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Hardware AMD Athlon II X4 620 CPU Review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Tim S, 26 Oct 2009.

  1. zagortenay

    zagortenay What's a Dremel?

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    "We really find it difficult to recommend the Athlon II X4 to anyone because..."
    What a crap review! This is the most biased review I have ever seen.
    (You played just two games and made a precise conclusion...and there is this custom made multitasking benchmark...)
     
  2. eXpander

    eXpander What's a Dremel?

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    Yup, already said that. Just like Guru3D. You tested just two games and drew the conclusion that it's a bad processor.

    And not just any games. But Crysis, which runs pathetically on every system, hence a very bad benchmark. And X3: Terran Conflict ... Who the heck plays X3: Terran Conflict?
     
  3. javaman

    javaman May irritate Eyes

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    how does one of these perform compared to a 6000+ x2?
     
  4. crazyceo

    crazyceo What's a Dremel?

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    If you AMD fanboys don't like the reviews by some of the most respected IT journalists in the business then why do you bother coming here? You won't get any ***** footing around just so they can get invited to the next corporate shindig so they can get fed! OK maybe they need a meal or three but they won't sacrifice their complete independence and honesty to get into bed with ANY company.

    Just accept this CPU is crap and move along!
     
  5. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    I dont read other reviews, I draw my own conclusions. It's 7-15% slower than an AMD with L3 cache in most normal multitasking scenarios, and it's only if you use all the cores specifically does it benefit you. Just look at the test results.

    Our overclocking is done with a Noctua air cooler with performance fan but it must be 110% rock solid stable. I could have pushed it for more beans to just take a CPU-Z and have my man-bits dangle on the internet, but we don't do that because it's completely irrelevant to you reading.

    Crysis is the defacto that everyone reads, and X3 is extremely geometry (and therefore CPU) heavy. We will be replacing X3 soon though.

    It's a very specific processor, but I would not be fooled by the assumption that more cores on the cheap is better. It's not ****, per say, but the application required to harness it in full is not a generic PC builder.
     
  6. [USRF]Obiwan

    [USRF]Obiwan What's a Dremel?

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    I just read that it is possible to unlock L3 cach with acc:
    Techpowerup forums

    quoting:
    With a Propus core, unlocking L3 cache not possible. There is a trick how to increase L3 unlock chances when buying new Athlon II X4 with a Deneb core. Try to look for batch code that ends with xxCYC.
     
  7. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    That's a great call, but it's statistically more likely to get a better result from an Asus board (selective core unlocking) and 550 BE for the same money rather than trying to get an e-tailer to get you a chip with a specific code.
     
  8. aosiruehglkajdf

    aosiruehglkajdf What's a Dremel?

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    is the 7zip multithreaded? if its not, its unfair to multicore processors with lower clock speed.
     
  9. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    Yes it is. It benefits from a mixture of both clock speed and threads.

    There's no such thing as unfair when 7zip is a real-world application that many of our readers request we tested.
     
  10. Archer0915

    Archer0915 What's a Dremel?

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    I have some issues with the review.

    1. At 2.6 the CPU can undervolt very well. 1.12V 100% load in my case.
    2. The actual power usage is NOT represented by the TDP! I measured at the wall 58w @ 3.4 idle and 123.75w @ 3.4 100% load all cores & GPU folding 100% load total system draw with 52.6w @ 100% CPU load at the rails, CPU only.
    3. Multi task with no L3 is very memory dependent but also total system build must be considered.

    I am not calling this review biased as how can you have bias when recommending one AMD product over another. I am however saying more time could have been taken.
     
  11. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    If it can run at 1.12V, why does AMD set the CPU's FID to 1.4V? At 1.12V it could be a "65W" or less chip. It's clearly not the case for every CPU sold - some must require up to 1.4V at 2.6GHz otherwise it wouldn't be the case. Undervolting is about as representative as overclocking to be honest.

    123W at the wall is very good, but again it depends on your overall system: we do what we can to keep all our system comparisons as direct as possible.

    L3 cache has a latency of less than 10ns, but main memory is 50+ typically for an AMD build. We set the systems to SPD: AMD rates its CPUs to use 1,333MHz DDR3 and we use the same Corsair Dominator DDR3 memory in every system: Lynnfield and AMD. That's what the CPU is. We review the product provided to us, and we also overclock it, tweaking the memory/CPU-NB and CPU as far as we can. All the results are there. :)
     
  12. Archer0915

    Archer0915 What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for the response. I do appreciate the review as it allows for more tests on various specimens. As to the V, well it is kind of like this, if one is to use AOD one must have some overhead.

    As to your overclocking, luck of the draw (mine did 3.9 never going over 60 with after market cooler), just as the undervolting (1.12v 2.6 Ghz). I just wish all reviews covered the full spectrum as this would give a better idea of true performance across more samples. As to multitasking I will do some more testing but TBH, your conclusion was not necessarily wrong but it was a little exaggerated. This CPU is not as bad as you have made it out to be. (here is a link: http://www.techreaction.net/2009/09/25/athlon-ii-x4-620-ferrari-this-mustang-can-hang/ ) just keep in mind everything but the core was kept low due to time constraints.

    CPU's are like stock's PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RETURNS-in other words, Expect No OC and be happy if you can OC!!!!!!!
     
  13. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    AMD CPUs need to be overclockable to be competitive. It's as simple as that. We expect some degree of performance overhead as performance enthusiasts because that is what we are used to. Take that away and we will buy Intel products exclusively because there's no value add. Im not reviewing a £399 Dell PC.

    Anything that requires the cores to nose each other - multithreading with non-exclusivity or multitasking, means the CPU has no low latency snoop filter, so it takes a massive 10-15% performance hit. Why would you buy a quad core if you didn't need to do this?

    There are better and faster budget alternatives like the 550 BE, 720BE or Athlon II X2 250 at £25 less.

    Techreaction do try their best, but imo miss the point - theoretical numbers about overclocking and no real effort on how that changes the real world environment means very little other than e-peen to people who use their PCs.
     
  14. Archer0915

    Archer0915 What's a Dremel?

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    I could follow up until you said the Athlon X2 as a better choice. If the X4 SUXX so does the X2. It almost sounds like you have something against a cheap quad.
     
  15. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    No no, you misunderstand. The X4 is OK - we gave it a 6, it's good enough and a great price, but it has some critical flaws that L3 cache was there for, not to mention better competition from other AMD products.

    The X2 250 is 25% cheaper again and has a faster core clock, plus, is has even less transistors so heats up less which means it overclocks further. AMD overclocking is almost directly proportional to how cool its 45nm chip runs, that's why they will do 6-odd GHz under LN2.

    I'd love a cheap quad, but cheap quads ALWAYS feature a low core clock, and for the budget market people still need high MHz to get basic stuff done faster, before they need many cores to do more specific things concurrently (that the 620 is particularly good at). Quad cores still need fast core clocks - that's why we still recommend the "2.66GHz" i5-750 and i7-920, because it'll hit 4-4.2GHz pretty easily, meaning it's phenomenally fast AND wide executing AND has L3 cache for a snoop filter.

    The 720 Black Edn triple core: potentially unlockable to a quad, £90-odd and an unlocked multiplier: I'd drop £15 more just to buy that than the 620 quite honestly. £15 for 10-15% performance from multitasking, sure. If you're not heavily multitasking, get the 550 Black Edn for the same money (not to forget also unlockable!) or X2 250 for less. They are all AMD products.
     
  16. Archer0915

    Archer0915 What's a Dremel?

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    I will be doing a heads up @ Overclockers.com between the PhII and the AthII X4 models comparing everything. I will definitely look into the multitasking arena. It is something I did not look at in my initial review @ TR.

    As I said I was not negatively criticizing the review as I know what it is to get something out ASAP. I do appreciate the feedback.

    Kevin
     
  17. javaman

    javaman May irritate Eyes

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    any news on the athlon II X3? Is there even a price point left in the market for one of these to slot into?
     
  18. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    :blush::blush::blush: Oh you did the TR review :hehe:

    javaman - I know what you mean: AMD has virtually every other £/$ on the market filled with a product. No, we don't have any X3's yet afaik. We did just get a 240e 45W though! WOOP! Now that's a happy low power chip I'm going to try and undervolt.
     
  19. javaman

    javaman May irritate Eyes

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    Interested in reading that review too =) Im looking to replace my current processor within the next year after getting more storage and a second monitor this christmas (my bday is a week after christmas so plenty of cash :D) but I feel my mobo isn't up to overclocking. That means Ill probally end up going for a BE phenom II bu if I can pick up a cheap AM3 mobo, and ram prices drop a small amount, I certainly would consider one of athlons. A rebuild like that puts the price vs performance swing towards intels i5 depending how much they drop.
     
  20. Archer0915

    Archer0915 What's a Dremel?

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    I have found that most PPL seem to respect synths as a baseline. When I do a forum thread I go a lot deeper, and get down to memory sub timings and the NB effect, as well. I really think most people (those who will buy to OC) are infatuated with high clocks, Super Pi and raw synths. The review here was addressing the average Joe and there is nothing wrong with that, as a matter of fact, it is good to have many perspectives from many points of view. My reviews are pointed (at times) to the avid hobbyist.
     
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