Amd Turion x2 Ultra

[Erock]

I have a decent understanding of Intel mobile cpu's but am very new to AMD and was wondering what Intel chip compares to my AMD (Specs in sig.) Thanks!

 

[Extelleron]

The CPU you have (ZM-80) is one of AMD's new Turion Ultra CPUs built for the Puma platform. The ZM-80 is the slowest CPU of the bunch, clocked at 2.1GHz; all are built @ 65nm and have 2x1MB L2. They are upgraded from the previous AMD mobile CPUs in that they support DDR2-800 and they incorporate some of the power/interface features found in K10. So they have the 3600MHz HT bus and also feature seperate voltage planes for the cores/northbridge. Also the NB / each core can adjust frequency independently. But when it comes to performance, it is pretty much just a K8.

Compared to Intel.... performance wise it's equivalent to 90nm Windsor for the most part, just slightly faster per clock perhaps because of some of the minor tweaks. So it is slower per clock than Intel's mobile CPUs. The strongest part of the Puma platform is the HD 3200 graphics which are far better than Intel's IGP. But when it comes to pure processing speed, Intel is definitely ahead. When compared to an Intel CPU, I'd say your 2.1GHz CPU is equivalent to a 1.7-1.8GHz C2D, depending on the cache of the Intel CPU.

 

[CTho9305]

They are upgraded from the previous AMD mobile CPUs in that they support DDR2-800 and they incorporate some of the power/interface features found in K10. So they have the 3600MHz HT bus and also feature seperate voltage planes for the cores/northbridge. Also the NB / each core can adjust frequency independently. But when it comes to performance, it is pretty much just a K8.

To clarify, each core in the Turion Ultra has a separate voltage plane (and the NB has its own too). I think Barcelona/Phenom share one voltage plane for all the cores and have a second one for the NB. I would imagine that the Turion Ultra's power usage when you have a single-threaded task is significantly improved as a result, but I don't know for sure. I'm not speaking for any companies.

 

[VirtualLarry]

So, essentially, these are K8s, but AM2+? Thats pretty neat.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I might have to upgrade my existing Sempron-based laptop. I would love to get a laptop with the 3200 chipset.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: CTho9305

They are upgraded from the previous AMD mobile CPUs in that they support DDR2-800 and they incorporate some of the power/interface features found in K10. So they have the 3600MHz HT bus and also feature seperate voltage planes for the cores/northbridge. Also the NB / each core can adjust frequency independently. But when it comes to performance, it is pretty much just a K8.

To clarify, each core in the Turion Ultra has a separate voltage plane (and the NB has its own too). I think Barcelona/Phenom share one voltage plane for all the cores and have a second one for the NB. I would imagine that the Turion Ultra's power usage when you have a single-threaded task is significantly improved as a result, but I don't know for sure. I'm not speaking for any companies.

That's correct, each core can adjust voltages & clocks independently of the other. There are several voltage settings for each core that correspond to the frequency of the core. As the frequency is lowered below a certain threshold (according to the different power states depending on cpu load) the voltage will then lower as well. This is one area where AMD is really much more advanced than Intel. They just don't have anything anywhere near Griffin in terms of how the cores can be manipulated individually to save power.

Unfortunately Barcelona / Agena don't aren't as advanced when it comes to power planes and all cores share the same voltage regardless. Hopefully Deneb and AMD's other 45nm CPUs will incorporate the same system as Griffin.

So, essentially, these are K8s, but AM2+? Thats pretty neat.

Well they incorporate some of the features that AM2+ CPUs include. They still use the same Socket S1 but with a slightly different pin layout so they are not compatible with previous Turion notebooks.

 

[Erock]

That makes sense. I had read that they have the voltage variation (phase locked loops) is what it's called. Its pretty solid in my opinion, I've never owned a laptop and I'm upgrading from the desktop in my sig so imo it's fast. It has 1Mb x2 L2 cashe to clarify.