AMD Phenom II X6 1090T "Thuban" Processor: Preview

 

With the release of Intel's six-core Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, it was only a matter of time before AMD launched their retort: the six core Phenom II X6 1090T processor.

At a glance, it's apparent that the 3.2GHz Phenom II X6 1090T lags behind Intel's six-core behemoth. Previously codenamed Thuban and part of AMD's "Leo" platform, the 1090T is a 45nm part, while Intel's 980X has been shrunk down to the 32nm manufacturing process. Where the 980X offers a 12MB L3 cache for improved memory management between multithreaded applications, the 1090T offers only 6MB. And AMD's technology doesn't address Intel's much touted Hyper Threading technology, which turns their six-core processor into twelve available cores (or 12 logical cores) for applications to dabble with.

By most measures, Intel's six-core processor is the superior part. But in typical AMD fashion, what the Phenom II X6 1090T lacks in raw power, it makes up for with a tantalizingly competitive price: the 1090T can be had for as little as Rs. 15,999. By comparison, Intel's admittedly superior silicon comes with a price tag of Rs. 50,000, making it virtually inaccessible for many enthusiasts. And even that is assuming you already have a compatible motherboard. In contrast, the 1090T offers drop-in support with existing AM3 and AM2+ socket motherboards, after a BIOS upgrade. This translates to AMD motherboards based on these chipsets - 785G, 890GX/FX and the 880G which means greater choice and lower price-points (as low as Rs. 4,000). The Intel 980X processor by contrast, requires the LGA 1366 socket, translating to motherboards based on the Intel X58 chipset alone (with price-points hovering around Rs. 15,000).

We just have to wonder: is that price difference of Rs. 34,000 worth it?

A Tale of Two Chipsets
The launch of the new Phenom II X6 platform is linked to the launch of the new 890FX chipset. The 890FX chipset bears much in common with the 890GX chipset that we had reviewed earlier, and features support for SATA 6Gbps, delivering a transfer speed potential of about 500MB/s. While the 890FX chipset lacks integrated graphics, it nearly doubles the number of available PCI lanes -- 42, against the 890GX chipset's 22.

A greater number of lanes per slot translate into greater available bandwidth for installed hardware. As AMD's handy diagram explains, the 890FX chipset offers support for up to two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots, which operate as four x8 slots, if you add four graphics cards. By contrast, the 890GX's pair of x16 slots operate as a pair of x8 slots if you add two graphics cards. The 890FX chipset also offers six x1 slots and one x4 Express slot, as well as another pair of x1 slots located on the SB850 southbridge. Like the 890GX, the 890FX chipset lacks native USB 3.0 support -- we found many motherboard manufacturers were offering USB 3.0 by using an NEC host controller.

Performance, When You Need It
One of the Phenom II X6 platform's oft-touted features is its Turbo Core technology, AMD's answer to Intel's Turbo Boost. The premise behind both Turbo Core and Turbo Boost is that many applications often aren't making full use of multicore processors. Unused cores translate into unused processing potential. The solution: automated overclocking. 

In Intel's case, when the processor's cores are operating below heat and power limits, the clock frequency of any active cores will automatically increase. If a single core is active and five are idle, the active core will see its clock speed bumped up. If all six cores are active but not operating at maximum capacity, they'll still see a boost, while remaining within the specified thresholds. AMD's Turbo Core functions similarly. When up to three cores are being underutilized, the active cores will see their frequencies boosted by up to 500MHz. With Turbo Core enabled, the 3.2GHz 1090T we reviewed can reach up to 3.6GHz.

However, apps that pioneered utilizing quad-cores fully, with support for running 4 threads simultaneously, will throw the Turbo Core into a Catch-22 situation. Such an application would utilize one core more than 3, so the speed boost will not kick in. The remaining two cores will lie unutilized as well. Thus an ironic paradox arises, where the processor is unable to "sell its wares" so to speak, to such an application, because the processor is neither allowed to boost its clock speed, nor are all its cores being utilized by the app.

Our Testbed
For our tests, we coupled an MSI 785GM-E51 motherboard and the 1090T processor with 2GB of Kingston DDR3 2000 MHz RAM, an ATI Radeon HD5870 graphics card, and a 1TB hard drive. We ran all of our tests on Windows 7 Ultimate Edition (64 bit). It's worth noting that our testbeds for both the Core i7-980X and the 1090T were nearly identical. The chief differences were the divergent chipsets, and the amount of RAM included. Intel's Core i7-980X and X58 chipset offer support for triple-channel memory, and were thus saddled with 3GB of RAM.

Six Cores for Play
Intel positioned its Core i7-980X as the premier part for enthusiast gamers, and the part performed amicably. And as expected, AMD's part lagged behind -- at times. For our first test, we tackled Massive Entertainment's World in Conflict, a DirectX 10 real time strategy game. At a resolution of 1920-by-1200 pixels (highest settings, AA and AF disabled) we saw 79 frames per second out of the 980X.

The AMD Phenom 1090T processor, by comparison, managed 55 frames per second. While both are certainly playable framerates, the 980X boasts a staggering 43.6% increase over the 1090T. For comparison's sake, with Turbo Core disabled the 1090T offers up 50 frames per second. At first blush, it would seem that despite the minor boost from Turbo Core functionality, AMD's six-core technology simply can't compete.

Things start to look a little differently once we take a look at Codemasters' Dirt 2 -- a DirectX 11 title. With Turbo Core enabled, we saw 76.5 frames per second (1920 by 1200 resolution). The 980X offered 73.3. While a 4.1% difference in favor of AMD is meagre, it's still an improvement. For curiosity's sake, disabling Turbo Core on the 1090T pulls the frame rate down to a still respectable 70.6.

Six Cores For Work
Games are always fun, but the deciding factor for many users will be how the 1090T holds up against Intel's 980X when play time is over. As expected, the 980X was the clear victor across the board. That being said, AMD's 1090T put up a strong fight. Our Photoshop test pits our testbeds against an array of high resolution images, challenging them to churn through a series of editing tasks. The 980X was 31.7% faster than the 1090T. Media encoding fared a bit better: the 980X was 15.3% faster at our Roxio VideoWave editing task, and only 5.52% percent faster at encoding a test film clip using Windows Media Encoder. Stay tuned for a product review of this processor, with even more analysis where we give you objective performance benchmark numbers, and results of real-world subjective tests.

Power Consumption
While AMD has historically been the power-conscious alternative, things are a bit different at the six-core level. The 1090T is a 125W TDP processor, similar to the quad-core part it succeeds. But while the 980X reports a TDP of 135W, it's been shrunk down to the 32nm process, which offers tangible power savings. When idle, our 1090T testbed drew 85.2 watts of power, as compared to the 980X's 95.3 watts. At peak levels, the roles were reversed: the 1090T drew 230 watts, as compared to the 980X's 210 watts. For comparison, Intel's quad-core 45nm Core i7-975 Extreme Edition processor drew 231 watts.

The Final Verdict
The Core i7-980X is the clear performance winner, boasting improved performance while even offering 12.1% less power consumption. But let's be honest here: Rs. 50,000 for a single component shoves it well out of the realm of most, to say nothing of additional upgrade costs should your current motherboard's socket fail to match. And while price generally isn't a factor in our reviews, we'd be hard pressed to skirt around the obvious: the 1090T can be had for Rs. 15,999. That leaves you with Rs. 34,000 to outfit the rest of your system, before even reaching the cost of Intel's chip. 

If money is no object, or you're unwilling to scrimp on your top-tier workstation, Intel's six-core processor remains king of the hill. But as far as cost-effective performance is concerned, AMD's Phenom II X6 1090T is a tantalizing prospect, that brings multi-threaded potential down to the masses.

Windows 8: 13 Features Worth Knowing About

Upgrades, system migration, support headaches -- IT folks are probably dreading the next major Windows rollout. Yet Windows 8, which is scheduled to move to the beta stage in late February and will likely launch in the fall, does offer several compelling new features for both IT and end users.

By far the most talked-about aspect of Windows 8 is the Metro interface. Designed for touchscreen computers and tablets, and built to use HTML5 and CSS3, Metro ties into Internet apps like SkyDrive and Flickr. As with Windows Phone 7, you can swipe to navigate through tiles showing live Web info like stocks and news as well as more traditional apps.

But Pund-IT analyst Charles King questions whether businesses will really see benefits from Metro, saying it is mainly just a new paint job over the existing Windows interface. "Metro is yet one more interface for employees to learn and get used to," he says. "In the current economic environment, businesses will consider that more of a nuisance than a benefit."

Some features in Windows 8 are of clearer business value, say King and other industry analysts. After spending a few months getting to know the developer preview release, I've scouted out 13 less-discussed features and talked to experts to get their take on whom, if anyone, these features will benefit.


The Metro interface


Fast boot-up
No finger-drumming here. In my tests, the preview build of Windows 8 booted in six seconds, an all-time record on my decked-out Digital Storm ODE desktop system. The previous boot time on the same machine running Windows 7 was approximately 90 seconds. It's possible that the fast boot is due to the developer preview's slimmer build, which lacks all of the bells and whistles of a full OS, but Microsoft has promised significantly faster boot times in Windows 8, which could make staring at logos on startup screens a thing of the past.

Booting up and resuming from sleep is already fast in Windows 7, says Gartner analyst Michael Silver, but making the boot time even faster is still a benefit. This will be particularly advantageous, Pund-IT's King adds, for technical folks who reboot their computers often -- for example, after installing apps -- or for mobile workers who need to routinely power down a device to save battery life and then boot up quickly.

Verdict: If early speeds carry over to the shipping version, it's a win for everybody.


Reset and Refresh
The past several releases of Windows have included a way to rebuild a computer from scratch and return to the default install, but the steps were a bit more complex than they should have been. Now, Windows 8 introduces quick step-by-step wizards for Reset (go back to default install, lose all data and apps) and Refresh (return all settings to their default for faster and more reliable operation, but keep the data and apps) functions.

While home users will have both functions available on their own computers, businesses can set policies for their PCs so that, say, users can do a Refresh themselves but the Reset function requires an IT admin.


Reinstalling the OS and returning the computer to its original state are easier tasks than ever in Windows 8.

"Reset and Refresh functions could be a real boon for IT staff," says King. "Reset lets administrators easily return PCs to their factory state, stripping out all user data along the way. That would be great when you have to reconfigure or decommission systems. Refresh allows users to quickly restore an ailing PC without removing or damaging any of their data or customizations. Easy to imagine multiple scenarios where this could benefit businesses."

Verdict: These easy-to-use features will help end users troubleshoot their own computers -- a boon for individuals as well as IT support staffers.


Windows to Go
As we all get more mobile, it's tempting to try to leave our work computer, whether it's a desktop or laptop, behind. But it's often hard to duplicate what's on that computer -- including the apps and settings we use every day. The cloud makes it possible to store data or use apps on the Web, but some organizations are hesitant to store any company data on the Internet. And cloud services won't help if your accounting program is a local install.

Windows to Go should help address that problem. The idea is that IT can load a user's local install of Windows 8 onto a thumb drive, apps and all; the user can then plug it into any other computer to duplicate her work environment. This is an enterprise process: Windows to Go will be an option in Windows Server 8, not a consumer feature.

"Organizations are increasingly wanting user data and settings and applications to be more portable. Aside from increased productivity for the user to travel securely without a PC, it should also help with future Windows migrations and every time the user gets a new PC," says Silver.

King can think of other uses for the feature. "Windows to Go will simplify life for employees at the growing number of firms that don't offer dedicated cubicles or workspaces. An individual could plug his or her Windows to Go USB drive into a random PC and get to work."

He also notes that it could be used by mobile employees or contract workers who have limited access to company networks. "VMware has been offering a similar product called VMware ACE since 2007, so it's about time Redmond got into the act," King says.

Verdict: Mobile workers -- and the IT staffers who support them -- will find Windows to Go very handy.


The Windows Store
Integrated with Windows 8, the Windows Store will mimic Apple's Mac App Store, making it easy to find, purchase and install Microsoft-approved apps for the OS. Redmond isn't brand-new to the app store model: The Windows Phone Marketplace offers mobile apps for Windows Phone 7. One welcome feature of that store: Many apps and games offer a free trial version.

The Windows Store is not enabled in the Windows 8 developer preview, so I haven't been able to try it out. (Microsoft plans to launch it in February along with the Windows 8 beta.) But the company has shared some details about how it will work. As with the Windows Phone Marketplace, apps will have to be certified by Microsoft to appear in the Windows Store, and developers will be able to offer trial versions of their software.

"Microsoft will manage the store and, theoretically, all applications will be safe and secure," says Gartner's Silver. Licensing will be user-based, he adds, and a single licensed user will be able to download and install the same application to multiple PCs. "However, this may have implications for the enterprise that have not yet been discussed," he notes.

The key to the Windows Store's success will be whether companies of various stripes decide to support it, says King. For example, software developers would need to agree to the restrictions, and businesses would have to be willing to let employees download software from the stores; setting clear policies about how employees can use the store would be a big help here, he says.

Verdict: The convenience and security of a Microsoft app store with free trials and user-based licensing are great for consumers, but businesses should use caution and set clear employee use policies.


The Ribbon interface
A few years back, Microsoft shocked the world by completely overhauling the interface of its popular Office 2007 applications, replacing the familiar menu and toolbar system with something it called the Ribbon, which groups features and tools into separate collections. This controversial change angered many longtime Office users, while others found the new interface more efficient to use once they'd gotten used to it.

Now the Ribbon is making its way into Windows 8. You'll see it in Windows Explorer, where it provides an easy way to check file attributes and sort files. The Ribbon interface pops up in unexpected places, too, such as the new Hyper-V management app. (For users who don't like it, the UI can be disabled with one click.)


The Ribbon interface is prevalent in Windows Explorer.

"At this point, Microsoft can call the Ribbon UI a success," says Silver. "Most average users will probably find that the Ribbon helps them with tasks they've been unsure about previously. For power users, most of the skills they have for manipulating files and such will still work."

But King isn't so sure. "Some businesses believe worker productivity suffered from having to learn new commands and processes in Windows 7 and Office 2010," he says. "This feature could actually inhibit businesses migrating to [Windows] 8."

Verdict: Overall, the Ribbon is a plus for home and business users alike -- especially since it can be turned off easily.


Wi-Fi Direct support
Here's a feature that might not make headlines, but still holds promise: Like Android 4.0, Windows 8 natively supports Wi-Fi Direct. This emerging peer-to-peer technology uses a standard 802.11n Wi-Fi signal for network transmissions over short distances, but there's no need for a router -- it lets your Wi-Fi devices communicate directly with each other.

Wi-Fi Direct could usher in an age of interconnected devices in which your tablet sends data to your alarm clock, or maybe a smartphone communicates with a smart appliance in your kitchen.

Brian Fino, managing director at Fino Consulting, says Wi-Fi Direct is an important step in building connected intelligent applications. The more devices there are that support the technology, he says, the more robust software can be built to create a user experience that takes advantage of the direct connection.

Verdict: Wi-Fi Direct offers handy close-range peer-to-peer sharing, but it's too soon to tell whether the technology will catch on.


NFC support
Another short-distance wireless technology called near field communication (NFC) has long been touted as a potential channel for in-store financial transactions. Although it's been slow to take off, the techology recently received a boost with the launch of Google Wallet, which lets you purchase goods by tapping an NFC-enabled smartphone against a terminal. Windows 8 will bring NFC support to tablets and laptops.

The idea here is that, with a tablet or laptop, you could purchase your next latte at Starbucks without fishing for a credit card. And as NFC terminals progress, two-way communication may come into play, such as offering users coupons or location-based marketing.

Dave Jakobik, a partner and lead programmer at Chicago Web design agency EtherCycle, was a bit incredulous about the usefulness of NFC in Windows 8. He says end users will be more likely to use a smartphone at checkout than a laptop or tablet.

But Peter Menadue, a general manager at Dimension Data, a Microsoft services partner, says NFC could be an enabler for other technologies. For example, if NFC becomes a common authentication method, it could replace Bluetooth pairing for headsets and other gadgets. And NFC is already used on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to exchange contacts when you touch phones, so it could conceivably become a standard way to exchange data between laptops.

Verdict: Not terribly useful at present: Laptop and tablet users are unlikely to use NFC for financial transactions. It remains to be seen whether NFC will be widely adopted for other types of data transfer.


Native ISO image support
In previous versions of Windows, third-party software was required to mount ISO images, archive files that contain the entire contents of an optical disc and are frequently used to distribute software for bootable discs. In Windows 8, when you double-click an ISO image file on your hard drive, you can open the image in Explorer as a virtual optical drive, access its contents and even copy and paste files elsewhere on your hard drive for use with other programs.

This means easier access to a common file format; it's especially important for archiving legacy DVDs and CDs. Another common use: If you make an ISO image of your own photos and videos to burn a DVD, you can open that ISO file in Windows 8.


An ISO image file can be mounted natively -- you can copy files back and forth.

"ISO access is more and more useful with the slow disappearance of optical drives [and] the rapid increase in available hard drive space," says Jakobik. "I no longer need to carry my physical media with me; I can just have the images locally stored."

Verdict: This seemingly minor enhancement is a boon for IT staffers as well as people who use devices that lack optical drives.


Side-by-side apps on tablets
The Metro interface has one unique feature for future Windows 8 tablets: the ability to run two apps on the screen at the same time. Not even the market-leading Apple iPad 2 can run side-by-side apps.

"This could address a drawback of iOS," says Silver. "Windows (and Mac OS, of course) allows multiple windows on the screen at once. iOS only allows one, so you can't watch a video and surf the Web. Metro allows two applications to be seen at once, though Microsoft may need to rethink screen limitations."

Verdict: A useful feature for tablet users, but it's quite possible that competing Android tablets and/or the iPad will also support side-by-side apps by the time Windows 8 is released this fall.


ARM processor support
Windows has traditionally run on x86-based processors from Intel and AMD. If you buy, say, a ViewSonic or Asus tablet that runs Windows today, it will probably use an Intel processor. But Apple's iPad and most Android tablets run on ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) processors, which are designed for fast processing and long battery life on mobile devices.

With the Metro UI's finger-touch control and swipe gestures, Windows 8 has clearly been built with tablets in mind. It's not surprising, then, that the new OS operates on ARM as well as x86 processors.

Rob Enderle, the principal analyst at Enderle Group, says ARM support is the most important feature in Windows 8. It means a new market for Microsoft, consisting of ultra-thin tablets with long-lasting batteries.

Silver agrees that ARM processor support is good news if it means tablets get cheaper and batteries last longer. However, he doubts that legacy Windows applications will run on these new tablets -- a charge that Intel has brought against ARM-based tablets -- which may limit their usefulness for businesses. For its part, Microsoft called Intel's statements "factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading," but Microsoft has so far declined to provide details about what software will and won't run on the devices.

Verdict: ARM tablets that run Windows will benefit consumers, but businesses that need to run legacy software may need to stick with x86-based devices.


Windows Live SkyDrive integration
Wait, is SkyDrive still around? Most of us were too busy using Dropbox to notice. But Microsoft's free cloud storage service just got a little more interesting: The company has said that SkyDrive will be integrated directly into Windows 8. That means when you use the Metro interface to browse photos, you can quickly view the images you have stored on SkyDrive without starting a browser.

"SkyDrive is not new, but the connection to Windows is," says Silver. "Windows 8 can have your settings follow you from the cloud."

Both Silver and King noted that SkyDrive is designed for consumers rather than businesses. Microsoft's more mature cloud offering, called Windows Azure, has the robust security features that companies require.

Verdict: Offering slick integration between phones, tablets and computers, the enhanced SkyDrive is a plus for home users.


Hyper-V
Hyper-V, Microsoft's enterprise virtualization tool, has been available to IT administrators in recent versions of Windows Server, but Windows 8 brings it to the client OS. This will help end users run other operating systems, including older versions of Windows, inside a virtual machine -- a boon for companies that need to run legacy apps.

Hyper-V will replace Windows 7's more rudimentary Virtual PC component and add a management layer so admins can tweak options for storage drives and VM settings when a client uses the virtual machine. It's an important addition to Windows 8, King says, but he warns that many end users will find Hyper-V too complex and that technical staff may find more value in it.

On the server side, Windows Server 8 includes a new Hyper-V live migration feature that makes it easier to deploy virtual instances to clients. These client and server options give IT the flexibility to provide some users with ready-to-go virtual machines while allowing more tech-savvy users to deploy their own.

Microsoft says these and other enhancements to Hyper-V will put it on par with its more well-established virtualization competitor, VMware. Businesses will have to decide between paying for the mature features of VMware and using Hyper-V, which is included with Windows 8 client and server licenses. Of course, for those IT managers who are more familiar with VMware, there may be hidden costs in learning the Microsoft tool, supporting it and training end users.

Verdict: Built-in virtualization technology in Windows 8 is a big win for companies that have not widely deployed VMware.


A beefed-up Task Manager
One of the most improved features in Windows 8 is the redesigned Task Manager, which is both simpler and more detailed than before. Instead of a cryptic list of processes and stats, the default screen shows just the names of running applications and lets you quickly kill any that aren't responding.

Clicking the "More details" button brings up the advanced Task Manager, which reveals a wealth of information including total CPU usage time for each app, a CPU performance graph and more details about the memory and other system resources each app is using.


In my tests with the developer preview, the advanced Task Manager revealed a few potential slow-down problems, such as extra instances of Google Chrome running in the background, plus a suspended app.

The graphs that show CPU performance also allow you to view disk performance by clicking on a tile. You can even view a history of your wireless networking speed, and monitor send-and-receive rates.

Verdict: A handy improvement for beginners and power users alike.