It's interesting to note the power consumption across all processors. First of all, for the idle tests the system is cold booted into Windows and no additional applications are executed - the watts are noted on the external energy monitor we use and then the system is loaded with 3DMark 11 - watts are again monitored for the duration of the test and the highest rated wattage result is then noted down. Below are the results of this energy test.
AMD have reduced the power of the Bulldozer chip considerably when compared to the Phenom II range of CPUs when both the chips are left at stock (BIOS defaults with tweaked RAM timings and voltages) speeds.
In an idle state, the CPU is using 26% less power in comparison to the AMD Phenom II 955 and 15% less power when it is overclocked. The main reason for this is that both CPUs are running at near identical clock speeds but the AMD Bulldozer FX-8120 requires a lot less voltage to do it. This is down to the 32nm architecture compared to the 45nm architecture of the AMD Phenom II range.
However, in a load state, things balance out and the lead that the chip should have, is not there. At stock speeds, just like before but in a 100% loaded state, there is only a 5% reduction in power usage. Taking a look at the overclocked speeds and wattage, although it is set to 0.1v less in the BIOS, it is only saving us roughly 1 watt of power.
