What started out as the first quad core processor under $ 100, has evolved into a powerful and very affordable all round performer. AMD's newest addition to the Athlon II Series, the quad core Athlon II X4 645 is stepping over the 3 GHz mark, clocking at impressive 3.10 GHz.
Although frequency wars between AMD and Intel are long gone, this could be the day for the history books at AMD, as they let loose their fastest clocked retail processor. Based on the well known Deneb quad core, Phenom II X4 970 BE is clocked at 3.50 GHz and its goal is to refresh the upper end of AMD's offerings, replacing older X4 965 BE model but keeping the same price point and adding more pressure to Intel's Core i5 Series.
After AMD'S Phenom II X6 1090T flagship processor, we take a look at the first mainstream six core processor Phenom II X6 1055T. Clocked at 2.80 GHz and with Turbo Core technology it can reach up to 3.30 GHz, and at prices of just under $200 AMD aims to create some serious alternative to Intel's Core i5 750.
After a long period of scaling down its processors both in price and performance, AMD finally got some fresh reinforcements to continue the fight with Intel. The new Phenom II X6 1090T and its 3.20 GHz clocked six cores, aim to take AMD to new heights, where Intel's Core i7 processors were untouchable until now.
After the imbalanced and overpriced Core i5 600 series Intel is making yet another step to deliver their Westmere architecture to the average user via Core i3 processors. Packed with Hyper Threading with lower frequencies and no Turbo Boost compared to i5 600 models, Core i3 530 and 540 got a tough task replacing Core 2 E7x00/E8x00 and put some pressure on AMD's cheap quad and triple core processors.
Intel's new Core i5 661 processor combines graphics controller, memory controller, PCI-Express interface and a Dual Core all inside one compact processor package. Utilizing Intel's latest 32 nm process there is quite some added potential for power saving and overclocking, but is the integrated chipset up to the task too?
Intel continues to upgrade their processor lineup with the Pentium E6300. It offers a high stock frequency at 2.80 GHz and improved memory bandwidth due to increased FSB to 1066 MHz, this makes this processor a formidable opponent but the question remains. Can it do any damage to AMD's triple core Athlon II X3 Series?
AMD's Athlon II X3 425 offers all the features of the of the more expensive Quad Cores, and you can potentially unlock the fourth core. Being priced at only $79 it creates tough competition for Intel in this segment, but also for AMD who has a number of other processors in this market. Even though it lacks the L3 cache it still offers decent performance, especially considering its price.
AMD's Sempron 140 is here to seal the deal in the entry level market for $39. It offers all the features of the K10.5 architecture, but comes with only a single core at 2.70 GHz. Despite its single core it offers decent performance for every day office use, media PCs and casual gaming. If you get lucky you might even be able to unlock a second core.
AMD's Athlon II X2 240 is set out to deliver a best-in-class experience for less than $60. Even though it has only two cores it can deliver in many benchmarks including gaming. Its attractive price point and undervolting capabilities also make it an interesting choice for a budget oriented media PC setup.
Not having a performance leading product doesn't mean the end of a company. AMD is the hardcore proof of that. Turning its attention to the much larger mainstream market resulted in some great products that offer amazing performance at low price points. This time, AMD has outdone itself, and the recently introduced Athlon II X4 620 could very well be a dream come true for mainstream users, the first ever quad core processor for just under $100.
When Intel Core Duo hit the stores, people went crazy. Many wanted to experience the amazing performance for themselves. Now, Intel brings us the QX6700 - a quad-core CPU. Is another revolution about to take place? Or are we going to find just a small increase compared to dual core? What about single threaded applications? Multi-core scaling?
We are taking a look at the ASUS CT-479 Adapter which allows you to use an Intel Mobile Processor in your desktop. This Socket 478 to Socket 479 converter is considerably less expensive than the native Socket 479 boards. With this adapter you can turn that old ASUS 865P/875P mobo into a serious gaming machine. The OCZ DDR Booster is reviewed along with the ASUS CT-479 Adapter.
AMD has released a new revision of their Athlon64 S939, the code name is Venice. Venice is produced in 90nm, has 512KB Cache and is clocked betwen 1.8 GHz and 2.4 GHz. We test it against the Winchster and two Pentium4 systems.
