AMD Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 CPU Review

AMD released four new processors today, two low-power quad-core chips as well as two new dual-core processors.  The new dual-cores, first ever Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 CPUs, offer increased performance over their predecessors, while reducing power consumption thanks to the new 45nm manufacturing process.  We've got both of the new dual-core chips in for review, so let's see how they stack up.

The two chips we're taking a look at are the Athlon II X2 250 and the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition.  The Athlon II chip is gearing up to be AMD's new mainstream processor going into the upcoming Windows 7 launch.  The A2X2 is the first chip in the next-generation Athlon II microarchitecture, built on AMD / GlobalFoundries' 45nm manufacturing process.  The Phenom II X2 is AMD's new king of the hill when it comes to dual-core chips.  Running at 3.1GHz and featuring an unlocked multiplier, it's definitely going to be a big piece for overclocking enthusiasts.

• Athlon II X2 @ 3.0GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 0MB L3 cache
• Phenom II X2 @ 3.1GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 6MB L3 cache

The new A2X2 will sell for $87 while the P2X2 will retail for around $102, continuing AMD's war against Intel on CPU prices.

While the two main x86 CPU makers, Intel and AMD, have traded the performance crown back and forth in the past, Intel's been holding it for the past few iterations.  AMD has taken to fighting back by cutting costs on their own offerings and trying to win over consumers by presenting a superior performance per dollar ratio.  In addition, their recent new chips, while packaged in a new AM3 socket, are still backwards compatible with previous generation motherboards -- a fact that Intel can't match.

These two new chips are just the same, AM3 processors that can fit into both AM2+ and AM3 motherboards, partnered with DDR2 or DDR3 RAM.  Today's procesors also support AMD's recent AMD OverDrive 3.0 software, their Windows-only utility that lets consumers overclock processors on the fly.  It can be as basic or advanced as necessary, but the real draw to the recent updates is the support for memory profiles.  That is, new high-end memory, like Corsair's Dominator or an equivalent can be recognized by the AOD software, and automatically overclocked along with the processor.

Performance
Our AMD test system used an ASUS M4A79T Deluxe motherboard as well as 4GB of Corsair DDR3 1066 memory.  The E8500 test system used only 2GB of DDR3 1066 memory, but that shouldn't affect strict CPU benchmarks like these. Both systems were running Windows Vista 64-bit.  The wPrime32 results are a composite of the systems we get in for review.

wPrime benchmark comparison results (lower numbers mean better performance)

PCMark05 CPU test performance comparison results (higher scores mean better performance)

3DMark06 CPU test performance comparison results (higher scores mean better performance)

Cinebench R10 comparison results (higher scores mean better performance)

The unlocked multiplier on the P2X2 offers significant overclocking potential, and in some quick and dirty tests, I was able to easily push it up to 3.7 and 3.8GHz on air, but it was unstable at 3.8 and above.

I wanted to keep this review short and sweet and to the point; we know precisely what CPUs do at this point and there's no need to rehash older territory.  Moreover, I wanted to draw attention to the benchmarks here.  Can we say that AMD is back?  I think so.  We're getting performance equivalents to some pretty high-end Intel CPUs at significantly reduced cost, both in terms of direct price and to upgrade to new generations.  The new P2X2 chip is really an excellent little performer, trading blows back and forth with the E8500, and that's without any overclocking done whatsoever.  The fact that this chip only costs $102 really speaks to AMD's attempt to undercut their competitors on price; this time they've managed to do it while getting the same level of performance to boot. 

I have to say that we're pretty surprised to see such an excellent CPU run so cheaply.  Just as great, frankly, is the new A2X2 250 CPU; while its performance can't match the bigger boys, it manages to pack its performance into a 65 watt thermal envelope, a max savings of 15 watts over its Phenom II X2 sibling.  Greater energy efficiency equals less heat generated, which means the computers those chips power can do with quieter fans. 

Conclusion
AMD fanboys have a reason to celebrate with the release of these two new processors.  Offering an outstanding price per dollar ratio, AMD is rapidly becoming the go-to company for cheap chip power.  Gamers, like everyone else these days, are being forced to save money where they can, and that means putting off computer upgrades longer and longer.  Thanks to AMD, we may not have to wait that long after all.