My 4yr old AMD Phenom II X4 960T beats a A6-7400k?

[JEDI]

so i saw a deal for a dual core a6-7400k with mobo for $40 total after rebate.
I thought that would be a cheap upgrade to my quad core 960T.

then I saw the CPU Passmark scores:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2392&cmp[]=369

AMD Phenom II X4 960T - 3,861
AMD A6-7400K APU - 2,972

this is real world applications/usage, not theoretical maxing out all cores?

 

[SPBHM]

7400K is less than a full dual core CPU (single module, 2 cores sharing resources), it can beat your X4 for single threaded applications I guess, but overall the PII X4 is clearly a superior CPU in terms of perofrmance.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What did you expect? You're going from a quad-core to what is effectively a single-core (that can handle two threads). Of course it's slower.

 

[positivedoppler]

Not worth it.

 

[JEDI]

7400K is less than a full dual core CPU (single module, 2 cores sharing resources), it can beat your X4 for single threaded applications I guess, but overall the PII X4 is clearly a superior CPU in terms of perofrmance.

What did you expect? You're going from a quad-core to what is effectively a single-core (that can handle two threads). Of course it's slower.

didn't know it was a glorified single core.

I stopped following cpu's when I stopped gaming a couple of years ago.
I wasn't going to upgrade but for $40 I get a mobo AND a modern cpu w/Radeon R5 graphics (which beats my mobo's radeon 3000), I figure why not.

good thing I was curious about how much better the A6-7400k was and looked at the passmark scores. shocked to see that it's not better. now I know why.

thx!

 

[VirtualLarry]

So, tell us where you can get this deal for $40 AR, for an FM2(+?) board + CPU?

That would make an ideal kid's computer, or Mom-box.

 

[daveybrat]

Not sure how he got $40, but at Microcenter they have this:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=331785

AMD A6 7400K Black Edition 3.9GHz Dual-Core Socket FM2+ Boxed Processor

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=369470

Gigabyte GA-F2A58M-HD2 FM2 mATX AMD

Combo is $59.99 - $10 Mir = $49.99

Not a bad price for an extra computer or kids pc.

 

[Abwx]

A6 7400K is a dual core, not a single core, the relative two threads penalty has been virtualy eliminated by Kaveri and scaling is the same as a traditional dual core, that said for an APU based build quads are much better anyway given that the 5xxx and 6xxx can be found, here at least, at prices that are close to this APU.

 

[Justinbaileyman]

If your looking for a speed bump why dont you just update your bios and unlock your Cpu to a 6 core?? Or is it not stable enough?? If your looking to upgrade to a more current socket amd rig why not check out a 750k,760k,860k??Those are all quadcore cpu's and should be a nice upgrade from your current system.They are all fairly cheap and well within $80 and cheaper bucks range.You really dont wanna go from a quad core to a dual core do ya?? Thats like down grading from a car to a pair of rollerblades in my eyes.

 

[Yuriman]

A6 7400K is a dual core, not a single core, the relative two threads penalty has been virtualy eliminated by Kaveri and scaling is the same as a traditional dual core, that said for an APU based build quads are much better anyway given that the 5xxx and 6xxx can be found, here at least, at prices that are close to this APU.

The truth is somewhere in the middle. There still is a scaling penalty, but it's sure as heck not a "single core".

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1200?vs=1261

i5 Cinebench scaling: 3.89x single threaded performance with 4 cores
Kaveri Cinebench scaling: 3.15x

3d Particle i5: 3.23x
3d Particle Kaveri: 2.66x

Two benchmarks is a pretty limited set, granted (they're all Anandtech uses), but Kaveri is only showing 81.6% of the improvement an i5 gets by running four cores rather than one - or, that is to say, each core is only performing at 90.8% in these two benches. I'm sure scaling is better in other places, but the penalty is not completely eliminated. ~1.8x performance from two cores is not a huge loss, but also not an insignificant loss.

 

[Abwx]

The truth is somewhere in the middle. There still is a scaling penalty, but it's sure as heck not a "single core".

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1200?vs=1261

i5 Cinebench scaling: 3.89x single threaded performance with 4 cores
Kaveri Cinebench scaling: 3.15x

3d Particle i5: 3.23x
3d Particle Kaveri: 2.66x

Two benchmarks is a pretty limited set, granted (they're all Anandtech uses), but Kaveri is only showing 81.6% of the improvement an i5 gets by running four cores rather than one - or, that is to say, each core is only performing at 90.8% in these two benches. I'm sure scaling is better in other places, but the penalty is not completely eliminated. ~1.8x performance from two cores is not a huge loss, but also not an insignificant loss.

3D particle is not a valuable bench, it seems to use only X87 on AMDs CPUs and the 2.66 scaling is just another hint about it, also Btrail has better ST parf than Kaveri in this bizzaro bench, yet another hint..

On the scaling there s more than the module scalings at issue, mind you..

In Cinebench the scaling is 3.66 as the single thread score is at 4.0 and the MT score is at 3.7, so i dont see where it s only close, to give a comparison in CB the Pentium G3258 scales at 97.5% at stock but frequency wise only 88-90% when overclocked to the mid 4s, on the other hand both Kaveri and Richland will keep their frequency scaling ratios at thoses frequencies, overall Kaveri will scale at the Pentium cores level once both things are overclocked.

 

[JEDI]

Not sure how he got $40, but at Microcenter they have this:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=331785

AMD A6 7400K Black Edition 3.9GHz Dual-Core Socket FM2+ Boxed Processor

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=369470

Gigabyte GA-F2A58M-HD2 FM2 mATX AMD

Combo is $59.99 - $10 Mir = $49.99

Not a bad price for an extra computer or kids pc.

opps.. ok.. 49.99 instead of 40

 

[mizzou]

Yeup, I'm also a little miffed about the rather sluggish increase in CPU gaming performance over the years. There is a lot of rehashing/downsizing/lightweighting going on. Awesome for the mobile market, but not so awesome for just raw desktop value performance.

 

[VirtualLarry]

A6 7400K is a dual core, not a single core, the relative two threads penalty has been virtualy eliminated by Kaveri and scaling is the same as a traditional dual core, that said for an APU based build quads are much better anyway given that the 5xxx and 6xxx can be found, here at least, at prices that are close to this APU.

Yes, but isn't an A6-7400K a Richland? The lower-end 7xxx APUs are Richland.

Edit: A4-7300 is a Richland. So I figured that the 7400 was just an unlocked version of that, thus a Richland again.

 

[pw257008]

Yes, but isn't an A6-7400K a Richland? The lower-end 7xxx APUs are Richland.

I'm pretty sure it's Kaveri

 

[pw257008]

opps.. ok.. 49.99 instead of 40

Why not go with the A8-6600k for $10 more?

 

[rainy]

Yes, but isn't an A6-7400K a Richland? The lower-end 7xxx APUs are Richland.

This APU is definitely from Kaveri family:
http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Bulldozer/AMD-A6-Series A6-7400K.html

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Why not go with the A8-6600k for $10 more?

You follow that logic far enough, you'll end up with an i3.

 

[pw257008]

You follow that logic far enough, you'll end up with an i3.

sure, but the a8 has double the cores, higher potential clocks, and only slightly less IPC--it's a pretty good improvement for $10, while the incremental climb after that is less friendly.

 

[Abwx]

Yes, but isn't an A6-7400K a Richland? The lower-end 7xxx APUs are Richland.

AMD did create some confusion by releasing a A4 7300 wich is actualy a Richland part, but in principle thoses latters are named AX 6XXX, like the A8 6600K mentioned above, and wich at 10$ more is a much better deal than said 7400K.

 

[leper84]

If your looking for a speed bump why dont you just update your bios and unlock your Cpu to a 6 core??

I say this. I have a 960T with 6 cores @ a completely reasonable 3.8GHz. I got 7020 on the Passmark CPU score, which would be a pretty nice bump for OP from 3861.

 

[Spungo]

Yeup, I'm also a little miffed about the rather sluggish increase in CPU gaming performance over the years. There is a lot of rehashing/downsizing/lightweighting going on. Awesome for the mobile market, but not so awesome for just raw desktop value performance.

Most of the jumps stopped with the Xbox 360 and PS3. High end game development can no longer be done by 4 guys in a basement. Games need to be on multiple platforms just to break even. Instead of games being optimized for one system or another, we get games that are somewhat good on the xbox, somewhat good on the playstation, and somewhat good on the PC. Games only jump forward in complexity when a new game console comes out. It doesn't make sense to develop a ton of stuff for a high end computer then cut most of it out of the console versions.

Making crazy requirements was possible in the past because development teams were very small. How many people worked on Quake? Like 10 guys? For how long? A year? I'm sure they all worked very hard on that project, and it was a fantastic product, but it was still a simple product. They could turn a profit on that with very few sales.
You can't do something like that with GTA 5. If only 100k copies of GTA 5 are sold, the company dies. Games that large and complex are only feasible if the requirements are low enough to appeal to a wide audience or if the primary vehicle is a game console. Console it is. PC gaming is an after thought because it's a much smaller market (more expensive), so PC games tend to be in the same ballpark as console games when it comes to complexity, physics, visuals, etc.

In a lot of ways, computer games are actually seeing a decline in complexity. People don't buy big computers anymore. What's the point? If all you do on a computer is browse the internet and watch youtube, there's no reason to buy an i7 or an i5. The games that make a killing are the ones that run on a ghetto laptop or an ipad. Even my mom has a laptop. Why? Because it's smaller. If you want to sell a game to someone like her, it needs to have low requirements like Minecraft or Kerbal Space Program.

 

[JEDI]

I say this. I have a 960T with 6 cores @ a completely reasonable 3.8GHz. I got 7020 on the Passmark CPU score, which would be a pretty nice bump for OP from 3861.

my mobo cant enable the other 2 cores
gigabyte ga-78lmt-s2p

stuck w/4

 

[PG]

I bought one of those new fangled Haswell G3258 Pentium cpus, but then I realized the passmark number is lower than my 6 year old i7 940.

Intel Pentium G3258 @ 3.20GHz - 4000
Intel Core i7 940 @ 2.93GHz - 5431

WTH Intel? What's up with that?

 

[SPBHM]

I bought one of those new fangled Haswell G3258 Pentium cpus, but then I realized the passmark number is lower than my 6 year old i7 940.

Intel Pentium G3258 @ 3.20GHz - 4000
Intel Core i7 940 @ 2.93GHz - 5431

WTH Intel? What's up with that?

like the OP you are comparing a much cheaper CPU... and single thread is going to be faster with the newer CPU, but the i7 have 8 threads, the g3258 2.