AMD Athlon 64 X2

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. AMD Athlon 64 X2 AM2 Processor Family
3. Installation
4. Tests
5. Everest Ultimate Edition and SiSoft Sandra
6. PCMARK05 and 3DMARK05
7. Science Mark 2.0 and Nreo Digital
8. CINEBENCH and SuperPI
9. F.E.A.R. and Prey
10. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and Half Life 2
11. Overclocking
12. Conclusion

Below you can see the whole family of AMD Athlon 64 X2 AM2 processors:

Model Number	Frequency	L2 Cache	Packaging	Thermal Design Power
5200+	2.6 GHz	1MB + 1MB	socket AM2	89W
5000+	2.6 GHz	512KB + 512KB	socket AM2	89W
4800+	2.4 GHz	1MB + 1MB	socket AM2	89W, 65W
4600+	2.4 GHz	512KB + 512KB	socket AM2	89W, 65W
4400+	2.2 GHz	1MB + 1MB	socket AM2	89W, 65W
4200+	2.2 GHz	512KB + 512KB	socket AM2	89W, 65W
4000+	2.0 GHz	1MB + 1MB	socket AM2	89W, 65W
3800+	2.0 GHz	512KB + 512KB	socket AM2	89W, 65W, 35W

The family has both 1MB and 512KB L2 cache, while several series are offered with two thermal design powers (89W, 65W). Full specs are very interesting:

AMD64 Technology	Yes
Simultaneous 32- & 64-bit computing	Yes
L1 Cache (Instruction + Data) per core	128KB (64KB + 64KB)
L2 Cache per core	512KB or 1MB
HyperTransport™ Technology	One 16x16 link @ 2000 MHz bidirectional
HyperTransport Iechnology I/O Bandwidth	8 GB/s
Integrated DDR Memory Controller	Yes
Memory Controller Width	128-bit
Type of Memory Supported	PC2 6400(DDR2-800), PC2 5300(DDR2-667), PC2 4200(DDR2-533), and PC2 3200(DDR2-400) unbuffered memory (socket AM2)
Memory Bandwidth	up to 12.8 GB/s (socket AM2)
Total Processor-to-system Bandwidth (HyperTransport plus memory bandwidth)	up to 20.8 GB/s (socket AM2)
Process Technology	90 nanometer, SOI (silicon-on-insulator) Technology
Packaging	socket AM2 (940-pin) organic micro PGA
Thermal Design Power	110W, 89W, 65W, or 35W
Die Size	147 to 218 mm2
Number of Transistors	154 to 227 million (socket AM2) (depending on cache size)
Manufacturing Sites	Fab 30 and Fab 36 in Dresden , Germany

Compared with an Intel D9xx series, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor has wider chipset support:

	AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor	Intel Pentium D Dual-Core Processor
Infrastructure	socket AM2	LGA775
Process Technology	90 nanometer, SOI (silicon on insulator)	65 or 90 nanometer
Number of Transistors	154 to 227 million	230 million
64-bit Instruction Set Support	Yes, AMD64 Technology	Yes, EM64T
Enhanced Virus Protection	Yes	Yes
System Bus Technology	HyperTransport™ technology up to 2000MHz, full duplex	Front Side Bus up to 800 MHz, Half duplex
Integrated Memory Controller	128-bit + 16-bit ECC unbuffered PC2 6400(DDR2-800), PC2 5300(DDR2-667), PC2 4200(DDR2-533), PC2 3200(DDR2-400)	No, Discrete logic device on motherboard
Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth	HyperTransport technology: up to 8.0 GB/s Memory bandwidth: up to 12.8 GB/s Total: up to 20.8 GB/s	Total: up to 6.4 GB/s
3D & Multimedia instructions	3DNow!™ technology, SSE, SSE2, SSE3	SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Chipset support	NVIDIA: Nforce4 Series chipsets ATI: Radeon Xpress 200 Series chipsets VIA: K8 Series chipsets SiS: 75x Series chipsets or greater	Intel: 945/955 Series only NVIDIA: Nforce4 Series chipsets
Total Designed Power (TDP)	35W, 65W or 89W	95W or 130W

Let’s now see in depth, a comparison between 4600+ with 89W and 65W TDP:

Processor	AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core
Model	4600+
Ordering P/N (Tray)	ADA4600IAA5CU	ADO4600IAA5CU
Ordering P/N (PIB)	ADA4600CUBOX	ADO4600CUBOX
Operating Mode	32/64
Stepping	F2
Frequency	2400Mhz
HT Speed	2000
Voltage	1.30V/1.35V	1.20V/1.25V
Max Temp	55-70°C	72°C
Thermal Design Power	89W	65W
L1 Cache	128KB x2
L2 Cache	512KB x2
CMOS Technology	90nm SOI
Socket	Socket AM2