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Summary

This is a basic preview intended for readers who just want the quick look at the new product.  If you are interested in the full review, with all the technical data and benchmarks that you are used to seeing on PC Perspective, please click on this link to get to that article.

While we saw the release of the Intel dual core processor parts back in April, we haven't heard anything from AMD on the dual core front until just now.  A few reviews were seen in the past few weeks, and it looks like the processor MIGHT actually become available by the end of July, so now it becomes time to really sit down and look at how these new CPUs are going to perform.

Dual core processors are a pretty complex subject, and in order to fit this summary review in a single page, it's not possible for me to really get into the technical details of what makes them tick (no pun intended).  You can either take a look at the full detailed review of the processor here or you can look through my Intel Developer Forum coverage from this past Februrary. 

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+

In a very basic sense, having a dual core processors is the equivalent of having dual processors in your system.  However with dual core processors, you get the advantage of both "processors" being able to fit on a single chip and fit into a single socket.  There are disadvantages to this as well, like having to share a FSB and the problem of having nearly two times the heat coming off of the same processor.  But AMD's implementation takes away these two problems by not having a standard FSB and by using some very cool (ouch, pun) process techniques to keep the power consumption on the new X2 processors very low.

The set of X2 processors that are scheduled to be released this year are:

• Athlon 64 X2 4800+ - 2.4 GHz - 1 MB L2 cache
• Athlon 64 X2 4600+ - 2.4 GHz - 512 KB L2 cache
• Athlon 64 X2 4400+ - 2.2 GHz - 1 MB L2 cache
• Athlon 64 X2 4200+ - 2.2 GHz - 512 KB L2 cache

And there retail prices are estimated to be:

• Athlon 64 X2 4800+ - $1001
• Athlon 64 X2 4600+ - $803
• Athlon 64 X2 4400+ - $581
• Athlon 64 X2 4200+ - $537

These are by far the most expensive processors we have seen come from AMD.  The 4800+ is priced well over the current FX-55 processor and priced above what we believe the upcoming Athlon 64 FX-57 willl cost as well.  $1001 for a processor puts AMD at a place I didn't think I would ever see: the highest priced CPU released to the desktop market.  Even Intel's XE processors are priced at $999.

But let's look at the performance before getting too harsh on the price.

The Doom 3 and WorldBench overall results both show the Athlon 64 X2 4400+ holding its own on the single threaded application benchmarks that we have traditionally used in our processor reviews.  Even more impressive is what we saw when we looked at multithreaded applications and multitasking work loads.  The DivX encoding application can use both processor cores simultaneously for increased performance and the 4400+ is able to run past both the best from AMD and the Intel dual core processors as well.  And while the Athlon 64 X2 4400+ doesn't take the total performance crown from the Intel 840 XE on the multitasking test, it does improve performance over the FX-55 and 3700+ processors (both single core) quite dramatically.

The multitasking test you see above is based on a new benchmarking methodology created specifically with dual core test setups in mind.  You can read all about it here, in the full review.  Basically, it attempts to put a "usual workload" on the system and run tests as a user would normally do in their usage patterns.

AMD's dual core processor line up has some big benefits along with it including the ability to use any Socket 939 motherboard that you might already have in your system.  That sure beats Intel's requirement to get a new motherboard and chipset (and probably memory) to take advantage of dual core processing. 

As usual, if you have more questions, I recommend you first read the full, detailed review and then check out our forums.

The Athlon 64 X2 4400+ looks like it's going to be the sweet spot in dual core processors for the initial wave from both Intel and AMD, for enthusiasts that want both a quality gaming rig as well as the ability to multitask efficiently and run some occassional multithreaded media applications that support multiprocessing.  For that, I can see no reason why AMD shouldn't get an outstanding award for this product.

Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best prices on the Athlon 64 X2 4400+, and anything else you may want to buy!

Click here for the Detailed Review