pez

So my 940 BE Phenom II is due for delivery tomorrow and I've decided to do a comparison with my current CPU. Since the Deneb is stocked out at 3GHz, and my Kuma is clocked to 3GHz, it will be a clock for clock comparison even though the Kuma architecture is that of a Phenom I. I'm making this thread basically as a notice of my comparison review so that maybe it could give some insight for people who are contemplating upgrading from a dual core to a quad core. This comparison review will be done within the next 7 days.

List of the Game Benchmarks:

-Counter Strike: Source
-Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
-Far Cry 2
-Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
-Crysis Warhead
-3DMark06

Each test will consist of doing 5 loops of each game so that I can be sure of the results and the consistency. Each test will also be run at a maximum resolution of 1680x1050. This might be a turn off for some of you, but it's the max. res. of my monitor.

System Specs:

-AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 BE Kuma [3.001GHz] & AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE Deneb [3GHz]
-G.Skill DDR2 1066 (My Kuma OC requires memory to be at 1044MHz)
-Gigabyte MA770-UD3 Rev. 1 (Not the best OC'ing board, but good enough for the test)
-Visiontek ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB [790/1100]
-Windows Vista Ultimate w/ SP2 [x64]

Obviously another conflict that arises will be the memory. The memory will run at 1044MHz with the Kuma, but should run at full tilt (1066MHz) for the Phenom II. I don't think it should make that much of a difference, but just keep this in mind. I'll do a memory read/write test with Everest Trial to see if there is indeed a big difference.

If there are any other games with a benchmark tool you can think of let me know, though I'm not going to buy a game just to do a benchmark.

Please give me your feedback to let me know if you'd be interested in this review even the slightest bit and also recommendations of testing methods, settings, etc. I've done the benchmarks for the Kuma, all with the exception of the Everest Trial memory read/write test and 3DMark06.

Side Note: Is there a built in benchmark for Unreal Tournament 3?

__________________
Review/Comparison: AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE vs. AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE

3DMark06: 16685
3DMark Vantage: 10149

pez

Intro:

The purpose of this review/comparison was to show the benefits of upgrading from an AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE (Kuma) to an AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Deneb). The Kuma’s architecture is that of a Phenom I, and of course the Deneb is that of a Phenom II. That being said, it’s a clock-by-clock comparison of the two different architectures.

Both the Kuma and the Deneb have different clocks at stock, so I overclocked the Kuma to match the speed of the Deneb.



The Kuma’s stock clocks are 2.7GHz (200x13.5) and the Deneb’s stock clocks are 3.0GHz (200x15). To get to 3GHz on the Kuma I used a FSB of 261 and a multiplier of 11.5. One difference that could make results vary slightly is the speed of the memory, and the speed of NB Frequency and HT Link. The memory was clocked at DDR2 1044 (261x4) and the NB Freq. and HT Link were both clocked at 1827MHz (261x7). This shouldn’t make a difference but if it did, it would be very minimal.

Test Bed and Benchmarks:

The test bed consisted of the same parts for both tests, with the exception of the processors themselves.

Test Bed:
• AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE & AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Both clocked at 3GHz)
• G.Skill DDR2 1066 (Clocked at 1044 for the Kuma)
• Gigabyte MA770-UD3 Rev. 1.0 (SB700)
• Visiontek HD 4870 512MB (Clocked to 790/1100)
• Windows Vista Ultimate x64 (Service Pack 2)

The benchmarks being run were all run on the same settings and there were 5 loops done as well to test for accuracy.

Benchmarks:
• Counter Strike: Source
• Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
• Far Cry 2
• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
• Crysis Warhead
• 3DMark06
• 3DMark03

COUNTER STRIKE: SOURCE


Settings:




AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE (Kuma) Results (in FPS)

• Test 1 – 251.06
• Test 2 – 252.86
• Test 3 – 251.16
• Test 4 – 249.25
• Test 5 – 249.69

Average – 250.80

AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Deneb) Results (in FPS)

• Test 1 – 338.44
• Test 2 – 341.61
• Test 3 – 340.33
• Test 4 – 339.85
• Test 5 – 338.51

Average – 339.75

As you can see, there was a big difference. Something that I do wish Source benchmarks could do is tell you the minimum FPS. From personal experience online though, I haven’t received a framerate below 50. On to the next game.

HALF-LIFE 2: LOST COAST


Settings:




AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE (Kuma) Results (in FPS)

• Test 1 – 135.46
• Test 2 – 134.09
• Test 3 – 132.36
• Test 4 – 133.35
• Test 5 – 134.27

Average – 133.91

AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Deneb) Results (in FPS)

• Test 1 – 196.16
• Test 2 – 193.79
• Test 3 – 193.09
• Test 4 – 192.68
• Test 5 – 190.67

Average – 193.28

Once again, we can see quite a big increase in the averages. The Source engine is a very great engine solely for the fact that just about any computer built within the last 4 years can run games designed with the engine. However, it is a more CPU intensive engine and tends to bog down slower processors giving them a lower minimum FPS.

FAR CRY 2


High Settings (1680x1050; No AA or AF; Ranch Long):



(Graph is of Average results)

AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE (Kuma) Results (in FPS)


AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Deneb) Results (in FPS)


Very/Ultra High Settings (1680x1050; No AA or AF; Ranch Long):



(Graph is of Average results)

AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE (Kuma) Results (in FPS)


AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Deneb) Results (in FPS)


Yet, another big increase, in my opinion. From the results, it seems that the Phenom II on Ultra/Very High settings can handle what the Kuma could really only handle on High settings.

LOST PLANET: EXTREME CONDITION


Settings:






AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE (Kuma) Results (in FPS)


AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Deneb) Results (in FPS)


Finally, a game that we’ve benchmarked that actually relies more on the GPU than the CPU. Even though the averages shown in these benchmarks are all above 30, the FPS would drop down to about 24 at times of heavy action in the benchmark.

CRYSIS: WARHEAD



(Graphs are of average results)


(Graphs are of average results)

AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE (Kuma) Results

Gamer Settings:
Enthusiast Settings:

AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE (Deneb) Results

Gamer Settings:
Enthusiast Settings:
Crysis Warhead, like the others has shown a great increase. Gameplay is now playable on Enthusiast settings (with the exception of no AA).

3DMARK06



(Graphs are of Average results)

Default Settings:


3DMARK03



(Graphs are of Average results)

Default Settings:


Expected increases are seen in 3DMark06, but there is actually a decrease in 3DMark03. My guess is that this is due to the fact that quad cores didn’t exist in 2003.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we can see that the Deneb is a very good upgrade to the Kuma. I have to say though as far as recommendations go, I’ve noticed little difference in everyday tasks (more some than others), but the biggest increase come in when games are the topic. If you’re someone who can utilize four cores or someone who is just preparing themselves for an attempted future-proofing of their system, then go for the Deneb. If not, I would suggest you save some money and go with the Tri-Core Deneb’s, or even the Dual-Core Deneb’s. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Dual-Core and Tri-Core Deneb performed the same or very similar at the same clocks as this Quad-Core Deneb. I hope I’ve been able to shed some light on this for those of you that can find it useful.

__________________
Review/Comparison: AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE vs. AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE

3DMark06: 16685
3DMark Vantage: 10149

blitz6804

I would suspect the memory bandwidths should be similar. If not, the Kuma should have an edge. I would presume that you overclocked the Kuma via some HTT, some multiplier. Because of this, your northbridge should be running faster than it would be in a stock Deneb. I know from personal experience memory bandwidth in a Deneb is a joke compared to a Brisbane. However, Kuma is a K10, so it should not be a blowout.

__________________
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¤ It scores 21,009 3DMarks in 06 and P16,651 in Vantage at 3510 MHz. ¤
¤ Upgrade budget: ■■■■■■■■■■ ($0 / ∞) ¤
¤ B.S. in Chem., Cum Laude, Minors in Maths and Crim. Justice, J.D. {Pending} ¤
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¤ Today Txtmstrjoe presents: "[Steppings] merely indicate possible outcomes due to the law of averages being in your favor." ¤
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pez

This is true. The HT Link/NB Freq is currently at 1827MHz, so it won't be much of a gap at all.

__________________
Review/Comparison: AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE vs. AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE

3DMark06: 16685
3DMark Vantage: 10149

pez

Bump. I guess if no one is really interested there's be no use in doing an actual comparison lol.

__________________
Review/Comparison: AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE vs. AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE

3DMark06: 16685
3DMark Vantage: 10149

Bartmasta

i'm interested

do 3dmark03 aswell plz

__________________
Benchmark Fanatic 3Dmark06: 13618 SuperPi 1M: 16.69 Aquamark: 177822 Pifast: 27.22
Add my Xfire and Steam: Bartmasta
Suicide runs: AMD 64 X2 6000+ Brisbane @ 3.7 GHz | AMD Phenon ll 720 BE @ 4 GHz

pez

I don't have 3DMark03 . Is it free?

Also as a teaser I've attached a screenie.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Review/Comparison: AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE vs. AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE

3DMark06: 16685
3DMark Vantage: 10149

Bartmasta

yeah it is http://www.futuremark.com/download/3dmark03/

secondly how about running the games at a resolution of 1280x1024, since it's more of a standard resolution and at that reso fps depends more on the cpu than gpu

__________________
Benchmark Fanatic 3Dmark06: 13618 SuperPi 1M: 16.69 Aquamark: 177822 Pifast: 27.22
Add my Xfire and Steam: Bartmasta
Suicide runs: AMD 64 X2 6000+ Brisbane @ 3.7 GHz | AMD Phenon ll 720 BE @ 4 GHz

pez

I thought about that, but on OCN I've noticed a lot more people using 1680x1050 or greater and also, anything lower is more CPU dependent and anything higher is more graphically dependent.

__________________
Review/Comparison: AMD Athlon X2 7750 BE vs. AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE

3DMark06: 16685
3DMark Vantage: 10149

Cavi

This would be good to know! I would love to know how my Kuma stacks up with the 940.

Sub'd. (and 1680x1050 here!)

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