TREADLAYERS.COM: AMD ATHLON X2 7850 BLACK EDITION + GA-MA78GM-S2H

AMD ATHLON X2 7850 BLACK EDITION + GA-MA78GM-S2H

The AMD Athlon is a series of processors which has a long and storied past. It was the first to hit 1GHz, enjoyed tremendous success with the Athlon XP line, and now has evolved to the Athlon 64 and Athlon X2 lines. But what makes this new 7850 so special? Well, it is basically a 2-core Phenom "Kuma" core but labeled as an Athlon X2 Black Edition. The architectural highlights are as follows:

2 x 512KB L2 cache, one for each core

2MB L3 cache (yes, L3!)

1.8 GHz HT speed

2.8 GHz CPU speed

1.2 - 1.25 Vcore

95W TDP

Socket AM2+

B3 stepping

UNLOCKED MULTIPLIER

Unlocked, L3 cache, faster HT, and AM2+. Very cool indeed. Our testing platform will use the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H MB, a Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W power supply, Windows XP SP3, and 2x 2GB of DDR2-800 memory from Corsair. Our test results are as follows:

MB/CPU	Mem	DVD Shrink 3.2*	WinRAR 3.62	Full Power	Idle Power		Memtest86: L1/ L2/ Main	Prime 95, last #	Super Pi Mod, 1M
MB/CPU	Mem	DVD Shrink 3.2*	WinRAR 3.62	Full Power	Full CPU	Low CPU	Memtest86: L1/ L2/ Main	Prime 95, last #	Super Pi Mod, 1M
GA-MA78GM-S2H, 7850BE	DDR2-800, ganged	14:11	1026	142	100	77	46527, 15424, 2217	7.534 ms	29.064s
M4A79T Deluxe, PhenomII X4 955	DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB	8:29	2359	212	162	102	39688, 17471, 8979	6.577 ms	21.422s
GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, PhenomII X4 955	DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB	8:39	2330	247	162	110	39688, 17471, 8979	6.569 ms	21.516s
GA-MA78GM-S2H, PhII X4 810	DDR2-1066, ganged	9:58	1933	223	154	144	32532, 14321, 2340	8.128 ms	26.406 s
GA-MA78GM-S2H, LE-1660B	DDR2-800	33:49	559	124	100	80	23000, 3807, 3131	9.79 ms	33.625 s
GA-MA78GM-S2H, LE-1640B	DDR2-800	34:50	533	115	93	80	22179, 3671, 3019	10.181 ms	34.875 s
MSI 8200M, Ph9950	DDR2-1066, ganged	9:50	1775	207	128	116	untested	8.104 ms	30.016s
MSI 8200M, 4850e	DDR2-800, ganged	20:22	733	113	72	77	20536, 3309, 2040	10.987 ms	36.234s
GA-MA78GM-S2H, Ph9550	DDR2-1066, ganged	14:17	1369	167	102	84	36143, 11982, 3079	9.566 ms	34.906s
GA-MA78GM-S2H, BE2350	DDR2-800	23:37	730	83	48	39	17250, 3213, 2222	13.061ms	43.657s
M2R32-MVP, Ph9500	DDR2-1066	14:57	176	172	129	118	36148, 11983, 2780	9.565ms	40.250s

*DVD is My Fellow Americans ripped to HDD. DVD Shrink compresses the entire rip to 53.7%, with deep analysis, and the 'sharp' adaptive error compensation setting, to another HDD folder. Analysis files deleted prior to tests.

Results are not bad for a dual-core CPU. WinRAR seems low for a 2.8GHz CPU.

MB/CPU Mem GPU Cinebench10 3D Mark03 3D Mark05 3D Mark06

OpenGL 1 CPU n CPU
CPU Test1

CPU Test2

CPU Test1

CPU Test2

CPU Test1

CPU Test2

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 7850BE DDR2-800, ganged 780G -- 2373 4703 137.4 27.0 3.3 7.7 0.718 1.150

M4A79T Deluxe, PhenomII X4 955 DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB HD2400 -- 2939 10450 180.0 41.2 7.1 13.3 1.593 2.308

GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, PhenomII X4 955 DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB HD2400 -- 2946 10456 180.2 41.1 7.0 13.3 1.587 2.311

GA-MA78GM-S2H, PhII
X4 810 DDR2-1066, ganged 780G -- 2309 8435 159.7 34.0 5.6 11.2 1.294 1.903

GA-MA78GM-S2H,
LE-1660B DDR2-800 780G -- 2241 - 107.5 20.6 2.7 5.6 0.339 0.544

GA-MA78GM-S2H,
LE-1640B DDR2-800 780G -- 2061 - 102.4 19.7 2.6 5.3 0.321 0.521

MSI 8200M, 4850e DDR2-800 ganged 8200M 2181 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 4850e DDR2-800, ganged 9800GT 3430 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

GA-MA78GM-S2H, Ph9550 DDR2-1066, ganged 780G 2430 2237 8667 126.2 WNR 3.7 8.4 1.079 1.535

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 4850e DDR2-800 780G 1938 2219 4289 93.1 WNR 2.9 6.1 0.593 0.945

M2R32-MVP, Ph9500 DDR2-1066 9600GT - 2075 7101 102.4 19.8 2.6 5.1 1.034 1.413

Much better numbers here. This is where the 2.8 GHz clock speed seems to be paying off.

MB/CPU Mem Everest Ultimate Edition

CL-RCD-RP-RAS Mem
Read Mem
Write Mem Copy Mem Latency

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 7850BE DDR2-800, ganged 5-6-6-18 CR2 6708 MB/s 4440 MB/s 7053 MB/s 69.9 ns

M4A79T Deluxe, PhenomII X4 955 DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB 11-11-11-30 CR1 8651 MB/s 6656 MB/s 9140 MB/s 52.9 ns

GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, PhenomII X4 955 DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB 11-11-11-30 CR1 8646 MB/s 6505 MB/s 9211 MB/s 53.6 ns

GA-MA78GM-S2H,
LE-1660B DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 CR2 7625 MB/s 6777 MB/s 7254 MB/s 55.1 ns

GA-MA78GM-S2H,
LE-1640B DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 CR2 7441 MB/s 6523 MB/s 7580 MB/s 56.7 ns

MSI 8200M, Ph9950 DDR2-1066, ganged ----- 7565 MB/s 5013 MB/s 8368 MB/s 60.2 ns

MSI 8200M, 4850e DDR2-800 ganged ----- 5547 MB/s 6307 MB/s 5402 MB/s 58.8 ns

GA-MA78GM-S2H, Ph9550 DDR2-1066, ganged 6-6-6-24 CR2 6836 MB/s 4264 MB/s 7128 MB/s 63.6 ns

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 4850e DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 CR2 6557 MB/s 5964 MB/s 5814 MB/s 61.5 ns

GA-MA78GM-S2H, BE2350 DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 CR2 5842 MB/s 5049 MB/s 5262 MB/s 64.7 ns

M2R32-MVP, Ph9500 DDR2-1066 5-5-5-18 CR2 4482 MB/s 3365 MB/s 4421 MB/s 148.8 ns

Now we see some limitations of DDR2 and latency issues with the L3.

MB/CPU Mem Everest Ultimate Edition

CPU Queen CPU PhotoWorxx CPU ZLib CPU AES FPU Julia FPU Mandel FPU SinJulia

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 7850BE DDR2-800, ganged 10370 23924 37694 KB/s 9253 7014 4866 7279

M4A79T Deluxe, PhenomII X4 955 DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB 19927 48299 86055 KB/s 23202 16150 10760 16589

GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, PhenomII X4 955 DDR3-1600, 2x 2GB 19975 48047 85797 KB/s 23211 16120 10761 16547

GA-MA78GM-S2H,
LE-1660B DDR2-800 4909 14612 15930 KB/s 3632 2355 1347 3720

GA-MA78GM-S2H,
LE-1640B DDR2-800 4729 14117 15312 KB/s 3499 2272 1298 3594

MSI 8200M, Ph9950 DDR2-1066, ganged 16173 37853 69412 KB/s 17358 12933 8864 13526

MSI 8200M, 4850e DDR2-800 ganged 8729 20729 28506 KB/s 6461 4226 2386 6644

GA-MA78GM-S2H, Ph9550 DDR2-1066, ganged 13716 37017 58967 KB/s 14687 11016 7523 11468

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 4850e DDR2-800 8739 18935 28537 KB/s 6491 4217 2388 6659

GA-MA78GM-S2H, BE2350 DDR2-800 7351 17307 23977 KB/s 5436 3550 2008 5593

GA-MA78GM-S2H, 4850e DDR2-800 13717 12201 58781 KB/s 14595 10979 7518 11467

Not too bad here for dual cores.

Here is the AMD Power Monitor showing the CPU when in Max Battery mode, and in Always On mode. Note how the speed is throttled back to 1.4 GHz @ 1.05v.

The overall impression we get from the 7850 is that it is a great CPU with cutting-edge features, and an unlocked multiplier - great for gamers and overclockers. But perhaps the most important number is the one that isn't shown above - its PRICE! Yes folks, this magnificent CPU is streeting under US$70! If it weren't for the price, this would get a much lower rating. but we are happy to award this a 90%!