Other Applications
Dual-core processors cope better with Adobe Photoshop than Phenom X3. Although there are a lot of filters in this application that can split the workload into parallel streams, the results indicate that triple-core AMD processors lack frequency.
Rendering in Adobe Premiere is similar to 3D rendering. Phenom X3 perform pretty well here.
WinRAR archiving also works faster on Phenom X3 than on the top Athlon 64 X2. However Wolfdale processors from the Core 2 Duo E8000 series with larger L2 cache show much higher results.
The popular computer algebra suite proves more efficient on dual-core processors with Core micro-architecture, although it makes good use of multi-core structures. You can see it clearly from the advantage triple-core AMD processors have over dual-core Athlon 64 X2 6400+.
The results obtained in a popular chess application are another consolation for AMD fans. Yes, there are applications where Phenom X3 processors can work as fast as the youngest Core 2 Duo, and you can certainly find enough of them if you wish.
