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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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AMD processor refresh - More speed, same price

By | May 12, 2010, 11:53am PDT

Yesterday AMD refreshed its processor line, adding some 100MHz to 200MHz performance boost to its silicon for no extra charge.

There are seven new CPUs. All processors are for the Socket AM2+/AM3 platform:

Quad-core

  • Athlon II X4 640
    Speed: 3.0GHz
    L1: 4×64KB | L2: 4x 512KB
    TDP: 95
    Price: $122
  • Athlon II X4 635
    Speed: 2.9GHz
    L1: 4×64KB | L2: 4x 512KB
    TDP: 95
    Price: $99.99
  • Athlon II X4 610e
    Speed: 2.4GHz
    L1: 4×64KB | L2: 4x 512KB
    TDP: 45
    Price: $143

Triple-core

  • Athlon II X3 445
    Speed: 3.1GHz
    L1: 3×64KB | L2: 3x 512KB
    TDP: 95
    Price: $87
  • Athlon II X3 415e
    Speed: 2.5GHz
    L1: 3×64KB | L2: 3x 512KB
    TDP: 45
    Price: $102

Dual-core

  • Athlon II X2 260
    Speed: 3.2GHz
    L1: 2×64KB | L2: 2x 1MB
    TDP: 65
    Price: $76
  • Athlon II X2 245e
    Speed: 2.9GHz
    L1: 2×64KB | L2: 2x 1MB
    TDP: 45
    Price: $77

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Topics

AMD Athlon, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., L2, Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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These may not be a huge deal, but...
djchandler Updated - 18th May 2010
@rag@... Do you have your 12-core Xeon yet? No? AMD's Magny-Cours Opterons are available now.

In the meantime, many of us with Socket AM2+ or AM3 socket motherboards can retrofit a 6-core Phenom II X6 on the same motherboard as the parts Adrian listed for an additional $100-200. For about half the price, the 1090T gets you processing power in the class of an i7 950 or 960, surpassing the power of an 870 , without the expense of a new $200 motherboard or having to buy ram in sets of three in the case of the Socket 1366 parts, a huge consideration at present.

For less than the cost of a single i7 950 or 870, you can purchase a new Phenom II X6 1090T, a new decent motherboard with an AMD 890/850 chipset (SATA 6Gb/sec, USB 3.0) and 4GB or RAM.

Yes, some of us may be cheapskates, but some of us are just plainly smarter than the average computer user.
View in thread
0 Votes
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Price wrong?
Stuka 13th May 2010
The slowest quad core is also the most expensive??
0 Votes
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RE: AMD processor refresh - More speed, same price
fridder 13th May 2010
@Stuka I thought the same thing, but check the TDP. It is a low-power part so that makes a bit of a difference.
0 Votes
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BFD
rag@... 13th May 2010
It's still AMD...choice of the cheapskate, overclocking amateur crowd.
0 Votes
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RE: AMD processor refresh - More speed, same price
Stuka 13th May 2010
@rag@... So because you can get the same performance from an AMD as you get with an Intel, yet for half the price, that makes it the cheapskates choice?

And because AMD's BE chips are unlocked, and therefore extremely easy to overclock, that means its only for amateurs?
0 Votes
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RE: AMD processor refresh - More speed, same price
rtk 13th May 2010
@rag@... overclocking isn't something performed by amateurs.
0 Votes
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RE: AMD processor refresh - More speed, same price
*Gman* 13th May 2010
@rag@... I see the new talkback format still hasn't made the comments any more intelligent...
0 Votes
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No, choice of the intelligent crowd
Mitch 74 15th May 2010
@rag@: if you feel like spending $1000 on an Intel top of the line processor, go right ahead. I'll build a second complete AMD gaming rig instead.
0 Votes
+ -
These may not be a huge deal, but...
djchandler Updated - 18th May 2010
@rag@... Do you have your 12-core Xeon yet? No? AMD's Magny-Cours Opterons are available now.

In the meantime, many of us with Socket AM2+ or AM3 socket motherboards can retrofit a 6-core Phenom II X6 on the same motherboard as the parts Adrian listed for an additional $100-200. For about half the price, the 1090T gets you processing power in the class of an i7 950 or 960, surpassing the power of an 870 , without the expense of a new $200 motherboard or having to buy ram in sets of three in the case of the Socket 1366 parts, a huge consideration at present.

For less than the cost of a single i7 950 or 870, you can purchase a new Phenom II X6 1090T, a new decent motherboard with an AMD 890/850 chipset (SATA 6Gb/sec, USB 3.0) and 4GB or RAM.

Yes, some of us may be cheapskates, but some of us are just plainly smarter than the average computer user.

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