I just received this question in today’s mailbag:
What’s the deal with AMD’s new “Black Edition” Athlon 64 X2 5000+? Seems to be identical to the standard X2 5000+. Don’t tell me it’s just a different box!
You’re almost right. The “Black Edition” Athlon 64 X2 5000+ is almost identical to the standard edition X2 5000+. The clock speed is the same (2.6GHz), the L2 cache is the same size (1MB) and both have a TDP of 65W. The only difference between the two is that the “Black Edition” X2 5000+ has an unlocked clock multiplier which allows overclocking enthusiasts to overclock the processor without having to adjust the HyperTransport clock. This release proves that AMD is interested in enticing enthusiasts back into the AMD fold, but I think that the company needs to try a lot harder.
Unless you’re an overclocker there’s nothing to see here … move along. And if you are an overclocker, you’re better off going with a processor from the Core 2 Duo range.
