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Summary

This is a basic preview of this product intended for readers who just want a 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.

There is little debate among PC enthusiasts today which processor manufacturer is the most dominent in terms of performance when it comes to gaming and enthusiast level applications.  The AMD Athlon 64 processor dominated the market for quite some time and the X2 variant of it that adds dual-core processors into the mix aren't showing any signs yet of losing their ground.

Unfortunately, unlike the AMD of old, the X2 processors don't have the one luxury that older Athlon branded processors had that led many enthusiasts to them: low prices compared to the competition.  Currently, the top dual-core Athlon X2 processor is the 4800+ model that can be found for sale on a typical range of $787-850.  The 400 MHz clock differential between the 3800+ and the 4800+ is really the one facet of the cores that will make a significant difference in performance.  The smaller L2 caches on the 3800+ do affect performance, but on a much more minute level.  But 400 MHz can mean a lot when it comes to gaming and media applications.  What is a new system builder or upgrader to do then?

After hearing lots of good stories about the ease of overclocking the 3800+, I pulled out the worn-in credit card and had one sent over.

So the challenge would be: could I EASILY get the 3800+ processor to perform as well or better than the nearly $800 4800+ processor?

Athlon X2 3800+ @ 2.5 GHz

You can see that I was able to bump up the internal frequency to 250 MHz over the default 200 MHz and got a 500 MHz overclock out of the processor without a second thought.

By doing our simple overclock to the 3800+ and pushing the frequency from 2.0 GHz to 2.5 GHz, we can get the best of both worlds.  While the FX line still holds the crown for top single threaded performance (and gaming) the X2 3800+ @ 2.5 GHz is damn close.  And the benefits you get for a multitasking environment more than make up for the speed decreases you see in single threaded applications in this humble editor's opinion.  Anyone that is doing more than one thing on the computer you are on right now reading this, should agree.

Final Thoughts

If you are building a new system or upgrading your current one, the Athlon 64 X2 3800+ makes a fantastic option in terms of both performance and price if you can deal with minor overclocking.

For more detailed information on the overclocking and performance of the Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, please head on over to read our full, detailed review on the next page.

Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best prices on the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, and anything else you may want to buy!

Click here for the Detailed Review