Articles & Reviews

“The most intriguing product of the lot, however, is the Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition. This puppy comes with a 2.5GHz core clock and a 2GHz north bridge clock—important because the north bridge clock governs the speed of the L3 cache. That should make the 9850 a little bit quicker than it might otherwise be. Like AMD's other "Black Edition" processors, the 9850 has an unlocked upper clock multiplier that makes overclocking ridiculously, guilt-inducingly easy. And although it's AMD's flagship model, the 9850 lists for only $235, well below the list prices for ostensible competitors like the Core 2 Quad Q6600. This combination of attributes should make the 9850 the one to have, in my view.”

TechReport
"AMD's Phenom X4 9750 and 9850 processors / Let's try this again"

“I said it at the beginning of this story—I’m a sucker for complete platforms able to work better as a collection of components from one vendor able to validate and support the whole package. AMD’s 790FX is the platform that Phenom needs.”

FiringSquad
"AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition Review"

“The Phenom X4 9850 is AMD's most powerful desktop processor to date. Due to the processor's higher clock speed and revised silicon that eliminates the TLB errata, the Phenom X4 9850 is measurably faster than all of AMD's previously released Phenom processors. In comparison to Intel's closest competitor, the Phenom X4 9850 competes well, trading benchmark victories with the 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad Q6600.”

HotHardware
"AMD Phenom X4 9850 B3 Revision"

“One benefit that can't be overlooked for AMD's processors is the entire "Spider" platform that AMD has been quietly building over the last year. The components are all underdogs in the worlds they live, yet can easily be seen as equal, if not better, options than the competition.”

“The new Phenom X4 9850 processor is a very welcome newcomer to the processor segment and it could be responsible for a rebirth of interest in AMD CPUs... Its price should be attractive to a lot of gamers and enthusiasts as should combining an X4 9850 with a complete Spider platform.”

PC Perspective
"AMD Phenom X4 9850 Processor Review - Long Awaited B3"

AMD Phenom™ X3 8750 triple-core processor

“In the mainstream space, the Phenom X3 8750 could easily be used in a budget PC when paired with an AMD 780G-based motherboard. In that usage model, you could have an AMD triple-core with arguably the best IGP available to-date, versus an Intel dual-core with an inferior IGP. If you're planning to build a PC and use integrated graphics, the Phenom X3s and 780G make a great combo. Considering how well the Phenom X3 8750 overclocked, and the relatively low price of AMD 790FX-based motherboards and DDR2 memory, the X3 8750 should also appeal to modders on a budget…. AMD's platform is significantly more compelling than it was just a few weeks ago, thanks to the release of B3 Phenoms and these new tri-core processors.”

Hot Hardware
"AMD Phenom X3 8750 Tri-Core Processor"

"Now if we look at the platform, AMD does actually have an advantage. The AMD 780G's integrated graphics is a far better solution for the casual gamer than what Intel offers with its G35 but on top of that, 780G offers full H.264/VC-1/MPEG-2 decode acceleration making it a far better platform for watching Blu-ray movies. With the format war over and Blu-ray drives unbelievably affordable right now, this is a serious issue for Intel."

AnandTech
"AMD's Phenom X3 8000 Series: Fighting Two Cores with Three?"

"Processors play a big role in determining system performance, but they’re one piece in a much larger puzzle. Resellers able to match AMD’s Phenom X3 to a capable platform will be the ones to give their customers a great computing experience."

"AMD’s 780G chipset fits the role perfectly. Not only does it support the Socket AM2+ interface and all of Phenom’s differentiating features, but the platform also leverages an integrated Radeon HD 3200 graphics core. Forget what you think you know about integrated graphics. The Radeon HD 3200 incorporates the same logic you’d find in AMD’s entry-level discrete cards to yield the performance and feature set you’d expect from an add-in board. It’ll do DirectX 10 graphics, accelerate Blu-ray movie playback, and even output HDMI to a big-screen TV. When your customer is ready for an upgrade, you can add a $50 Radeon HD 3450 card and enable Hybrid Graphics—a CrossFire-like technology able to use both GPUs for even faster performance."

"For less than $300, you can get a triple-core processor, a 780G-based motherboard with built-in video, and a Radeon HD 3450 discrete card ready for Hybrid Graphics. Whether you’re selling into businesses or home theaters, the X3/780G combo promises to be a hot seller this summer."

Reseller Advocate Magazine
"AMD’s Phenom X3: Not So Odd After All"

“When we first heard about the Phenom triple-core processors, I have to admit I was very skeptical… As it stands now from the performance outlook, the AMD Phenom X3 series of parts it pretty intriguing. In most of our tests the performance of the X3 8750 CPU was better than dual-core processors including AMD's own Athlon X2 6000+ and the Intel X6800 2.93 GHz part.”

“I was expecting the X3 8750 to use less power than the quad-core X4 9850 CPU but the results are better than I expected… I could see the X3 line making a good choice for a high performance yet lower power HTPC box.”

“Another part of that value comes in the platform you can get with an AMD processor that you can't with Intel's own chipsets. The AMD 780G chipset is still our favorite option for integrated graphics solutions and if you are building a second system or one for family I really think the motherboard offers more than adequate performance for everyday use and general gaming. The same can NOT be said for Intel's IGP solutions though NVIDIA's options for Intel processors are decent as well.”

PC Perspective
"AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz Triple-Core Processor Review"

“The new 50-series Phenom X3 triple-core processors performed great for being the first processor to operate with three cores. None of our testing applications had any issues with the triple-core design and the motherboards we tested it on all worked as well. This also means that consumers will be able to use AMD Phenom X3 processors as an upgrade option as you can just drop them into many socket AM2 boards that are already on the market today.”

“Also keep in mind that the Phenom X3 triple-core processor is similar to X-Box 360’s configuration, which might help marketing and sales down the road. As more and more games are ported over from the Microsoft X-Box 360 to the PC it might just mean that triple-core is all you need for gaming.”

Legit Reviews
"AMD Phenom X3 8750 Triple-Core Processor Review"

AMD 780G Chipset with ATI Hybrid Graphics Technology:

“AMD has every reason to be proud of its design, which is one of the best chipsets we have ever tested. It bests Intel's chipsets in functionality, power consumption and production process.”

Tom’s Hardware
"AMD's New 780G Chipset Has Powerful GPU"

“The first thing to take away from these results is just how completely the 780G's integrated graphics core outclasses the G35 Express. Settings that deliver reasonably playable framerates on the 780G reduce the G35 to little more than an embarrassing slideshow.”

“AMD's 780G integrated graphics chipset lives up to its potential, delivering an incredibly complete platform for mainstream desktops and home theater PCs within a surprisingly modest power envelope. With a little help from an energy-efficient Athlon X2 4850e, the 780G's idle power consumption is nothing short of a revelation.”

The Tech Report
"AMD's 780G chipset / Integrated graphics all grown up"

“The AMD 780G chipset is probably the most exciting integrated chipset launch I have covered in my 8+ years of writing about the tech industry.”

PC Perspective
"AMD 780G Chipset Preview – Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H Evaluated / A whole new AMD chipset"

“The latest sales numbers indicate that about nine out of every ten systems sold have integrated graphics. We cannot understate the importance of a reasonable performance IGP solution in order to have a pleasurable all around experience on the PC.”

“After testing nearly non-stop over the past two weeks, we think the 780G is the better overall solution and are still amazed that AMD made such a significant jump in IGP performance in such short time.”

AnandTech
"AMD 780G: Preview of the Best Current IGP Solution"

“Without a stable, well-tuned chipset, even the best CPU is little more than a hotplate, and chipset quality and functionality can make a major difference in just how interested OEMs are in deploying a chipmaker's platform solutions.”

Ars Technica
“Integrated goodness? A review of the AMD 780G chipset”

“AMD has really worked on the idle power optimizations in this series of chipsets and it really shows in the power consumption numbers.”

“This platform is ideal for office settings where computers will run all the time or for those that are looking for something 'green' for the environment.”

Legit Reviews
“AMD 780G Chipset - Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H Motherboard”

“With 780G, AMD has put together another killer integrated platform. The chipset’s Radeon HD 3200 IGP is the real star of the show. By essentially integrating AMD’s existing RV620 GPU into the North Bridge of the chipset, AMD is able to completely outclass Intel’s latest and greatest G35 integrated platform.”

FiringSquad
“AMD 780G Performance and Overclocking Review”

ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series:

“The Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 only improves upon the Radeon HD 4850’s performance. In Crysis we found the Radeon HD 4870 provided the same gameplay experience as the new GeForce GTX 260. We were able to play at the same resolution with the same in-game settings. In Assassin’s Creed we found the gameplay experience also matched the GeForce GTX 260 and not only that, it outperformed the GTX 260 in raw framerates.”

[H] Enthusiast
"Editor’s Choice Gold Award: VisionTek Radeon HD 4850 and Sapphire Radeon HD 4870"

“The benefit of single-card CrossFire is of course that you can use this single card on any platform, not just ones that explicitly support CF. Since CrossFire is supported on both Intel chipsets and AMD chipsets, it's a bit more flexible than SLI and the need for single-card CF isn't nearly as great as the need for single-card SLI.”

Anandtech
"AMD's Radeon HD 4870 X2 - Testing the Multi-GPU Waters"

“With an expected price range of $45 to $55, the new Radeon HD 4550 is certainly an affordable product and it represents a significant upgrade over any integrated graphics solution. The card's feature set, low power characteristics, optional passive cooler, and HDMI / DisplayPort outputs are also appealing, especially to prospective HTPC do-it-yourselfers and systems integrators.

“With that said, the Radeon HD 4550, especially the passively cooled version we tested, is an intriguing option if low power and / or silent computing is your goal”.

Hot Hardware
"ATI Radeon HD 4550 Budget DX10.1 GPU"

“We are quite happy to see AMD pushing it's (sic) latest generation technology out across its entire product line. It's great to see new parts making their way into the market rather than a bunch of old cards with slight tweaks and new names.”

“When it comes to power consumption, the Radeon HD 4670 is nothing short of awesome.”

“Enemy Territory with 4xAA enabled shows a huge advantage for the 4670 over NVIDIA's more expensive 9600 GSO.”

Anandtech
"AMD Radeon HD 4670: Ruling from Top to Bottom"

“Performance is obviously good, handily thrashing GeForce 9500 GT 256MB…”

“To put the rendering power of the card in to some kind of perspective, it has a higher GFLOPs throughput (math ability) than the R600 - Radeon HD 2900 XT - a GPU launched less than 18 months ago….”

“Hexus Gaming Innovation Award”

Hexus.net
"Sapphire (AMD) Radeon HD 4670: bullying the mainstream market"

“The Radeon HD 3850 is so much faster than the 8600 GTS at a very competitive price...Without a doubt, AMD is back in the graphics game.”

Anandtech
"ATI Radeon HD 3870 & 3850: A Return to Competition"

“Of all of the cards, the value and overall performance title goes to the AMD Radeon HD 3870. It has enough horsepower to play all the games currently on the market very well. Purchasing any of the midrange cards will not leave you short in terms of performance, but the AMD solutions and especially the HD 3870 offers the most for the most bang for the buck.”

TGDaily.com
"HD 3800: AMD’s Midrange Rebuttal - Benchmarks"

“The Radeon HD 3850 is really the star of the show at its price point of $179. The fact that it contains the full 320 streaming processors as the Radeon HD 3870, with simply lower clock speeds means it is one lean mean fully featured machine.”

HardOCP.com
"ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series"

“AMD has made tremendous strides with this generation of GPUs. The Radeon HD 3870 delivers almost exactly the same performance as the Radeon HD 2900 XT, yet the chip is under half the size and brings an astounding near-100W reduction in power use while gaming.”

TechReport.com
"AMD’s Radeon HD 3850 and 3870 graphics cards"

"At this price point, ATI has come up with a wonderful solution for the mainstream market."

"Thanks to the RV670 being made on the 55nm process, AMD has been able to double the performance per watt on the Radeon HD 38XX series. That is no small task for any company, but AMD seemed to nail it down this time around."

LegitReviews.com
"ATI Radeon HD 3850 Crossfire Video Card Review"

"Keep in mind, the Radeon HD 3870 performs on par with the Radeon HD 2900 XT and GeForce 8800 GTS, while using less power. That makes the Radeon HD 38x0 series a winner in the performance-per-watt department. What a difference a few months can make."

HotHardware.com
"ATI Radeon HD 3870 and 3850: 55nm RV670"

“The HD 3850 is the big winner here today as it stomps the GeForce 8600 GTS and HD 2600 XT cards in terms of your gaming experience while offering lower power consumption and nearly identical prices.”

PC Perspective
"AMD Radeon HD 3870 and 3850 Review – RV670 at 55nm"

“The Radeon HD 3850 looks pretty strong right now. As you saw in our benchmarks, it outperformed its closest competitor at the moment, the GeForce 8600 GTS, and delivered a nice performance improvement over the Radeon HD 2600 XT and 2900 GT.”

FiringSquad.com
"AMD Radeon HD 3870/3850 Performance Preview"

ATI FireGL - Workstation Graphics:

"In the past NVIDIA just about always cleared the board here with the full remit of “Editors Choice” awards for their new Professional Graphic Cards. Now in just a short space of 3 months the AMD FireGL Team have successfully and completely dominated the whole remit. How the times have changed! It’s very difficult to believe this could ever happen, seeing the roles being completely reversed especially at these levels."

3DProfessor.com
"EXCLUSIVE: ATI FireGL V8650 Review"

“The FireGL V7600 card from ATI/AMD brings excellent workstation class performance down to the sub-$1000 price range. The numbers simply don’t lie. Nvidia’s QuadroFX 4500, which once dominated this market and sold for roughly $2,500, is now getting bested by nearly a 2x margin in many benchmarks by this $999 card. This is excellent news for anyone who requires top-notch high-end digital content creation performance, but can’t drop several thousand dollars on an ultra-high-end product.” “All in all, the FireGL V7600 gives ATI a much-needed shot in the arm for their FireGL lineup. It provides excellent performance at its price point, has modern GPU features like DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.0 support. We feel comfortable that despite current maturity issues, it will be a solid product when it ships. We look forward to what Nvidia will counter with at this price point but for now ATI's FireGL V7600 looks to be a very competitive and compelling professional Workstation Graphics product.”

HotHardware
"ATI FireGL V7600 512 MB Workstation Graphics Card"

“As a result of its very good value for the money, ATI's FireGL V7600 gets our editors choice recommendation. The R600 chip with shader model 4.0 brings a performance leap to the workstation arena. Meanwhile, the Nvidia's G80-based chips also have a lot to offer. However, Nvidia should reconsider its pricing strategy - only then will the company become competitive again.”

Tom's Hardware
"Workstation-Shootout: ATi FireGL V7600 vs. Nvidia Quadro FX 4600"

Server/Workstation:

"The PowerEdge R905 is a robust, well-priced, virtualization-optimized server. Equipped with four Opteron processors, 32 DIMM sockets, and seven PCIe slots, the R905 boasts the best performance in its market segment and excellent expandability. This is the server to beat when choosing enterprise virtualization hosts."

InfoWorld
"2009 Technology of the Year Awards: Systems and Storage"

"The best news for AMD is that the newly launched 8224SE and 8222 will outperform the current Xeon MP by a significant margin.

...... it might seem like a dual Opteron 2224 needs 80W more, but the reality is different. Intel's Northbridge consumes up to 20W more, and each FB-DIMM needs about 5W more than the DDR modules the AMD platform uses. So the difference is not as big as it might seem at first, something we have shown in a previous article. The AMD CPUs also scale back to 1GHz when running at idle, while the Intel CPUs run at 1.6 or 2GHz when idle. As a result the AMD platforms can consume less power when idle or at lower loads.

AMD's PowerNow! Technology is very efficient: it saves you between 150W and 250W depending on system load and configuration. 250W seems impossible, but the three fans of our Tyan TA26 had to run at much higher speeds to cool the CPUs at 3.2GHz than at 1GHz."

AnandTech
"AMD's Opteron hits 3.2GHz"

“AMD still maintains a formidable technological lead over Intel with the on-chip HyperTransport I/O bus and DDR memory controllers, server scalability up to eight sockets, and dedicated Level 2, massive 64KB Level 1 data, and instruction caches per core. In sum, AMD's advantage over Intel is near-constant parallelization, over which IT has gone nuts, kicking Opteron servers to the top of the food chain, where they will remain.”

InfoWorld
“2007 Technology of the Year” awards, page 6"

“The Opteron 2218 is excellent overall in power efficiency, and I can see why AMD issued its challenge. Yes, we were testing the top speed grade of the Xeon 5100 and 5300 series against the Opteron 2218, but the Opteron ended up drawing much less power at idle than the Xeons—a reality that switching to a lower Xeon speed grade won't remedy, since all of these Xeons share the same 2GHz minimum clock speed via DBS. Thanks in part to their lower idle power draw, the Opterons also fared best in power efficiency when measured over a set span of time in which a task was accomplished—a fair cross-section of a moment in the life of a system. Finally, the Opteron 2218 system was close to the top in terms of efficiency when we measured the energy used to complete a task, whether it was rendering a scene with POV-Ray or doing a search with MyriMatch. This broad strength across multiple measurements of power efficiency, combined with a reasonably good showing in our performance tests, confirms that AMD's Socket F Opterons make a compelling recipe for power-efficient performance.”

Tech Report
"New-look Xeons and Opterons square off"

Desktop:

“A pretty river flows past Pleasantview. Its rippling waters reflect clouds and the graceful arches of a bridge. Unless, that is, you're playing Electronic Arts' (ERTS) The Sims 2 video game on an Intel (INTC) computer with underpowered graphics. If so, the water appears as a featureless patch of monochromatic blue, and many other graphic subtleties of the game are lost.”

“Graphics performance has long been a concern for dedicated gamers and for users of advanced professional software, such as computer-assisted design tools. But it may soon become a lot more important to everyone else.”

“In my tests, all the Intel chips had enough heft to display Vista's spiffy graphics features, such as animated icons and transparent windows. But they fell way short of the ATI and NVIDIA (NVDA) systems in games. The Intel chips don't meet minimum requirements for running Linden Lab's Second Life virtual-world software on Vista.”

“For better graphics performance, consider a system using ATI or NVIDIA graphics."

BusinessWeek
"Is Your PC a Graphics Wimp?"