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Overview:The Athlon 64 X2 3800+ is AMD's entry level dual core 64 bit processor. With its on-chip memory controller and two CPU cores on the chip, each with 512K of L2 cache, it's one of the best price/performance processors available. It uses AMD's Socket 939 and should work in most existing 939 systems with only a BIOS update. It's pin compatible with previous Athlon 64's and the power requirements are modest.
The Athlon 64 X2 processor family is the shortcut to symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) on the desktop. Multiple cores per chip technology is shaping up to be the next big dimension of advancement in processor performance. The X2 represents the arrival of that technology to the (above average) desktop.
The dual core CPU performs about 50% faster than the single-core version of the Athlon 64 at the same (2.0 GHz) frequency. With just the right mix of software, the X2 can reach an 80% performance advantage over the single core chip at 2.0 GHz.
In addition to the 512K of level 2 cache per core, the Athlon 64 X2 3800+ includes 64K of level 1 instruction cache per core and 64K of level 1 data cache per core. At its native frequency of 2.0 GHz, the 3800+ X2 performs a total of 4 billion CPU cycles per second.
While you may have heard that you can't benefit from dual cores (or dual processors, for that matter) unless you are running multithreaded software, that simply isn't true. In addition to cpu intensive multithreaded software such as Adobe Photoshop, you can benefit from dual cores if you: - run multiple servers
- run multiple instances of a single server
- run both a server and a desktop at the same time
- run background processes and foreground processes simultaneously
The usefulness of dual cores on the desktop will only improve as more and more CPU intensive software moves to multithreaded architectures. With these new generations of multithreaded software, dual core chips will perform even better. And, eventually, even game engines will be written to use dual cores, resulting in yet another leap in gaming performance. Of course, even gamers can benefit now by running a game while simultaneously running CPU intensive background processes.
And, to ease the migration to 64-bit applications, both 32- and 64-bit applications can run simultaneously on the 3800+ X2 -- as well as on any other member of the Athlon 64 family of processors. It'll seamlessly run your current 32-bit software at full speed, while providing a smooth path to 64 bits in the future.
With the performance of true dual core chips dramatically higher than that of Intel's Hyperthreading approach, the X2 3800+ is excellent for multithreaded as well as server applications -- all without paying Opteron prices.
Power requirements, at 89 watts, are well within the range of single core AMD 64 chips; AMD have done quality engineering here, although much of the power savings come from the lower clock speed. Of course, that opens the door wide for overclocking.
Overclockability of the 3800+ X2 is excellent, with some samples reaching 2.7 GHz with liquid cooling and with 2.4 GHz common with the original heatsink/fan and the standard voltage. If you're looking for high-end performance at a budget price, then this is a prime candidate for overclocking experimentation.
In general, should you buy a dual core processor? You're a good candidate for a dual core chip if you run Photoshop, do DVD encoding, run CPU-intensive servers, or simply run a lot of background processes and want the most responsive desktop you can get.
Specifically, should you buy the X2 3800+? This is the entry level chip in the X2 family. Therefore, it is the lowest priced of the X2 group and runs at the lowest clock speed -- while being essentially the same chip as the other, higher priced, 512K cache X2's. Generally, this means that the 3800+ X2 has the most frequency headroom for overclocking. So, if you want to save money on a dual core chip, and especially if you are willing to experiment with overclocking, then yes, you should consider the 3800x2. The X2 3800+ scores very high in both price/performance and overclockability.
If you're still looking for a machine to support an X2 chip -- or are a bit intimidated by building your own machine, then have a look at the Shuttle SN25P bare bones system. It's small, nice looking, and easy -- even for a beginner -- to assemble into a complete system. And, best of all, no BIOS update is required to use an X2 processor in the SN25P, so you can be up and running quickly.
Alternatively, if you have everything except a motherboard, you can spend very little money and get yourself an Abit KN8 Ultra Socket 939 motherboard.
In conclusion, the CPU upgrade strategy of putting two 64-bit processor cores on a single chip has proved to be a huge success for AMD. Performance is outstanding and the power consumption and heat generation characteristics are also quite good. Suddenly, Intel's Hyperthreading seems quite lame by comparison. And with AMD bringing the technology down to the desktop market, there's an excellent opportunity for those of us looking for faster desktops and fast servers at low prices.
Technical Specifications
Manufacturer page: AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core, 3800+
Stepping: E4
Frequency: 2000Mhz
Voltage: 1.35-1.40 V
Max Temp: 71°C
Thermal Power: 89W
L1 Cache: 128KB + 128KB
L2 Cache: 512KB x2
CMOS Technology: 90nm SOI
Number of Transistors: 154 million
HyperTransport™ technology up to 2000MHz, full duplex
Memory bandwidth: up to 6.4 GB/s, Total: up to 14.4 GB/s
Inter-core communication at CPU speed
40-bit physical addresses, 48-bit virtual addresses
Sixteen 64-bit integer registers
Sixteen 128-bit SSE/SSE2/SSE3 registers
Socket: Socket 939
AMD 64 Instruction support
3D & Multimedia instructions: 3DNow!™ technology, SSE2, SSE3
Support for mismatched DIMMs on the same memory channel
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