point of view), MW3 is pretty light on graphics hardware. We did our testing at 1920x1080 with the following quality settings:
With 2x anti-aliasing enabled and most quality settings turned up to their highest options, the game still looked pretty good during our testing. No, it's no Battlefield 3, but very few titles are.
Both systems come in with a total cost of about $450 with the Core i3-2105 and A8-3850 at the center of each configuration.
As you might guess, the integrated graphics on the AMD Llano APU outperforms the Sandy Bridge graphics, but by how much? Check out the video for all the details!
Heard of the AMD VISION Engine?
Subject: Graphics Cards, Processors | November 15, 2011 - 05:22 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: AMD VISION Engine, amd, fusion, APU, steady video
The AMD VISION Engine is the name that AMD is using to describe the new features they are offering for users of their GPUs, APUs and those with both. One example is the AMD Steady Video feature that Ryan and Ken showed off in July. That is not all, this encompasses the hybrid Crossfire that exists in Llano laptops with discrete GPUs straight through to support for 30bit colour depth (aka 10bit per channel, 10 bit per pixel) and the GPU accelerated Flash.
If you are interested in getting more from your APU then head to the AMD VISION site to download their driver package, think of it as a Catalyst with benefits.
Intel's $1000 flagship CPU exists again, in the form of the 3960X Extreme Edition
Subject: Processors | November 14, 2011 - 03:12 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Intel, sandy bridge-e, x79, 3960x extreme edition
It has been a while since Intel has released a CPU at $1000, which has felt a little strange as historically they've had a flagship processor in that price range. Sangy Bridge E spells the return to this price point with the Core-i7 3960X Extreme Edition CPU. The basic stats will make you drool, 6 cores and 12 threads of 32nm, 130W TDP CPU with a base clock of 3.3GHz, Turbo speed of 3.9GHz and 15MB of shared cache. The benchmarks however leave something to be desired; certainly it is faster than the original Sandy Bridge but it does not leave the competition eating its dirt. Single GPU gamers probably won't even notice a change from previous chips, however with the extra power of the 3960X paired with the amazing amount of PCIe lanes available on the X79 series of motherboards, multi-GPU users may benefit much more from this chip. That still doesn't change [H]ard|OCP's final comment about this chip, "Sandy Bridge E, maximizing BitTorrent ratios, one desktop at a time."
Catch Ryan's full review here.
"Intel debuts its $1000+ Extreme Edition 3960X processor parroting how great it is for the gamer and enthusiast. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a new motherboard and chipset platform, and quad channel DDR3, Intel as done the impossible, given us everything we don't want, and nothing we do want."
Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
- Intel's Core i7-3960X processor: Sandy Bridge goes Extreme @ The Tech Report
- Intel Core i7 3960X (Sandy Bridge E) Review: Keeping the High End Alive @ AnandTech
- Intel Sandy Bridge E 3690X CPU Reviewed @ Madshrimps
- Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition CPU Review @ Hardware Secrets
- Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition Review @ HCW
- Intel's X79 Chipset, Core i7 3960X & DX79SI Motherboard @ Bjorn3D
- Intel Sandy Bridge Extreme and X79 Chipset Launch - Core i7-3960X Processor Review @ HardwareHeaven
- Intel Core i7-3690X Extreme Edition CPU @ Benchmark Reviews
- Intel Sandy Bridge Extreme Core i7 3960X Review @ OCC
- Intel Core i7-3960X Processor Extreme Edition Review @Hi Tech Legion
- Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition @ Tweaktown
- Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Core i7-3930K processors for LGA 2011 Platform @ X-bit Labs
- Intel Core i7 3960X Sandy Bridge-E Review @ Neoseeker
- Intel Sandy Bridge-E Debuts: Core i7-3960X @ Techspot
- Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition @ Legion Hardware
- Intel i7 Sandy Bridge Extreme @ Overclockers.com
- Intel Core i7-3960X @ OC3D
- Intel Sandy Bridge-E i7-3960X CPU Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Intel i7 3960X EE / Gigabyte GA X79 UD3 / 16GB GSkill Ripjaws Z (2133mhz) @ Kitguru
- Intel i7 3960X EE / Asus Rampage IV Extreme / Corsair GTX8 (2400mhz) / Quad GTX590 @ Kitguru
- Intel i7 3960X EE / Asus P9X79 Deluxe / 32GB Corsair Vengeance (1600mhz) @ Kitguru
- Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E Processor Review @ Legit Reviews
- Core i7 3960X processor & MSI X79A-GD65 & ASUS Rampage IV Extreme @ Guru3D
Sandy Bridge-E is just what you expect
Introduction
It has been more than three years since Intel released the first Core i7 processor built around the Nehalem CPU architecture along with the X58 chipset. It quickly became the platform of choice for the enthusiast market (gamers and overclockers), and remained in that role even as the world of processors evolved around it with the release of Westmere and Sandy Bridge. Yes, we have been big supporters of the Sandy Bridge Core i7 parts for some time as the "new" platform of choice for gamers, but part of us always fondly remembered the days of Nehalem and X58.
Well, Intel shared the sentimentl and this holiday they are officially unveiling the Sandy Bridge-E platform and the X79 chipset. The "E" stands for enthusiast in this case and you'll find that many of the same decisions and patterns apply from the Nehalem release to this one. Nehalem and X58 was really meant as a workstation design but the performance and features were so good that Intel wanted to offer it to the high-end consumer as well. Sandy Bridge-E is the same thing - this design is clearly built for the high-profit areas of computing including workstation and servers but those that want the best available technology will find it pretty damn attractive as well.
But what actually makes a Sandy Bridge-E processor (now going with the Core i7-3xxx model naming scheme) different from the Sandy Bridge CPUs we have come to love since it was released in January of this year?
The Sandy Bridge-E Architecture
The answer might surprise you, but truthfully not a whole lot has changed. In fact, from a purely architectural stand point (when looking at the x86 processor cores), Sandy Bridge-E looks essentially identical to the cores found in currently available Sandy Bridge CPUs. You will see the same benefits of the additional AVX instruction set in applications that take advantage of it, a shared L3 cache that exists between all of the cores for data coherency and the ring bus introduced with Sandy Bridge is still there to move data between the cores, cache and uncore sections of the die.
Click here to continue reading our review of the new Sandy Bridge-E processor, the Core i7-3960X!!
Sandy Bridge-E Prices Leaked In Company Bulletin
Subject: Processors | November 12, 2011 - 06:50 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: Sandy Bridge E, microcenter, Intel, ddr3, core i7, asus
Sandy Bridge-E is almost upon us, and enthusiasts are no doubt salivating over the shiny new motherboards, quad channel memory, and PCI-E bandwidth that these chips offer. Naturally, there are bound to be price and information leaks as the launch date gets closer whether it is due to a PR move by Intel or a leak by a person or company on down the line. One such leak came to our attention recently via a leaked company bulletin. Microcenter, a US based computer electronics store has leaked the prices of some of the upcoming Sandy Bride-E processors.
While Sandy Bridge-E will not officially launch until the 14 of this month,Microcenter is already busy preparing for the launch by setting prices and organizing promotions. One such promotion has come to our attention recently, and involves two SB-E CPUs and a slew of supporting motherboards. The two processors in question are the Intel Core i7 3930K and the Core i7 3960X. The i7 3930K will be sold at $649.99 USD while the Extreme edition i7 3960X part will go for 1,149.99 USD. These prices are limited to one per customer and are in-store deals only. While the prices are a bit higher than expected, the retailer is trying to sweeten the deal by bundling a "free" Corsair H80 sealed loop water cooler with the purchase of any one of the Sandy Bridge-E CPUs. While the free H80's price is likely built into the processor's mark-up, it's at least a decent cooler (HardOCP has a review of the water cooler here). Whether it will be beneficial will depend on the user's existing cooler and whether it will be compatible/upgradeable to socket 2011.
The company will also have a "limited stock" of X79 motherboards available at launch, with more stock to become available in the coming weeks after launch. Throughout all Microcenter stores, the following motherboards will be available at the following prices.
- ASUS P9X79 PRO 2011 ATX $339.99
- ASUS Sabertooth PX79 2011 ATX $349.99
- ASUS P9X79 Deluxe 2011 ATX $389.99
Asus must be a crowd favorite over at Microcenter!
A bulletin containing the Microcenter leak ended with a positive note in stating "this launch should provide a tremendous opportunity for some very high end BYO builds for the most extreme enthusiast customer who is wanting the absolute latest and greatest from Intel!" Will you be hitting up a Microcenter at launch to get your Sandy Bridge-E on?
See what happens when you harness three GPUs to a Bulldozer and try to get them to pull it along
Subject: Processors | November 9, 2011 - 04:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: amd, bulldozer, sli, FX 8150, GTX580
In a good mood? If so, do not read this [H]ard|OCP article on Bulldozer's gaming performance when coupled with two and three GTX580s. By using an SLI setup you can see just how powerful a CPU is as it tries to keep up with the GPUs and as you might expect the Bulldozer is not up to the task. In most tests [H] saw a 70% performance difference between the FX 8150 and the Core-i5 2500K, with both processors clocked at 4.8GHz. In a very few tests the results were a little closer but this is bad news for AMD, especially when you consider it is the more expensive of the two chips.
"We are taking the new AMD FX-8150 and giving it the power of Dual and Triple-SLI GeForce GTX 580 video cards. We are going to take the new CPU up to large NV Surround resolutions and see how performance stacks up when it comes to high-end gaming scenarios."
Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
- NVIDIA's Tegra 3 Launched: Architecture Revealed @ AnandTech
- HTC adopts Nvidia Tegra 3 processors @ DigiTimes
- NVIDIA's Tegra 3 (Kal-El) Quad-Core Mobile Superchip Detailed @ Tweaktown
- AMD FX-4100 Quad Core 3.6GHz Bulldozer Processor Review @ Legit Reviews
- AMD vs Intel: Bulldozer vs Sandy Bridge @ HCW
- AMD Bulldozer Cache Aliasing Issue Fix @ Phoronix
- Open64 Compiler Tuning On AMD Bulldozer FX-8150 @ Phoronix
- AMD FX 8150 Revisited @ Madshrimps
Just Delivered: MAINGEAR Epic 180 CPU Cooler
Subject: Cases and Cooling, Processors | November 8, 2011 - 08:44 AM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: maingear, epic 180, cooler
Just Delivered is a new section of PC Perspective where we share some of the goodies that pass through our labs that may or may not see a review, but are pretty cool none the less.
We got a box in from MAINGEAR over the weekend. It did NOT include a PC. Instead, we are getting our first experience with the Epic 180 CPU cooler.
What you are looking at is a high end self-contained water cooler that exceeds the size of anything we have previously seen in the PC Perspective labs. As the name implies, the Epic 180 is based on a 180mm radiator and fan and this likely means the number of chassis that will support it are limited.
In this image, the Epic 180 (left) is compared to the original Corsair H50 cooler (right) with a 120mm fan on the radiator. Wow...
We will have a lot more details in upcoming stories but you should expect the Epic 180 to support LGA1155/1156, LGA1366 and of coure, the upcoming LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E sockets.
MAINGEAR claims that the Epic 180 will offer 20% better performance than other similar coolers with fan speeds at around 1000 RPM, keeping your rig both cool and quiet. More details very soon!!
Just Delivered: 64GB of Corsair DDR3 - Ready for Sandy Bridge-E!!
Subject: Processors, Chipsets, Memory | November 7, 2011 - 03:07 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: corsair, vengeance, sandy bridge-e, just delivered
Just Delivered is a new section of PC Perspective where we share some of the goodies that pass through our labs that may or may not see a review, but are pretty cool none the less.
Sometimes we receive interesting packages in the mail and when we get things from Corsair, we tend to pay attention. Oddly, I had not seen a box quite this size before. What comes from Corsair in the shape of a cube?
As it turns out, it was four 16GB DDR3 memory kits, preparing our team for the upcoming Sandy Bridge-E platform reviews!
Each kit includes 4 modules, getting us ready for the quad-channel memory controller on the upcoming Intel CPU. Corsair included both Vengeance and Vengeance LP kits for us, offering an option is lower profile for potentially larger heatsinks.
For motherboards that will ship with 8 DIMM slots, this allows us to test configurations as high as 32GB!! We are going to be covering all of these bases for you in the coming weeks before launch but don't worry - we are going test the standard 4 x 2GB configurations as well. :)
AMD lays off 10-12% of workforce, new CEO cleans house
Subject: General Tech, Processors | November 3, 2011 - 08:22 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: layoffs, amd
We have been discussing AMD’s condition and future outlook over most of recent memory. Since the lawsuit versus Intel and the subsequent trying by the Big Blue Giant: AMD’s apparent jab-haymaker combo of lawsuit-Sempron to push heavily in the consumer market seems to have been mostly dodged and countered by Intel. While this last quarter has been positive there is little time for positive press; AMD has, today, removed 1400 employees from their company.
There was a time that AMD said they could beat anything Intel could throw at them.
That means that what AMD is releasing now is as-good or better than where they thought CPUs would be.
Food for thought.
It is not very uncommon to see layoffs during restructuring in the 10% range when a new CEO enters a company. The sad part of restructuring is that there is often little consideration about which employees comprise that 10%; rather, their job descriptions. These layoffs in isolation do not say much about AMD’s health in the upcoming time but should tint in one way or another how to perceive their upcoming actions. Where the future is positive or negative depends on how this ties into that.
Really Ryan? 8.429 GHz? … *Scoff* - New World Record!
Subject: General Tech, Processors | November 2, 2011 - 05:55 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: overclock, bulldozer, amd
Remember back in September when Ryan was all excited about seeing AMD exceed Intel with their Liquid Helium-cooled overclock? 8.429 GHz bulldozed past the 8.309 GHz record set upon Intel’s Celeron and all rejoiced at AMD’s 130 MHz triumph. Well out with the old and in with the new: there is a new overclocking king and it goes by the name of -- well it is also the AMD FX-8150. That is irrelevant, however, as the new record (if validated before someone beats it too) has become 8.461 GHz.
Someone’s the new king in town… the current king.
The new world record was set by Andre Yang, an overclocked from Taiwan, with an ASUS Crosshair V Formula motherboard. Benchmarks were not possible as when you get overclocking to this level: successfully running CPU-Z just to query the specifications of a CPU is generally considered sufficiently stable to be qualified as an overclock. Do not be surprised if SuperPi blows a hole through your chassis. It was not stated which method of cooling was used to allow the processor to reach those specifications.
PC Perspective Upcoming Events
|
