AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition / Intel Core i7-950

It is hard to believe that AMDs Phenom 2 CPU has been around for two years but in a few weeks' time that will be the case, having launched the range in the early part of 2009. Since then we have seen numerous models released to the market and in more recent times those have included 6-Core variations of the design.

Today AMD are launching the latest version of their X6 CPU in the form of the Phenom 2 X6 1100T Black Edition. This new CPU is the fastest 6-core AMD chip to be released and comes in at a price which is almost identical to Intel's quad core i7-950. For that reason we will be putting the two head to head in order to find out which performs best in a selection of tests from gaming to media playback and encoding.

AMD Phenom 2 X6 1100T Black Edition

There were no real surprises when testing the 1100T Black Edition as it features the same core and components as previous X6 models. This of course means a high quality product which features a proven, stable design. As our results show the 1100T performs well across a range of tests and excels in Cinebench and high definition playback. Overclocking potential was good and those who move to the latest X6 model from older quad core versions will notice benefits from the extra cores and the inclusion of Turbo Core. The only down side to the CPU is its price to performance ratio. This is normally a very strong point for AMD however the particularly aggressive pricing of the i7-950 and performance it delivers means the 1100T could do with being about £20/$30 cheaper to make it a better value purchase.

Intel Core i7-950

As with the AMD cpu which features in this article the i7-950 from Intel worked its way through our tests producing results which were in line with previous models we had tested. It features the same excellent build quality as those previous i7 CPUs and also includes features such as HyperThreading and Turbo Mode which maximize performance when compared to the equivalent AMD CPU.

In the majority of our tests the i7-950 was the faster CPU with gaming and Photoshop use as well as media encoding being particular highlights. Although it doesn't have an unlocked multiplier there was still plenty of overclocking potential in the chip and we were able to run at 4.4GHz without issue. Value is a particularly strong aspect of this product with the CPU currently retailing for a little less than the 1100T in some stores.

Intel core i7 980x / AMD Phenom IIx6

Specifications	Intel Core i7 980X	AMD Phenom II X6          (1100T)
Processor Clocking Frequency	3.3 GHz (3.6 GHz With TurboBoost)	3.3 GHz (3.6 GHz with TurboCore)
Number of Cores	6	6
L3 Cache Size	12 MB	6 MB
L2 Cache Size	6 × 256 KB	6 x 512 KB
CPU Multiplier	25X	16X
Voltage Range	0.8–1.375 V	1.0 - 1.475 V
Maximum Temperature	67.9°C	62°C
Power Output	130 W	125 W
Lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Maximum Memory Bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	21 GB/s

One of the most important comparison parameters is the maximum clocking frequency achieved by them, which determines the speed with which they will process applications. Besides the clocking frequency, you should compare the number of cores made available in the processor, as it decides how many parallel programming threads are processed. More the cores, faster is the processor and better at multitasking. If you are into overclocking of CPUs, the CPU multiplier, maximum operating voltage and maximum operating temperature also matters. Memory bandwidth and L3 cache size also affects the performance speed.