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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.

As far back as April of 2005, information began to surface on the move from the 939-pin Athlon 64 processors to that of the AM2 platform.  Really all we knew then was that we were probably going to see AMD move from an integrated DDR memory controller to an integrated DDR2 memory controller.  Initially we were expecting a DDR2-533 or DDR2-667 memory sub-system, but we now know the move to DDR2 also includes a few 800 MHz processors as well. 

Athlon 64 FX-62 Specifications

There are actually 15 processors launching today, though we only have the flagship FX-62 model in house for testing.  In reality, even AMD notes that the expected performance delta between the S939 and AM2 parts with similar frequencies is only 1% and thus we should expect an AM2 4200+ to perform nearly identically to a S939 4200+.  The FX-62 is also a 200 MHz clock increase over the previous FX-60 and thus we will see performance gains from that at least. 

AMD Athlon 64 FX-62

On the surface, it would appear that nothing has changed on the FX-62 from previous Athlon 64 processors you have seen.  And while that is mostly true, the differences are important.

• Dual core
• 2.8 GHz clock
• 2 x 1MB L2 cache
• 2 x 64K L1 Instruction cache
• 2 x 64K L1 Data cache
• Integrated DDR2 memory controller - up to DDR2-800 MHz support
• 1 x 2000 MHz HyperTransport link
• 0.09 micron process SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator)
• Socket AM2
• 230 mm^2 die size
• 227.4 million transistors
• 1.35v - 1.40v
• 125 watt Max TDP

The AM2 testing platform was based on a Foxconn NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI motherboard; we'll have more details on the new nForce chipsets later in the day as I decided to break up the AM2 platform launch into a decisive CPU and decisive chipset article in order to offer readers a chance to get at the details they really want. 

The performance delta between the AM2 and S939 parts of matching frequency and cache sizes is nearly indistinguishable in my testing.  The move from DDR to DDR2 memory speeds was never going to bring massive amounts of performance change, though had AMD gone into DDR2 any earlier, we probably would have seen performance decreases instead of increases.  An X2 4800+ processor based on the AM2 platform with DDR2 memory is going to perform only a percent or so faster than an X2 4800+ based on the 939-pin platform with low latency, standard DDR memory.

Availability of the slew of AM2 processors is set for the week of June 1st, though you can expect to see them for sale before then if they don't sell out.  Motherboard inventory might be a bit harder to come by as most vendors are saying they never changed their schedules when AMD bumped up the release two weeks after hearing rumblings of an Intel processor release on the same day.  (Turns out it didn't matter...)  So though you might get your hands a CPU, a motherboard might be harder to find, at least at first.  By this time next month we should see plenty of board choices and processors available for users to purchase, making AM2 as close to a hard launch as we have seen in the CPU business in quite a long time.

Final Thoughts

AMD's AM2 processor launch should be considered a success on multiple levels.  The performance is great, the pricing is pretty good, the product will be available in quantity very shortly and the platforms are strong from both NVIDIA and ATI.  We'll have much more detail on the NVIDIA vs ATI chipset battle later today, so check back for that.  The AM2 processor helps AMD prepare for the future of system memory and stay grasping on to the performance crown for a bit longer at the same time.  With at least one more performance trick up their sleeve this year, AMD and Intel are set to make this summer a hot one for enthusiasts!

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.

Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best prices on the Athlon 64 FX-62 CPU, and anything else you may want to buy!

Click here for the Detailed Review