Posted 02/28/09 at 05:33:17 PM by Justin Kerr

Normally we don’t track every software revision to every overclocking utility on the net, and for good reason. If we did, we wouldn’t get any other work done. The overclocker’s tool kit consists of dozens of applications to vary the speed of the fans, set and modify clocks, and a few more for benchmarking and checking stability. The ability to wrap all these utilities up into a single easy to use application was the goal of AMD when it created its Overdrive Tool, and the new version 2.1.6 delivers some impressive improvements. The new version has several stability and bug fixes as well as support for newer chipsets and full compatibility with Catalyst 9.2.

For those that haven’t been following the utilities development, the goal of the project was to create a single overclocking utility for AMD / ATI customers that would be a one stop utility for tweaking your system. AMD Marketing Manager Sami Maekinen has also released a series of video demonstrations showing how both enthusiasts and novices alike will find everything they need to dial in the best performance.

Have you given the Overdrive utility a spin? If so hit the jump and let us know how it’s been working for you.

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Posted 02/01/09 at 07:31:04 PM by Justin Kerr

It’s no secret that we here at Maximum PC are fans of Intel’s new Core i7. In fact, Intel has held a place of distinction in our best of the best round up pretty consistently now ever since Athelon’s day came and went several years ago. Despite this fact, we are pretty fickle with our affections, and are all secretly still rooting for the underdog. We are also the first to admit that we are glad AMD is still around to keep Intel on its toes. Though both Phenom & Phenom II failed to set the world on fire, we were all pretty impressed when we discovered how much overclocking headroom we received as a result of the die shrink. We were even more excited when we saw the videos of AMD pushing the new CPU past 6.5Ghz, setting a new record in terms of clock speed.

Intel however, never wanting to concede its speed crown, was quick to go on the attack. In an email exchange with TGDaily, an Intel employee pointed out that the AMD 3DMark score of 45,474 submitted on January 12^th 2009 was actually 1,170 points lower than a Core i7 score turned in by Intel just 8 days earlier. He also stated that the AMD results were achieved with unapproved drivers, and curiously were only run when the clock speed was at 4.481 Ghz. So as for who holds the 3DMark speed crown, I guess it all depends on who you ask.

It’s good to know that even if Phenom II didn’t quite bring them up to where they need to be, at least they have Intel taking notice of them again. And I for one can’t wait until I see the portable liquid helium cooling system that lets me duplicate these AMD scores at home! They are working on that right?

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