Testing Methodology and System Setup
The test system configuration for our processor testing is pretty straight forward and has been the norm around PC Perspective for some time. We are using the new AMD 790FX chipset for AMD’s Phenom processors and the Intel X38 chipset for all of Intel’s CPUs. We used DDR3-1066 memory on the Intel side and DDR-800 memory on the AMD side; keep in mind that Phenom does support DDR2-1066 speeds as well!
The most direct comparison to the new AMD Phenom X4 9850 is the Intel Core 2 Quad 9450 – a 45nm part that runs on a 1333 MHz front side bus and should reside in the same price range (maybe a bit higher at $280 or so) with the 9850’s estimated $235 MSRP.
We have all kind of results in our benchmarks though, for you to better gauge where AMD’s latest processors fall in the grand scheme of performance; we’ll wait for our conclusions to discuss how the prices affect our opinions and recommendations.
Please note that all of the B2 stepping results (Phenom 9600 and Phenom 9900) are tested WITHOUT the TLB fix enabled so they would perform at the full speed they were intended.
