Is the Phenom II X3 705e just an underclocked and undervolted 710/720

[Wineohe]

I see that AMD has introduced new lower power processors. The processor I am particularly interested in is the X3 705e. When reviewing the specs the only real difference I could see was a 100mhz lower clock and a lower operating voltage of basically 0.2V, compared to the X3 710 for example.

It occurred to me that I might be able to achieve the same results with the X3 710 in my HTPC. Has anyone else tried this approach?

I intend to give it a shot with a Blu-ray disk in the near future. I'll try to see how low I can go. I do not use this rig for games and I'm going to be using it in a vacation property on an island where juice is north of 32cents/KWhr.

If I could get a movie to play at 2Ghz(or less) with a vcore of 1.1V(or less) why not do it? I'll post an update.

 

[LoneNinja]

You shouldn't have any problems getting smooth play back at below 2.0Ghz, how far below I do not know. Your exactly right, if you still get enough performance for your needs while cutting back on power consumption, you might as well do it.

And yes, the energy efficient versions of AMD's processors are the same as their regular versions, they're just binned as being able to handle stable operation at lower voltages and sold with a price premium. You can get similar results underclocking/undervolting with most of the regular processors of the same series.

 

[richierich1212]

My 550 unlocked to X4 is stable @ 2GHz w/ 0.944v & 1.8GHz w/ 0.912v. Im sure you can achieve similar results with the 550, 945, or 955. (Didnt include the 710/720 due to them being based off of the "older" 920/940s)

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: WineoheI do not use this rig for games and I'm going to be using it in a vacation property on an island where juice is north of 32cents/KWhr.

Yowzers. That's crazy expensive.

As stated, you can take any old processor and undervolt it quite a bit if you underclock it. I underclocked a Phenom X4 9600 down to 1000mhz and it's linpack stable at 0.85V. The power consumption is so low that it runs very close to ambient temperature even when linpack is stressing all 4 cores.

I just tested the DVD playback abilities of this computer and it takes about 10% CPU to play a regular DVD in VLC. If you can find a multithreaded way to play blu-ray, you could probably run it at 1000mhz.

 

[bobdelt]

Isnt this what cool and quiet is for? I know this is better, but these chips should be all capable of running down to below 1ghz, if the mobo allows it.

 

[LoneNinja]

Some of you are lucky with those underclocks on 65nm Phenoms, my 9850 @ 800mhz crashes at anything less than .975V.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Originally posted by: Wineohe
I intend to give it a shot with a Blu-ray disk in the near future. I'll try to see how low I can go. I do not use this rig for games and I'm going to be using it in a vacation property on an island where juice is north of 32cents/KWhr.

You need a laptop ASAP.