The latest inthe desktop line-up of processors from AMD is is the 6-core
Phenom X6 1090T. Codenamed Thuban, the Phenom X6 is developed on the 45nm
fabrication process which has been the modus operandi for AMD till now. Billed
at a clock speed of 3.2GHz, the processor is able to gallop to an amazing 3.6GHz
using overclocking. The 6-core of the X6 1090T processors share a 3MB level 2
cache and an amazing 6 MBs worth of level 3 cache. This means that the
processors need not remain idle for a long time when the cache is being filled
up for processing. Although this speeds up the processing further,it must be
noted that there has been absolutely no increase in the size of the L3 cache
from the Phenom X4 brand of processors from AMD.
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What is interesting to note here is that, this 6 cored processor is still
compatible with all AM2 and AM3 socket based motherboards although a revision of
the BIOS is required, which of course is free. This helps to the fact that AMD
is again able to roll out a multi-core processor (6 cored in this case) at
almost a third of the price from its competitor, Intel. With Intel also coming
out with the 6-core desktop processor, Intel core i7 980X, the fight for the
better computing platform is sure to catch up. And AMD's performance to price
ratio might just tilt the favour towards AMD. Multi-core performance is
generally of benefit to those working on multithreaded applications, which are
few and far between talking in terms of a desktop user. Traditionally, Intel has
been accredited with delivering better levels of performance in a non heavy
threaded application scenario and AMD has been well known to perform exceedingly
well in a multithreaded working environment.
Performance
We ran the latest processor on an MSI890Gfx motherboard. PCMark05 gave the
processor a CPU score of 8106 which is decent enough. A score of 3730 from
3DMark benchmarking software speaks volumes for the processor's ability to
render graphics. This score is more than decent. POV Ray benchmark billed the
processor at an average rendering of 58078 PPS over a total of 3.39 sec which is
not bad by any means. Our test bed consumed a total of 140 watts on idle mode,
119 on standby and 217 watts of power running at full tilt. These results do
indicate a strong performance bar set by the AMD processor. Also, interesting to
note is that these performance points can be achieved at a very enticing price
tag. Safe to conclude that the 6-core of AMD X6 1090T is sure to take the
desktop processing world by storm and AMD has an able bodied soldier to compete
with the Intel core i7 980X. You will be able to experience the comparitive
between the two once we review the Intel processor.
Bottomline: Excellent performance from the 6 cored desktop processor which is
sure to fulfill the desktop users' processing expectations.