Budget Dual Core showdown (Pentium D 805 vs X2 3800)

S

SLiCkFX

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
Messages
143
*Updated* - See full review HERE , updated benchies, power consumption, cost of ownership, percentage differences, etc.

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Just got my Pentium D 805.

Intel Pentium D 805 @3.9ghz - Prime stable (9 hours). At 4ghz, Prime fails after 7 minutes. I think I'm satisfied with 3.9 @1.475v

The contenders:

Pentium D 805 @ 3.9ghz- Pic 1, Pic 2
Specs:
Asus P5ND2 - SLI
Geil DDR2 PC4200 1gb
Maxtor 200gb 16mb
Sapphire Radeon X1300
Cooling: Scythe Ninja 1000 w/Silverstone FN121

AMD X2 3800 @ 2.5ghz- Pic 1, Pic 2
Specs:
Asus A8N-SLI Premium
OCZ PC3200 1gb
WD SE16 400gb
3D Fuzion 7800GT
Cooling: Zalman CNPS9500

Intel Xeon 2.66ghz @ 3.1ghz- Pic 1
Specs:
Asus PC-DL Deluxe
Kingston PC3200 2gb
2x Raptor 74gb, 1x Maxtor 250gb, 1x Maxtor 200gb, 1x Maxtor 160gb
BFG Geforce 6800GT
Cooling: 2x Swiftech MCX603-V w/ Enermax fans

Some pictures of the entire setup, Pic 1 Pic 2

No more details, on to the benchmarks!! (sorry no gaming benchmarks)

Benchmarks (bolded is best overall, green is best times comparing the X2 and PD, yellow is best times for stock):

Photoshop CS2: See this thread
01ps.jpg


Cinebench 2003: You can download the test here
02cb.jpg


DVD Shrink: Tested LOTR: Two Towers
03ds.jpg


Mpeg to DivX: Used ImToo MPEG Encoder to convert a 1.53gb Mpeg file to a 356mb DivX file
04md.jpg


Wave to MP3: Used Blaze Media Pro to convert 312mb wav file to mp3.
05wav.jpg


PC Mark 05: Only relevant tests are recorded.
06pc.jpg


Temperatures:
07temp.jpg


Results:
08res.jpg


And there you have it. I can say I was a bit dissapointed in the Pentium D 805 performance against the X2, but was impressed by how well it overclocks. But for $134.50, I really can't complain. I was also presently surprised at the temps. This is the ultimate budget dual core chip.
 
SLiCkFX said:
Just got my Pentium D 805. All systems were overclocked.

Intel Pentium D 805 @3.825ghz - Prime stable (8 hours). I think I may give it a bit more juice and hopefully reach 4ghz.

The contenders:

Intel Pentium D 805 @ 3.825ghz-
Pic 1, Pic 2
Specs:
Asus P5ND2 - SLI
Geil DDR2 PC4200 1gb
Maxtor 200gb 16mb
Sapphire Radeon X1300
Cooling: Scythe Ninja 1000 w/Silverstone FN121

AMD X2 3800 @ 2.5ghz- Pic 1, Pic 2
Specs:
Asus X2 3800+
OCZ PC3200 1gb
WD SE16 400gb
3D Fuzion 7800GT
Cooling: Zalman CNPS9500

Intel Xeon 2.66ghz @ 3.1ghz- Pic 1
Specs:
Asus PC-DL Deluxe
Kingston PC3200 2gb
2x Raptor 74gb, 1x Maxtor 250gb, 1x Maxtor 200gb, 1x Maxtor 160gb
BFG Geforce 6800GT
Cooling: 2x Swiftech MCX603-V w/ Enermax fans

No more details, on to the benchmarks!! (sorry no gaming benchmarks)

Benchmarks (best times are bolded):

Photoshop CS2: See this thread
01ps.jpg


Cinebench 2003:
02cb.jpg


DVD Shrink: Tested LOTR: Two Towers
03ds.jpg


Mpeg to DivX: Used ImToo MPEG Encoder to convert a 1.53gb Mpeg file to a 356mb DivX file
04md.jpg


Wave to MP3: Used Blaze Media Pro to convert 312mb wav file to mp3.
05wav.jpg


PC Mark 05: Only relevant tests are recorded.
06pc.jpg


Temperatures:
07temp.jpg


Results:
08res.jpg


And there you have it. I can say I was a bit dissapointed in the Pentium D 805 performance against the X2, but was impressed by how well it overclocks. But for $134.50, I really can't complain. I was also presently surprised at the temps. Same idle and load as the X2. This is the ultimate budget dual core chip.
Click to expand...


Great benchies. Do you have access to a freebsd or linux system ? Can you test kernel compile times or make buildworld times?
 
Very nice test. For the price its a good chip, still thought some tests would have been closer to the X2 though, but nonetheless thanks for going through all the hard work.
 
Robstar said:
Great benchies. Do you have access to a freebsd or linux system ? Can you test kernel compile times or make buildworld times?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I don't.
 
How about dropping a 920 in there. With 65nm (OC higher), 2x2mb & much faster FSB it might be the top contender.

That 805 didn't even make it to 800FSB, when most 920's are hitting near 1200FSB.

stresstest40.jpg


I'm going run the Photoshop CS test. But I only have CS, not CS2.

edit: ok at 3.9Ghz, the speed I can hit at default voltage it did that Photoshop test in about 41.1 seconds. But I tested using Photoshop CS ( 8.0 ). So the results aren't going to be directly comparable. They've probably optimized more for dual core, and or SSE3, or whatever, in the last version.

DAMN IT, I guess I'll go download the CS2 trial.
 
Looks like it shows around a 10% lower scores on average for less than half of the price :)

also would it be possible to rerun some/all of the tests with the X2 and P-D that aren't OC'd?
 
SLiCkFX said:
Just got my Pentium D 805. All systems were overclocked.

Intel Pentium D 805 @3.825ghz - Prime stable (8 hours). I think I may give it a bit more juice and hopefully reach 4ghz.

The contenders:

Intel Pentium D 805 @ 3.825ghz-
Pic 1, Pic 2
Specs:
Asus P5ND2 - SLI
Geil DDR2 PC4200 1gb
Maxtor 200gb 16mb
Sapphire Radeon X1300
Cooling: Scythe Ninja 1000 w/Silverstone FN121

AMD X2 3800 @ 2.5ghz- Pic 1, Pic 2
Specs:
Asus A8N-SLI Premium
OCZ PC3200 1gb
WD SE16 400gb
3D Fuzion 7800GT
Cooling: Zalman CNPS9500

Intel Xeon 2.66ghz @ 3.1ghz- Pic 1
Specs:
Asus PC-DL Deluxe
Kingston PC3200 2gb
2x Raptor 74gb, 1x Maxtor 250gb, 1x Maxtor 200gb, 1x Maxtor 160gb
BFG Geforce 6800GT
Cooling: 2x Swiftech MCX603-V w/ Enermax fans

Some pictures of the entire setup, Pic 1 Pic 2

No more details, on to the benchmarks!! (sorry no gaming benchmarks)

Benchmarks (best times are bolded):

Photoshop CS2: See this thread
01ps.jpg


Cinebench 2003:
02cb.jpg


DVD Shrink: Tested LOTR: Two Towers
03ds.jpg


Mpeg to DivX: Used ImToo MPEG Encoder to convert a 1.53gb Mpeg file to a 356mb DivX file
04md.jpg


Wave to MP3: Used Blaze Media Pro to convert 312mb wav file to mp3.
05wav.jpg


PC Mark 05: Only relevant tests are recorded.
06pc.jpg


Temperatures:
07temp.jpg


Results:
08res.jpg


And there you have it. I can say I was a bit dissapointed in the Pentium D 805 performance against the X2, but was impressed by how well it overclocks. But for $134.50, I really can't complain. I was also presently surprised at the temps. Same idle and load as the X2. This is the ultimate budget dual core chip.
Click to expand...

Those benchies illustrate why I called the 805 a Northwood-killer, especially given a board like the ASUS P5-VD1X. The fact that it's also a decent overclocker is a bonus. In fact, given the price of the P5-VD1X, you can get both CPU and motherboard for less than two C-notes.
 
snoturtle said:
Looks like it shows around a 10% lower scores on average for less than half of the price :)

also would it be possible to rerun some/all of the tests with the X2 and P-D that aren't OC'd?
Click to expand...

Done! Tests have been updated. As expected, the PD 805 gets annihilated at stock speeds.
 
I really wouldn't call this a showdown, so to speak. Mainly because for the price of the X2 3800 you can buy two 805D's and still have cash left over. Really it should be X2 3800 versus Pentium D 920/930 (whichever is closer to the price of the X2, 930D I think).

Great benchies nontheless, I've been curiuos to see how the 805 performs. Might make a good budget dual-core workstation.
 
SLiCkFX said:
Done! Tests have been updated. As expected, the PD 805 gets annihilated at stock speeds.
Click to expand...
but costs almost half the price of a X2 3800+
 
The test is really getting me amazed at how the Xeons even though they're getting outdated, they're still holding their own againist the dual cores. This thread is almost talking me into keeping my Xeons.
 
SLiCkFX said:
Done! Tests have been updated. As expected, the PD 805 gets annihilated at stock speeds.
Click to expand...


Thanks :)

Looks to be around 20-30% for less than 50% of the price

Thats what I was hoping to see

I didn't expect it to be half the price and half the performance

Unfourtunetly the amd guys will still say they have better price/performance :p
 
snoturtle said:
Thanks :)

Looks to be around 20-30% for less than 50% of the price

Thats what I was hoping to see

I didn't expect it to be half the price and half the performance

Unfourtunetly the amd guys will still say they have better price/performance :p
Click to expand...

It's not unfortunate. Virtual chix will be want them with their X2s and real chix will want you and your bigger wallet.
 
Dropping a 920 would be nice, but don't forget without 955 or 975 chipset, you won't have a chance to get near 4ghz. However, with lower FSB, pretty much a lot of the motherboard can get near 200FSB (near 4Ghz). My P5LD2 with 920 never past 3.4Ghz no matter what voltage. But with a P5WD2, it hits 4ghz pretty easily. However, for 805, i can hit 3.8ghz 1.4v even with a P5LD2 or even P5P800SE.

If you factor in the $$ of 955/975 chipset along with 920, you can pretty much get opteron 165 and any NF4 motherboard. They're pretty much even (2.6 vs 4ghz) depending on the program.

for saving over 200cdn (805 p5ld2 vs 920 p5wd2), i say 805 dual core is one of the best bang for bucks right now. A lot of the 805 can hit 3.7+ pretty easily w/o any expensive motherboard.
 
Nvidia2000 said:
Dropping a 920 would be nice, but don't forget without 955 or 975 chipset, you won't have a chance to get near 4ghz. However, with lower FSB, pretty much a lot of the motherboard can get near 200FSB (near 4Ghz). My P5LD2 with 920 never past 3.4Ghz no matter what voltage. But with a P5WD2, it hits 4ghz pretty easily. However, for 805, i can hit 3.8ghz 1.4v even with a P5LD2 or even P5P800SE.

If you factor in the $$ of 955/975 chipset along with 920, you can pretty much get opteron 165 and any NF4 motherboard. They're pretty much even (2.6 vs 4ghz) depending on the program.

for saving over 200cdn (805 p5ld2 vs 920 p5wd2), i say 805 dual core is one of the best bang for bucks right now. A lot of the 805 can hit 3.7+ pretty easily w/o any expensive motherboard.
Click to expand...

Given that the 805 hits 3.4 using the *stock* cooler, on a board like the LD2, or that it can hit 3.2 on the VD1X (again, stock cooling, DDR, and AGP 8x) makes it a BFB (Big Fast Bargain) compared to the S478 competition (Northwood-C and Prescott). That's why I'd rather see benchies against the processors it's more likely to replace (those selfsame Prescotts and Northwood-Cs, especially the S478 Prescott 3.0E). In fact, here's an idea:

P4 S478 3.0E/P4C800E DLX vs. 805 D oc'd to 3 GHz/P5-LD2

A true HT vs. DC shootout.
 
The Athlon 64 X2 takes home nearly all the tests at stock, and all of the tests except synthetic benchmarks when overclocked. I think the verdict is quite clear, unless you want to bring up the argument of price.
 
Comparision to something like bartonn 3200 + would be good too since that seems like perfect bargain replacement.
 
VoBoy said:
The test is really getting me amazed at how the Xeons even though they're getting outdated, they're still holding their own againist the dual cores. This thread is almost talking me into keeping my Xeons.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. I'm going to keep my Prestonia Xeon for a while longer as my main work station, until AMD or Intel releases something significantly faster than a 2-3 year old chip.

PGHammer said:
In fact, here's an idea:

P4 S478 3.0E/P4C800E DLX vs. 805 D oc'd to 3 GHz/P5-LD2

A true HT vs. DC shootout.
Click to expand...

You know what, I have another system in the other room that is a Northwood 3ghz/P4P800 Deluxe :). Time for some more benchmarking :D

I think the P5ND2-SLI is a much better board than the P5LD2. Not only is it SLI and proven it can overclock well, it cost less than the P5LD2. P5ND2-SLI is going for under $98 bucks.

People, you are forgetting the price aspect when you are comparing the PD 920 to the 805. $260 vs $135. The price of a PD 805 + P5ND2-SLI is still significantly lower than just the PD 920 chip alone.
 
Bona Fide said:
The Athlon 64 X2 takes home nearly all the tests at stock, and all of the tests except synthetic benchmarks when overclocked. I think the verdict is quite clear, unless you want to bring up the argument of price.
Click to expand...

The 805 exists *because* it's literally a Cheap Alternative. Consider this: 805 + bargain mobo is what a *S478 Northwood-C* costs by itself. How inexpensive is the cheapest X2? Price is very much part of the equation; otherwise it's apples vs. oranges. If you want to be *fair* about it, compare the X2 to the P-D 920.
 
Hey All,

New to this Forum and just wanted to say hey. Got a link to this thread on THG Forumz and had to check it out.
Glad to see someone is finally OC'ing the PD 805. I actually bought the ASUS P5VD1-X mobo for testing purposes in hopes that it would couple nicely with the 805.
As it turns out, contrary to ASUS' website specs, the "CPU adjustable voltage" is NOT. :mad:
Not even with the latest BIOS and the only OC'ing options you get are the 5,10, 20, 30 % auto options. If you enter manual, you find your Vcore set at the MAX factory level with no option to adjust. ASUS lied. Tech support is useless as well since they "don't support OC'ing". :eek: Nice of them to tell you after buying their product based on their misrepresentation, huh?
Anywho, just thought I'd let anyone thinking of using that mobo that it's not what it seems which is too bad as the VIA chipset seems to have potential. Oh well.....
 
Bona Fide said:
The Athlon 64 X2 takes home nearly all the tests at stock, and all of the tests except synthetic benchmarks when overclocked. I think the verdict is quite clear, unless you want to bring up the argument of price.
Click to expand...
Uhhh...let's see:

3800+: X2 the price (pun intended), much less than X2 the performance
805D: half the price, over half the performance

Tough choice for a budget-conscience user.
 
Bona Fide said:
The Athlon 64 X2 takes home nearly all the tests at stock, and all of the tests except synthetic benchmarks when overclocked. I think the verdict is quite clear, unless you want to bring up the argument of price.
Click to expand...

How many ppl on the Hardforum will run at stock? Sheesh dude, talk abt a desperate arguement...


When both were OC'ed by this guy, the 805 came pretty close to the X2... especially these days when there is so much around the corner, i think think the choice for anyone buying a CPU right now is pretty clear... the 805 will hold its own, and then when Conroe is released, its a drop in upgrade, and a fairly priced one at that...
 
right now, i'm running my 920 @ 3739 (266 FSB). This is on default voltage, i could probably go more, but 266 FSB seems so perfect :).. 2*prime 95 cpu temp @ 52, using a freezer 7 pro heatsink.
 
Slick, EXCELLENT POST.

I ordered my 805 a few days ago and afte seeing this I'm even more pumped to see what I get.

I've been doing AMD for a while but I'm getting bored so I needed something new.
Still keeping my Cabye 146 though.

Hopefully the ABIT NI-8 wont let me down. Now just looking for some good OC mem but I'm noobie to DDR 2 so still doing work. I like your OC much... did you use dividers on that Geil? just have had bad experiences with them.

That little graph is excel right?
 
Bao01 said:
It's not unfortunate. Virtual chix will be want them with their X2s and real chix will want you and your bigger wallet.
Click to expand...

LOL that's awesome.

Great work on the overclocks, thanks for sharing.
 
I had this idea last night, just wanted to share:
Anyone think SlickFX should get a Core Duo laptop from Dell ~ 600 w/ some upgraded ram and memory to add to the showdown? Maybe OC it a bit too? It'd be roughly what ~750 for a complete system. That is budget enough no?
 
I just did a full review (it's going to be posted on another tech site). I added graphs, power consumption, cost of ownership, updated benchies, percentage differences, etc.

You can see it Here. I tried to answer every possible question there is :)
 
MC FLMJIG said:
Hopefully the ABIT NI-8 wont let me down. Now just looking for some good OC mem but I'm noobie to DDR 2 so still doing work. I like your OC much... did you use dividers on that Geil? just have had bad experiences with them.

That little graph is excel right?
Click to expand...

Well yes and no. The Asus board had independent frequency selections for the FSB and Memory. I just left the memory at default speeds. For other boards I would have most likely used a divider. I haven't tried overclocking the ram yet.

Yes, the graph is excel. See prior post for updated benchies.

VoBoy said:
Anyone think SlickFX should get a Core Duo laptop from Dell ~ 600 w/ some upgraded ram and memory to add to the showdown? Maybe OC it a bit too? It'd be roughly what ~750 for a complete system.
Click to expand...

I like this idea. Anyone want to send me one? :p
 
StealthyFish said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562 - X-2 3800+ $239

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001 - PD 805 - $140
... Huh..... so looking at those benches, an 805 is still worth it cause it can atleast compete against a 3800+... for half the price.... that doesn't give x-2 fan's bragging rights from these benches.
Click to expand...

You might want to currect that price? I know you may have meant $293 and not $239. March 22nd price is $295.

Cheapest Conroe 1.6GHz is listed as $150.
 
SLiCkFX said:
Well yes and no. The Asus board had independent frequency selections for the FSB and Memory. I just left the memory at default speeds. For other boards I would have most likely used a divider. I haven't tried overclocking the ram yet.

Yes, the graph is excel. See prior post for updated benchies.


I like this idea. Anyone want to send me one? :p
Click to expand...

Nice work and thanks for keeping it real.
 
Thanks for the thread, SLiCkFX. Helped me decide to get one.

I got a D 805, P5ND2, 2GB G.Skill, delivered today (along with a new PSU and X1800XT 512mb).

4.0GHz I get prime errors. 3.96GHz @1.475v no errors (6+ hours). 51c load using an XP90.

I'm liking the P5ND2. Seperate memory clock, easy to overclock in windows, tons of features that could take me a while to figure out.

It replaced a 3.0E that was running stable at 3.75GHz on an Abit AI7. I just wanted a new video card for Oblivion, but I was stuck with AGP, which gave me a convenient excuse to get a new budget cpu and mobo.
 
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVI said:
Thanks for the thread, SLiCkFX. Helped me decide to get one.

I got a D 805, P5ND2, 2GB G.Skill, delivered today (along with a new PSU and X1800XT 512mb).

4.0GHz I get prime errors. 3.96GHz @1.475v no errors (6+ hours). 51c load using an XP90.

I'm liking the P5ND2. Seperate memory clock, easy to overclock in windows, tons of features that could take me a while to figure out.

It replaced a 3.0E that was running stable at 3.75GHz on an Abit AI7. I just wanted a new video card for Oblivion, but I was stuck with AGP, which gave me a convenient excuse to get a new budget cpu and mobo.
Click to expand...

Nice going!
 
amazing review.. i got my 920 running at 3.65 on stock vcore.. will try increasing it
 
Finally received my stuff and doing this so far.

I'm still learning and just looking to see how high this goes. SO far not so bad.

I'm trying to OC this like and AMD... lol

I'ts similar except the ram settings are weird...



The V is wrong on that thing btw. It should be around 1.4
 
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