AMD Athlon 64 X2 65nm Brisbane-Core

Synthetic Performance Metrics - Memory SANDRA 2007

In our next segment, we focused on memory related performance metrics, most notably Memory Bandwidth and Memory Latency. 

Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 65nm "Brisbane" Memory Test	Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 90nm "Windsor" Memory Test
Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 90nm "Windsor" Memory Latency Test	Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 90nm "Windsor" Memory Latency Test

Overall memory performance between the two cores did show a performance hit with the "Brisbane" core.  In both Integer and Floating-Point calculations, we saw the "Brisbane" trail the "Windsor" by an average of 1.5% overall.  Next, we used SANDRA's Memory Latency test to assess each processor's cache and memory subsystems.  With the "Brisbane" based 5000+, Random Access Memory Latency weighed in at 142ns whereas the "Windsor" based 5000+ recorded a lower 124ns latency.  This equated to a 14.5% increase in latency with the "Brisbane" core, which is no small delta.  To further quantify the impact of this latency on performance, we will continue our comparison between the two cores with several more synthetic and real-world benchmarks.

Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 65nm "Brisbane" Cache and Memory Test

Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 90nm "Windsor" Cache and Memory Test

When we ran SANDRA's Cache and Memory Latency test, we recorded no significant variations, with the "Brisbane" coming in with slightly better results than the "Windsor" core.