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AMD's "Black Box" Athlon 64 X2 6400+

Posted by kdawson on from the back-in-black dept.

MojoKid writes "Rumors of a new high-end AMD Athlon 64 X2 chip circulated in July, but availability and specifics of the chip were unconfirmed at the time. Now AMD has officially taken the wraps off their new Athlon 64 X2 6400+, a 3.2GHz dual-core chipset to compete with Intel's Core 2 E6750 and E6850 series. HotHardware notes that the new 6400+ is still built on AMD's 90nm fab process and has a single 2-GHz HyperTransport link and 2 MB of on-chip L2 cache (1 MB per core), just like its predecessor the 6000+. The new processor is said to be a 'channel only' offering and will retail at $239 or so, in a black retail box (picture here) without a heatsink."

2 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Aint Much of a Deal by ExE122 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's how some of the specs and prices (Intels from Pricewatch) compare:

    E6750:
    2.66Ghz
    1.30V 4MB L2
    1.33Ghz FSB
    ~$225


    E6850:
    3.00Ghz
    1.35V 4MB L2
    1.33Ghz FSB
    ~$300


    6400+:
    3.20Ghz
    1.35V 2MB L2
    2.00Ghz HT
    ~$240


    From what I've read, the E6750 actually outperforms the E6850 since it ran cooler and with less power. So it doesn't look like AMD has a whole lot to offer given the price. Not to mention it doesn't come with a heatsink and fan, something you'd probably have to dish out another $20-50 for.

    --
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    1. Re:Aint Much of a Deal by michrech · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I was using the OEM cooler that came with my x2 5000+, until the fan died. Then I went out and purchased a CoolerMaster OEM style HSF to replace it (only difference was it had an 80mm fan installed instead of the 60 the OEM came with). It was $18 from a local computer store.

      Keeps the CPU somewhere in the 30-45C range, and can barely be heard (the rest of the fans (all two of them!) are 120mm, and quite quiet. There is a variable speed 120mm fan in my PS as well (Thermaltake Modular 500w).

      I think people who go out and buy gigantic, noisy-assed, obnoxious HSF's are just wasting their money.

      But who does actually use the boxed coolers? Well, maybe those who run semperons or similar but I do hardly believe that those who are buying that kind of processor will use the boxed cooler.
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