AMD introduces budget Athlon 64 (3000+ rating )

CNET ^ | December 18, 2003, 12:00 PM PST | Michael Kanellos

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Advanced Micro Devices has quietly trotted out a version of its Athlon 64 chip that provides a little less performance than earlier models but only costs about half as much.

The new Athlon 64 3000+ runs at 2GHz, the same as the existing Athlon 64 3200+, but it only comes with a 512KB secondary cache, according to an AMD spokesman. The 3200+ features a 1MB cache. A cache is a pool of memory integrated into the processor for rapid data access. In general, large caches lead to better performance.

AMD, however, prices the Athlon 64 3000+ at $218 in quantities of 1,000 while the 3200+ sells for $418. At AMD, the new chip is known as the "A-Rod," a reference to baseball player Alex Rodriguez. The chip was released earlier this week.

Despite the lower price, the chip likely costs about the same to manufacture as the version with the larger cache because it is about the same size, analysts said. AMD declined to comment on the manufacturing cost. Company executives have said that a version of the Athlon 64 with a smaller die, the piece of silicon itself, won't appear until the 90-nanometer manufacturing process kicks off in the second half of next year.

"They have disabled half of the cache," said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst at Insight 64. Still, the new chip could help the company improve its output. Some chips in the testing process get thrown out because the full 1MB cache doesn't work. However, many of these chips can be resold as 512KB chips and will not show any flaws.
  
 
 
Although it was delayed for around two years, the Athlon 64 has managed to gain a following in the market. Anecdotal reports from smaller PC companies that cater to gamers and hobbyists, such as Falcon Northwest, indicate that computers containing the Athlon 64 3200+ chip, which debuted in September, are selling well.

Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile, has started to sell a PC under its Compaq Presario brand that incorporates the chip. Budget PC specialist eMachines came out with a PC that uses the 3200+ Athlon 64 earlier this month.

The performance rating AMD gives its chips, however, has begun to overlap, so consumers need to pay close attention to figure out which chips meet their needs. AMD also sells an Athlon XP 3000+. While it shares the same performance rating number as the new Athlon 64 3000+, there are substantial differences.

The Athlon XP 3000+ is based around the older "Barton" processor core. It cannot run 64-bit software, according to AMD. A small amount of 64-bit software exists now, but it is expected to start to trickle into the market next year. The Athlon XP 3000+ also does not feature an integrated memory controller or HyperTransport, two features of the Athlon 64 family that boost performance by around 10 percent to 15 percent if all other factors remain equal, according to AMD engineers.

As a result, the new Athlon 64 3000+ will provide better performance than the Athlon XP 3000 +, said an AMD spokesman, even though the numbers are the same. Interestingly, the Athlon XP 3000+ runs at 2.1GHz.

AMD and Intel are once again locked in a battle for performance supremacy. Intel has come out with an Extreme Edition of the Pentium 4 to counter the Athlon 64 and plans to introduce a spiffed-up version of the Pentium 4, code-named Prescott, in February. The chip will likely run at 3.4GHz or higher at its debut, according to sources.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Newegg has OEM for $214.

Ones on the way!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Whoops - OEM $219, Retail with Heatsink and fan $239.

[jmcclain19]

Always good news when the price drops.

You can already make a top quality computer for around $500. This just makes it even easier.

[BrooklynGOP]

I just got my p4 3.0ghz from newegg, 6 weeks ago.. It roxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx! :P

[BrooklynGOP]

Define "top quality".

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Multiple 250 Gig Drives and an AIW card!

[js1138]

Available in small form factor

Shuttle XPC SN85G4 Socket 754 NVIDIA nFORCE 3

[anonymous_user]

But does it run Mac OS?

/dumps gas-can, runs away

[js1138]

Adobe is releasing a true 64 bit version of Photoshop, and Windows 64 is due next spring.

[jmcclain19]

386 Pent with 13 in. monitor and a 50 MB HD.

That's pretty good isn't it?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I'm a Big Iron Guy!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This has the 64 bit chip:

From Monarch Computers in Atlanta.

[js1138]

I'm a big fan of Shuttle. I've built three of them. They're small and lighter than anything else that uses standard components. Plus they have dual video outputs, s-video out, optical inputs and outputs, and a great built-in sound card. The nvidea chips blow away anything in their size and price class. And their cooling sistem is inaudible.

[BrooklynGOP]

Hoho! k-r4d!
My amd 2100+ fried got fried about 2 months ago, so I switched back to intel. Got p4 3ghz, p4c800-e deluxe mboard and corsair ddr500 ram... I am gonna over clock it one day, been busy lately...
AIW 9800 pro, I hope? I have the regular 9800 pro.

[BrooklynGOP]

My first pc was a 286-16 with 40 meg, and 1 ram. 256k oak vga card - and that cost a fortune!

[afraidfortherepublic]

This is a good explanation of cache memory -- a subject that has always puzzled me.

How does AMD compare with Celeron?

I have not had good luck with Celeron in the past, so I always try to purchase Intel Pentium, even thought I have to pay a lot more for it. I don't have anything bigger than a Pentium 3 right now, but I shall be in the market for a new computer for my home soon. My home computer is a Pentium 2 with 128 MB RAM, but I don't have enough mghz to power my ISP upgrade. I only have about 350 mghz. It's getting very slow, even though I've stripped everything I don't need off of it. (It was state of the art in 1998! LOL)

I want to be sure that any new computer I purchase is powerful enough to work for a few years and will be also able to handle photos (would like to get into digital photography), so I'd appreciate some advice on the specs I should look for.

[BrooklynGOP]

Whatever you do, do NOT get Celeron.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

First Q: Buy or Build?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I just have the cheap 9000 AIW, works great!

I am not a gamer!

[BrooklynGOP]

Ah. Well, running stuff at 1600 by 1200 at full everything has been fun, but now that i got a projector I don't go above 1024 by 768, anyway. Still looks good, though.
By how much should I be overclocking my p4 (without significant changes to cooling)? Is 15% reasonable?