Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"In light of a new competitive challenge—Intel’s Core i7—AMD is revamping its Spider platform with a new processor and the addition of software able to tie all of the hardware together. As you no doubt already know from reading Bert’s story, this latest effort is called Dragon. But we’re not here to rehash the details of Phenom II. Rather, in light of significant enhancements to the CPU architecture’s overclocking capabilities (and indeed, confirmation from AMD that all of the "magic" that went into its ACC [Advanced Clock Calibration] technology is now baked into Phenom II), we’re eager to compare the value of AMD’s fastest 45 nm chip to Intel’s entry-level Core i7 920—the one most enthusiasts would be likely to eye as an overclocking contender."

Tom's Hardware puts the newly released Phenom II through its paces with attention paid to the overclocking market. The results are hardly surprising with the Phenom II showing remarkable overclocking value. However, when compared against the Core i7, the decision between CPUs gets a bit muddier. The Core i7 represents leading edge technology with powerful performance, topping the Phenom II in overclockability. However, the Core i7 also means a large investment in purchasing new hardware. On the flip side, the Phenom II can be a drop in replacement, working with many existing AM2+ motherboards. Unless you're willing to drop some serious change for a new rig, the Phenom II is a sound upgrade path.

"The production of a sequel typically implies that the original creation is worth revisiting. However, considering that the original Phenom was the hardware version of Ishtar, many enthusiasts didn’t think Phenom deserved to be revisited. AMD certainly thinks it does—and it hopes Phenom II is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn to Phenom’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And why shouldn’t AMD be able to pull off a reversal of fortune? Phenom II isn’t just Phenom joined by a Roman numeral—it’s a die shrink with a boatload of additional cache and an improved core. In short, AMD hopes to erase memories of the original Phenom and put smiles on the faces of disappointed overclockers with its reimagined Phenom II chip."

Targeted towards mid-range PCs, the Phenom II is pretty much the original Phenom packaged in a 45nm process. MaximumPC puts the new CPU through its paces, but the results don't show anything worth noting. The Phenom II seems to be much more of an evolutionary than revolutionary step for AMD, with the new CPU using a bit less power while maintaining most of the compatibility with existing motherboards. Overall, I'm not impressed, but pleased to see AMD working to hold its ground against Intel, however, I think the company needs to put a magic rabbit out of its hat to push back the 800 pound gorilla that is Intel.