Athlon X2 3800+

[Jonty]

Hi guys

Just thought I'd start a thread about, as the more observant will have guessed, the Athlon X2 3800+ CPU. Essentially it's a dual-core processor with each core clocked at 2.0GHz with 512KB cache. It pretty much outperforms the Pentium 4 and dual-core Pentium D ranges, and in multi-threaded applications can even outperform the top-end Athlon FX 57 in some instances as well as the Pentium Extreme Edition 840. The great thing is the price: ~£270, far cheaper than the ~£350 that the previous 'slowest' X2 4200+.

It may not be able to match the Intel Pentium D 820 in terms of price (£171) but for dual-core performance without costing an arm and a leg it's a pretty amazing product, and one which is capable of overclocking to the speeds of it's more expensive X2 siblings.

With nVidia's 80-series drivers, next-generation games like Unreal Tournament 2007, and applications like the Havoc physics engine all supporting multi-threading and 64-bit, there really is no reason not to go with a dual-core CPU. You essentially get great performance now and even better performance in the future, which is something rarely said in computing.

I still prefer Intel's overall architecture, with DDR2, SATA2, 7.1 HD audi, Matrix Storage and other nice features, but AMD's new CPU is too good to miss, and given that Socket 939 will be around for a while yet, it seems like a good long-term investment. So good I've just treated myself after finding the X2 3800+ on sale for £50 less than every other online store I've shopped at

Kind Regards

Jonty

P.S. TechReport and many others have now posted their reviews. Note that there may be a X2 4000+, with 1MB cache, on the horizon too.

 

[throdgrain]

As far as I understand it though theres little to be gained with todays games by having dual core. Is it not a better idea to wait until there are games available to use dual core technology? After all, in 6 months time the cpu speeds will have moved on again!

 

[TdC]

it's a nerd thing throdders

only prob for me is that I'll be needing a new mobo, gfx and memory as well as a cpu so it will be a bit of an upgrade. :/

 

[Jonty]

throdgrain Today's dual-core CPUs basically just use one core when an application doesn't support multithreading, so it's just like having a normal processor. Granted, therefore, there's no benefit in having a dual-core CPU in these instances but you're not at any kind of loss either (apart from the price premium over a single-core CPU). So yes, you could always wait, but in reality now is a good time to go dual-core if you're building a new system. If you already have a nice single-core system then I wouldn't personally upgrade, but for new builds I'd strongly recommend going dual-core given the new lower prices.

Perhaps the only thing really worth waiting for is Intel's forthcoming processor based on the 65nm Pentium M. It will be dual-core, possibily with hyperthreading on both cores (so 4 threads per clock cycle), as well as supporting the new virtualisation technologies and 64-bit. In theory it should be a low-power, low-heat, extremely powerful processor. It should be The Next Big Thing™ but it's due Q4 2005/Q1 2006 so it's a while off yet.

TdC This is indeed a problem For AMD most, though not all, Socket 939 motherboards will support the X2 with a BIOS update. Because of AMD's architecture, their boards still use DDR RAM and other such technologies meaning the costs of moving to a dual-core system ought to be minimal (or as 'minimal' as these costs ever are).

For Intel, however, things are more expensive. Their dual-core systems require the i945/955 chipset, which will almostly certainly mean a new motherboard. Whilst there are some hybrid boards out there, this likely also means switching to DDR2 memory and PCI-Express graphics as DDR and AGP are hard to come by on these new chipsets. There's also a push towards SATA2, which could potentially mean a new HDD as well (although older standards are supported). Whilst Intel's dual-core chips aren't perhaps as refined as AMD's, their price is significantly cheaper, although considering the additional costs highlighted above it's likely that you'd be no better off in the long run.

Kind Regards

Jonty

P.S. nVidia GeForce 7800 GT is due for launch and retail availability next week

 

[JBP|]

Well by the time i get to upgrade again i suspect there will quad core processors on the market.

 

[Jonty]

In theory, JBP|, Intel's Pentium Extreme Edition 840 is 'quad-core' in so much as it has hyperthreading enabled on each of it's two cores, enabling it to deal with four threads at a time in optimised conditions That said, people have been known to remortgage their house to afford the ~£700 price tag Given that's it's already outperformed by it's rivals, there's just no justifying the price tag.

Kind Regards

 

[Chilly]

at work I use a X2 4200 as my compile box since I work with windows CE a lot and need to recompile the whole OS severasl times a day. This takes about 25 minutes on the old celeron I had before and about 5 on the X2 - oh how I rejoiced!