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| Low Power and Energy-Efficient CPUs from Intel and AMD Core2 Duo E6300 vs. X2-3800+ (ADD) and X2-4600+ (ADO) | |
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(Review by MS, August 20, 2006) |
Summary
With the release of the Core2 Duo line of CPU, Intel has made a complete turn-around in their line-up, pushing the new party line of instructions per Watt. At first glance, primarily the lower speed grades are target for energy-efficiency claims for the simple reason that power consumption increases with frequency in a linear fashion. At close-up, the situation is quite a bit different since Intel's Enhanced Speedstep Technology throttles the frequency of the higher grades back to the same base frequency of 100 MHz while simultaneously lowering the supply voltage, thereby mitigating any potential savings of the lower speedgrades under idle conditions.
From AMD's camp, we see a new line of Energy-Efficient processors being released with target power consumption of 35W (code: ADD) and 65W (code: ADO), respectively. We lined up one of each class, including Intel's Core2 Duo E6300 to put them trough the paces of both performance and power measurements. At the end of the day, there is one clear winner in this roundup which surpassed our wildest expectations - guess which one ....
Turmoil in CPU-World
The CPU-World is currently in a total turmoil. The slow slide of Intel’s market share into the hands of AMD was completely usurped by the recent introduction of the Merom core-based Core2 Duo architecture, offering blazing performance at price points that put to shame anything available hitherto. While the pain is primarily felt by AMD, it also poses the question of what to do with the remaining inventory Netburst - a.k.a. P4 processors - that, in comparison to the new line-up can be considered great for keychains or an interesting bathroom wall tiling mosaic.
AMD A64 X2 3800+
Of course, tiling and modern art jewellery as suggested use for the remaining P4 inventory are an exaggeration, even this processor had its merits at one point in history. Still, the fact remains that the new buzz is power efficiency or instructions per [W]. Interestingly, the low-power initiative includes new models also from AMD, specifically, there are the new X2-3800+ ADD and the X2-4600+ ADO, both based on the Windsor core in its half-cache variety. The two processors are rated as 35W or 65W, respectively, max thermal design power (TDP). Keep in mind that the TDP numbers not necessarily reflect the actual power consumption of the processor but rather the requirements that a mainboard manufacturer needs to meet in order to get qualified for the use of a specific CPU. This necessarily includes a more or less significant overhead taking into account forward-looking power projections and overclocking situations.
AMD A64 X2 4600+
In the Intel camp, the lower Core2 Duo models are also claimed to be musters in energy efficiency. Particularly the half-cache versions in the form of E6300 and E6400 are predestined to be used in fan-less designs or passively-cooled systems.
Intel Core2 Duo E6300
The above mentioned term “Passive Cooling” is one of the major buzzwords in this respect but it is also one of the worst examples of verbal abuse in the field of technology parlance. Just to straighten out a few definitions here: Passive cooling in the true sense of the word is limited to heat exchange with the environment based exclusively on convection or emission but does not include the use of forced air movement – regardless of whether it is a dedicated fan or any auxiliary fan-induced (PSU, case fan) air flow. To further clarify the terminology mentioned: convection is the movement of any heat-absorbing material based on thermally-induced buoyancy – the effect that heating up most materials will expand them and, thereby, reduce their specific gravity, forcing them to rise relative to their environment.
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Athlon64 X2-3800+ (ADA3800DAA5CD) | |
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Core2 Duo E6300 (HH80557PH0362M) |
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