Apex Community Forums - View Single Post - AMD' s new pricing

$SOLID$ Necro · 07-September-06, 03:21 AM

Seems that AMD has been doing a little "CPU Shuffle" with the product mix recently, remember how not long ago they announced they were killing off the 2MB cache X-2's CPU's (1MB per core) on everything other than for the FX series? (And of course the single core 1MB versions are long gone)

Well..there baaaaaack!

(For AM-2 X-2 only)

Ya, I was pleasantly surprised to see a return to the line up, there was no hint that this was going to happen! (Sneaky devils aren't they?)

On another note, EE "Energy Efficient" CPU's still have have yet to show up at retailers in mass quantities

And so far, don't appear to Overclock any better than the regular versions, at least in the reviews I have read so far...the "Jury" on that will still be out until "Regular" people start posting results.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/V...l?redir=CPPR01

I'll start with my top choices in the "Best Bang For The Buck" for Overclockers, and then touch on the other new changes you might want to take a look at in more detail.

The 3800+ X-2 is the "Cheap Charlie" of the Dual core line up, coming in at the same price point of around 150$ where it has sat since the big price cuts not long ago.

The star of the "Dualie" show for most people, coming in at a slightly more potent 2.2GHZ is the 4200+ X-2 for 187$
This will make a much better choice for alot of people with it's 11x multiplier, which means your motherboard and ram won't have to be run at full boil to hit a decent clock speed, like it would have to with the 10x multiplier of the 3800+ X-2

That can allow you to save a few bucks on the motherboard and ram, since 11x250=2750MHZ (A reasonable target for this CPU) versus the 3800+ X-2 that would have only reached 2.5GHZ at the same 250FSB speed with its 10x multiplier.

The required mother board that will reach into the 275+FSB range adds cost (Wich most budget OC boards will have trouble with) and you would also be stuck with buying much more expensive ram to run it at a "1 to1" ratio, or end up using a memory divider, which incurs a slight performance penalty.

To sum that up for you, plunking down another 35$ on that CPU might get you "More go for less dough" when you add up the total costs involved.

In the "Single Core" arena, the 3500+ for 91$ is still my top pick with its 2.2GHZ clock speed and 11x multiplier, for many of the same reasons as above.
The 3200+ has a 10x multiplier, saving you a measly 10$, while the 3800+ has a 12x multiplier, it's not realy needed, and can hardly be justified for the extra 21$

So that leaves the 3500+ as "Just right" in my book.

Unfortunately for single core fans, the 1MB cache processors have been deemed "Unworthy" of a return, so you will have to find a 939 Opteron to fill your needs if you must have one.

As a side not, I just noticed the other night that they have "Large Cache" AM-2 940 pin opterons...so they may be worth taking a closer look at down the road, but as of now, I have not heard a peep on them.

Worth looking at in a bit more detail, is the 5200+
It's using the same clock speed of the 1MB 2.6GHZ 5000+ but with the heavy duty cache (Think FX-60 for AM-2) and is priced around 400$ which could be a good choice for those who may not want to Overclock and like the big cache, but can't stomach the over 800$ price tag of the FX-62.

Hardly worth mentioning is the 4000+ X-2 (2.0GHZ, with 2MB cache and 10x multi) did not return for this round..and is no "Big" loss realy in the grand scheme of things.

Well..I hope this was helpfull for the 2 other people on this site (Just kidding) that aren't going to build a "Killa Conroe" rig, which truly are screamers, but would cost a bit more to build one "Right" IMO
(I won't even get into the lack of a good SLI/Cross-Fire motherboards for them at this time..I may do an article on that and Conroe's soon)

One final note, this applies mostly to AM-2, since I would not recommend building a "New: 939 rig at this time unless you have other hardware you need to carry over due to budget concerns.

Til' the next time my bench racing friends, stay "Tuned"

EDIT: As requested, I will add my 939 "OC" picks and also some links of "Trusted" retailers for both AM-2 and 939's where they can be purchased as of today.

NOTES:
OEM= CPU ONLY!, no HSF, 30 day warranty
Retail= CPU+HSF 3 year AMD warranty!
CPU's in Red=Top Picks!

AM-2 Single Core
Athlon 64 3500+(Retail) 89$ 2.2GHZ (200x11) 512k cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103633

AM-2 Dual Core
X-2 3800+152$(Retail) 2.0GHZ (200x10) 1MB cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103735
X-2 4200+187$(Retail)2.2.GHZ (200x11) 1MB cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103747

939 Single Core
Athlon 64 3500+ 89$ (Retail) 2.2GHZ (200x11) 512K cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103533

Opteron 146 2.0GHZ (200x10) 1MB Cache
114$(OEM) http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...Code=AMDOP9391
154$(Retail)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103598

939 Dual Core
X-2 3800+ 2.0GHZ 155$ (Retail) (200x10) 1MB cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103562

Opteron 165 1.8GHZ (200x9) 2MB cache
219$(OEM)http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...de=AMDOP9391DC
248$ (Retail)http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...de=AMDOP9391DC

07-September-06, 03:21 AM		#1 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	AMD' s new pricing - Necro's "Top OC Choices" Seems that AMD has been doing a little "CPU Shuffle" with the product mix recently, remember how not long ago they announced they were killing off the 2MB cache X-2's CPU's (1MB per core) on everything other than for the FX series? (And of course the single core 1MB versions are long gone) Well..there baaaaaack! (For AM-2 X-2 only) Ya, I was pleasantly surprised to see a return to the line up, there was no hint that this was going to happen! (Sneaky devils aren't they?) On another note, EE "Energy Efficient" CPU's still have have yet to show up at retailers in mass quantities And so far, don't appear to Overclock any better than the regular versions, at least in the reviews I have read so far...the "Jury" on that will still be out until "Regular" people start posting results. http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/V...l?redir=CPPR01 I'll start with my top choices in the "Best Bang For The Buck" for Overclockers, and then touch on the other new changes you might want to take a look at in more detail. The 3800+ X-2 is the "Cheap Charlie" of the Dual core line up, coming in at the same price point of around 150$ where it has sat since the big price cuts not long ago. The star of the "Dualie" show for most people, coming in at a slightly more potent 2.2GHZ is the 4200+ X-2 for 187$ This will make a much better choice for alot of people with it's 11x multiplier, which means your motherboard and ram won't have to be run at full boil to hit a decent clock speed, like it would have to with the 10x multiplier of the 3800+ X-2 That can allow you to save a few bucks on the motherboard and ram, since 11x250=2750MHZ (A reasonable target for this CPU) versus the 3800+ X-2 that would have only reached 2.5GHZ at the same 250FSB speed with its 10x multiplier. The required mother board that will reach into the 275+FSB range adds cost (Wich most budget OC boards will have trouble with) and you would also be stuck with buying much more expensive ram to run it at a "1 to1" ratio, or end up using a memory divider, which incurs a slight performance penalty. To sum that up for you, plunking down another 35$ on that CPU might get you "More go for less dough" when you add up the total costs involved. In the "Single Core" arena, the 3500+ for 91$ is still my top pick with its 2.2GHZ clock speed and 11x multiplier, for many of the same reasons as above. The 3200+ has a 10x multiplier, saving you a measly 10$, while the 3800+ has a 12x multiplier, it's not realy needed, and can hardly be justified for the extra 21$ So that leaves the 3500+ as "Just right" in my book. Unfortunately for single core fans, the 1MB cache processors have been deemed "Unworthy" of a return, so you will have to find a 939 Opteron to fill your needs if you must have one. As a side not, I just noticed the other night that they have "Large Cache" AM-2 940 pin opterons...so they may be worth taking a closer look at down the road, but as of now, I have not heard a peep on them. Worth looking at in a bit more detail, is the 5200+ It's using the same clock speed of the 1MB 2.6GHZ 5000+ but with the heavy duty cache (Think FX-60 for AM-2) and is priced around 400$ which could be a good choice for those who may not want to Overclock and like the big cache, but can't stomach the over 800$ price tag of the FX-62. Hardly worth mentioning is the 4000+ X-2 (2.0GHZ, with 2MB cache and 10x multi) did not return for this round..and is no "Big" loss realy in the grand scheme of things. Well..I hope this was helpfull for the 2 other people on this site (Just kidding) that aren't going to build a "Killa Conroe" rig, which truly are screamers, but would cost a bit more to build one "Right" IMO (I won't even get into the lack of a good SLI/Cross-Fire motherboards for them at this time..I may do an article on that and Conroe's soon) One final note, this applies mostly to AM-2, since I would not recommend building a "New: 939 rig at this time unless you have other hardware you need to carry over due to budget concerns. Til' the next time my bench racing friends, stay "Tuned" EDIT: As requested, I will add my 939 "OC" picks and also some links of "Trusted" retailers for both AM-2 and 939's where they can be purchased as of today. NOTES: OEM= CPU ONLY!, no HSF, 30 day warranty Retail= CPU+HSF 3 year AMD warranty! CPU's in Red=Top Picks! AM-2 Single Core Athlon 64 3500+(Retail) 89$ 2.2GHZ (200x11) 512k cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103633 AM-2 Dual Core X-2 3800+152$(Retail) 2.0GHZ (200x10) 1MB cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103735 X-2 4200+187$(Retail)2.2.GHZ (200x11) 1MB cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103747 939 Single Core Athlon 64 3500+ 89$ (Retail) 2.2GHZ (200x11) 512K cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103533 Opteron 146 2.0GHZ (200x10) 1MB Cache 114$(OEM) http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...Code=AMDOP9391 154$(Retail)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103598 939 Dual Core X-2 3800+ 2.0GHZ 155$ (Retail) (200x10) 1MB cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103562 Opteron 165 1.8GHZ (200x9) 2MB cache 219$(OEM)http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...de=AMDOP9391DC 248$ (Retail)http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...de=AMDOP9391DC Attached Thumbnails Last edited by GlitterKill; 08-September-06 at 03:52 PM..