AMD Rolls Out Athlon II X2 280 Value Dual-Core Processor

[btarunr]

It's not retirement time for AMD's 45 nm "Regor" silicon just yet, with the company announcing the Athlon II X2 280 value dual-core processor. Built in the socket AM3 package (compatible with AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+ motherboards), and based on the company's K10.5 micro-architecture, the chip features two x86-64 cores clocked at 3.60 GHz, 1 MB of L2 cache per core (2 MB total), an instruction set that includes SSE3 and SSE4A, and a dual-channel integrated memory controller that supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory types. The chip can take advantage of HyperTransport 3.0 interface, with a maximum data-rate of 4.0 GT/s. It features a rated TDP of 65W, and is designed for entry-level desktops. It is priced at US $49.99.



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[hellrazor]

Shit, I could almost buy that.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

i had my old x2 240 o/c ed to 3.5 with ease so im sure these will have good temps @ 3.6ghz

 

[RCoon]

Awesome price for a no-shit CPU. Bog standard cheap ass dual core, decent tdp as well. I can see these selling in environments like schools who are on tight budgets and still need to phase out their old pent 4's, of which I know there are many! Hell id buy one for the media streaming pc for my parents, but I already have a spare 8350 for that

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Not bad price wise, but then again would you rather an AMD A4 APU or this Athlon II?

 

[Frick]

They have a lot of old chips or what? Very interesting release.

 

[dj-electric]

Lemme be rude and say this CPU should be priced at 39$

 

[blibba]

Bargain if it unlocks to a Phenom X4.

Not bad price wise, but then again would you rather an AMD A4 APU or this Athlon II?

This every time. I've GPUs better than the one in the A4 wasting space in my house

 

[Fourstaff]

Sandy Bridge Celeron G550 at £35, it has serious competition at the budget end. Also, why not produce 1 module Piledriver for the budget crowd?

 

[RCoon]

Sandy Bridge Celeron G550 at £35, it has serious competition at the budget end. Also, why not produce 1 module Piledriver for the budget crowd?

so they can sell their athlon stock I guess. No sense in manufacturing or cutting down new chips when they can just sell what old ones they have left!

 

[Fourstaff]

so they can sell their athlon stock I guess. No sense in manufacturing or cutting down new chips when they can just sell what old ones they have left!

That is a lot of old stock they have, you would have thought that they will start winding down the Athlon II fabs after starting Piledriver.

 

[Melvis]

Not bad price wise, but then again would you rather an AMD A4 APU or this Athlon II?

Id personally go for the Athlon over the APU. Ive tested the Older Athlon 3.2 vs the APU and the Athlon eats it for breakfast. Only good thing is the GPU with the APU.

For a budget gaming rig this would be a good choice.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

Bargain if it unlocks to a Phenom X4.

AFAIK all X2's based on the Regor core are native dual cores. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlon_II

 

[Frick]

AFAIK all X2's based on the Regor core are native dual cores. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlon_II

IIRC none of the dual cores could be unlocked. Some single core Semprons could be unlocked to two cores (iirc), tons of X3's could be unlocked to either just four cores or four cores + level 3 cache.

 

[blibba]

IIRC none of the dual cores could be unlocked. Some single core Semprons could be unlocked to two cores (iirc), tons of X3's could be unlocked to either just four cores or four cores + level 3 cache.

It was definitely possible to unlock Phenom II X2s, in fact I've never known anyone try this and fail.

 

[brandonwh64]

Some of the athlon II chips could be unlocked to an Opteron with unlocked multi for higher clocking.

 

[RCoon]

It was definitely possible to unlock Phenom II X2s, in fact I've never known anyone try this and fail.

pretty much app phenom II x2's were quad core unlockable, my friend had several before going Intel i5 and every single one unlocked. They're just quad cores that failed tests anyway.

 

[Norton]

pretty much app phenom II x2's were quad core unlockable, my friend had several before going Intel i5 and every single one unlocked. They're just quad cores that failed tests anyway.

Some PII X2's were locked down quads that worked 100% fine and were justed locked to X2 to hit market demand/price points. A lot of 555's were like that- mine ran perfectly as a quad (overclocked to 3.6 as an X4 w/o a voltage bump )

Wondering if these may be X4 Athlons that are locked down for the same reason (i.e. price points/demand). AMD sometimes gets a little loose with their core naming so I would not be surprised at all if this is the case...

 

[brandonwh64]

I have a older Phenom II X3 720 that unlocks to a quad on stock voltage and it does quite nicely for gaming and everyday use.

 

[Easy Rhino]

it is cool how for less than $300 you can build an entire PC that will do everything you want but high end graphics.

 

[ChristTheGreat]

Sandy Bridge Celeron G550 at £35, it has serious competition at the budget end. Also, why not produce 1 module Piledriver for the budget crowd?

Yup, this is good competition, as the Celeron is faster than a X2 250 3ghz.

The difference? the celeron is less power hungry and has a Graphics Inside.

That x2 280 is quite nice, but I think this is a bit late, no?

 

[Easy Rhino]

Yup, this is good competition, as the Celeron is faster than a X2 250 3ghz.

The difference? the celeron is less power hungry and has a Graphics Inside.

That x2 280 is quite nice, but I think this is a bit late, no?

well it is an AMD product...

 

[GSquadron]

Weird, I got my cpu for around 73$ 2-3 years ago

 

[Frick]

It was definitely possible to unlock Phenom II X2s, in fact I've never known anyone try this and fail.

pretty much app phenom II x2's were quad core unlockable, my friend had several before going Intel i5 and every single one unlocked. They're just quad cores that failed tests anyway.

Ahh thanks. Evidentily I didn't remember correctly.

 

[drdeathx]

Bargain if it unlocks to a Phenom X4.



This every time. I've GPUs better than the one in the A4 wasting space in my house

It is not a PII....