Most users will buy a CPU only if it overclocks well. The AMD Athlon X2 4600+ is not the best solution for overclocking. The 4200+ is probably a better solution for that task. For our overclocking attempts, we set the memory to CL5 (5-5-5-15-2T) and the CPU multiplier to 12x. The highest performance we had with our Asus M2N32WS Pro was with the FSB at 224MHz. Higher FSB settings lead to an unstable system (tested with Prime95). It’s very possible that can you achieve higher FSB speeds with different motherboards. To conclude, the AMD Athlon X2 4600+ reached 2.685GHz (12x224).

Memory runs at 447.5MHz.

Below are the test results after overclocking the CPU. For your reference, stock results for all processors are displayed as well.

The overall performance has improved after overclocking. In several tests, the performance of the AMD Athlon X2 4600+ approaches that of the Intel E6600, since AMD processors offer better memory timings and memory bandwidth. Using other memory modules, that allow CL4 at 1067MHz, may improve performance for Intel processors as well.