Since I've built two minimum Win7 systems now, I thought I'd do a side-by-side comparison. Here are the full specs:
System #1 AMD+Nvidia
s754 Sempron 2500+ @ 1.4 GHz
GeForce 6100 IGP (128 MB shared RAM)
2x 1 GB (single channel) DDR-400 @ 3-3-3-8
120 GB 5,400 rpm (32 MB/s, 18 ms)
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System #2 Intel+ATI
LGA775 Celeron D 326 @ 2.53 GHz
Radeon Xpress 200 IGP (128 MB shared RAM)
2x 1 GB (single channel) DDR-400 @ 3-3-3-8
20 GB 5,400 rpm (31 MB/s, 17 ms)
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Let's start with boot times:
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A very slow start for the Intel system, taking twice as long to display the desktop and 2.5x longer until everything loads. Probably because the SATA controller on the board doesn't operate in native mode, relying on the legacy IDE protocol instead. ATI's reportedly subpar southbridge may also be at fault here. Or it could be some pesky driver.
Power consumption next:
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Total system consumption at the wall. True to its Prescott fame, the Intel platform draws more than 1.5x the power, both at idle and maximum.
Let's look at some synthetic benchmarks:
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On paper, the Celeron looks faster due to its much higher clock. But the Sempron's IMC gives it a clear advantage when it comes to RAM latency.
Now for the actual CPU tests:
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Intel wins three out of five times here, but only marginally in the SHA3 and ZLib tests. AMD takes a clear lead in the other two tests.
Synthetic FPU tests follow:
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The poor Sempron gets dominated in all tests but one, and by a wide margin.
CPU-Z's FPU benchmark tells the same story:
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Is there any hope for the lowly AMD processor? Could it redeem itself in practical benchmarks?
Stay tuned for more!
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