iXBT Labs - Low-End Single/Dual-Core CPUs: Leisurely Computing

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Today's article will be a complete antipode to the previous: now we are interested in Low-End processors instead of top products. We are going to review the slowest modern processors from both competitors: Low-End single-core AMD Sempron LE and Intel Celeron (Conroe-L) processors, as well as the weakest dual-core CPUs: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ and Pentium E2140. These processors are manufactured for a reason, aren't they? So, we'll find out what they can do and how fast.

Hardware and Software

Testbed configurations

CPU	Motherboard	Memory	Video
Intel Celeron 420	ASUS Maximus Extreme	Corsair CM3X1024-1800C7DIN	GeForce 8800 GTX
Intel Pentium E2140	ASUS Maximus Extreme	Corsair CM3X1024-1800C7DIN	GeForce 8800 GTX
AMD Sempron LE-1100	ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe	Corsair TWIN2X4096-9136C5DF	GeForce 8800 GTX
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+	ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe	Corsair TWIN2X4096-9136C5DF	GeForce 8800 GTX

Memory: 4 GB (4 x 1 GB modules)
HDD: Samsung HD401LJ (SATA-2)
Coolers: Thermaltake TMG i1, TMG a1
Power supply unit: Cooler Master RS-A00-EMBA

Processor	Sempron LE-1100	Athlon 64 X2 3600+	Celeron 420	Pentium E2140
Core name	Sparta	Brisbane	Conroe-L	Conroe
Fabrication process, nm	65	65	65	65
Core clock, GHz	1.9	1.9	1.6	1.6
Number of cores	1	2	1	2
L1 cache, I/D, KB*	64/64	64/64	32/32	32/32
L2 cache, KB**	256	2x512	512	1024
FSB clock, MHz***	2x800 (DDR2)	2x800 (DDR2)	200 (800)	200 (800)
Multiplier	9.5	9.5	8	8
Socket	AM2	AM2	LGA775	LGA775
Heat dissipation****	45 W	65 W	35 W	65 W

* Per single core in multi-core processors.
** "X x Y" means "X KB per each of Y cores".
*** In AMD processors it's memory controller bus frequency.
**** Specified differently in Intel and AMD processors, so a direct comparison would be incorrect.

Software

Application	64-bit	Multi-threaded*
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2	+	+
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1	+	+
Autodesk 3ds max 9 SP2	+	+
V-Ray 1.5 SP1	+	+
Autodesk Maya 2008 Ultimate	+	+
NewTek Lightwave 3D 9.2	+	+
SolidWorks 2007 SP0.0	+	+
PTC Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0 M120	+	-
UGS NX5 5.0.0.25	+	+
Wolfram Research Mathematica 6	+	+
MapleSoft Maple 11	-	+
MathWorks MATLAB 2007	+	+
Adobe Photoshop CS3 10.0	-	+
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008	+	+
Apache HTTP Server 2.2.8	-	+
PHP 5.2.5	-	+
MySQL Community Server 5.0.51a	-	+
ACDSee 10 Photo Manager	-	+
xat.com Image Optimizer 5.10	-	-
IrfanView 4.10	-	-
XnView 1.93.4	-	-
Paint.NET 3.30	+	+
7-Zip 4.57	+	+
WinRAR 3.71	-	+
UltimateZip 3.2	-	-
FLAC 1.2.1	-	-
LAME-MT 3.97	+	+
Musepack MPC Encoder 1.16	-	-
Nero Digital Audio Encoder 1.1.34.2	-	+
Ogg Encoder 2.83 (Lancer)	-	+
Canopus ProCoder 3.0	-	+
DivX Codec 6.8.2	-	+
XviD Codec 1.1.3 Final	-	-
x264 Codec rev 807	-	+
VirtualDub 1.8.0	-	+
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Patch 1.5)	-	+
Call of Juarez (Patch 1.1.0.0) + DX10 Enhancements Pack	-	-
Crysis (Patch 1.2)	+	+
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Patch 1.006)	-	+
Unreal Tournament 3 (Patch 1.2)	-	+
Company of Heroes (Patch 1.71)	-	+
World in Conflict (Patch 1.007)	-	+

* Means that two or more simultaneously active threads are actually present during tests; not just the fact that a process generates several threads.

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Low-End Single/Dual-Core CPUs: Leisurely Computing

Testing four low-end CPUs from Intel and AMD.

Hardware and Software

Testbed configurations

Software