Re: AMD Dual Core vs. Quad - Power Management

[David Rees]

On Tue, Jun 17, 2008 at 3:00 PM, Marc Perkel <mperkel@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Been running a few tests and an AMD motherboard booting 2.6.25 from
> flash uses 0.33 amps if the CPU is a AM2 Athlon 6000. But if I used a
>  Phenom Quad core CPU 9550 it pulls 0.55 amps.
>
> In theory the 9550 should pull less because it's a lower TPD and the
> phenom processor is supposed to be smarter about power management.
>
> So - why is the Phenom pulling more power? Is it because power
> management software for the Phenom isn't updated yet?

At idle with CoolNQuiet on, all AMD processors seem to pull close to
the same amount of power, varying between 7-11 watts. Except for the
quad core processors, which pull significantly more at idle w/CnQ on
than dual and single core processors.

Tom's hardware has a nice chart listing power consumption here, all
his testing was done under Windows. His tests show the Phenom pulling
about twice the power of the Athlon64 X2 6000+ which matches up pretty
closely to your numbers.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-power-cpu,1925-7.html

Sounds like a question for AMD. The Phenoms seem to be pretty good
except for the extra 10-11w of power draw at idle which is
disappointing.

-Dave
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