AMD Single-Core
While practically all of the Athlon 64 single-core processors have remained at the same price point since our last CPU price guide, we can see that only the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 San Diego [RTPE: ADAFX57BNBOX] has seen any significant price adjustment. Coming down $166, the FX-57 is now at an even $845 shipped.
On to the more reasonably priced processors, the AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego [RTPE: ADA3700BNBOX] is priced at about $215. Honestly though, if you're looking to spend a tad more than this amount or even higher, we would like to remind you that you could easily go with a dual-core processor for about $30 more. Something from either Intel or AMD would be perfect. Just for comparison's sake, you can go with the Pentium D 820 for about $245 shipped or even the Athlon 64 X2 3800+ for about $300 shipped.
For a decent low-end setup, the socket 754 processors are still a viable option. The AMD Athlon 64 (754) 3000+ Venice [RTPE: ADA3000BXBOX] is reasonably priced at about $130 shipped.
While the AMD Athlon 64 (754) Mobile 3000+ [RTPE: AMN3000BIX5AR] is also a fair alternative, on sale for an even $118 shipped. This isn't exactly the lowest price we've seen by any means, but we would still like to point out that the AMD Athlon 64 (754) 3700+ 1MB Hammer [RTPE: ADA3700AEP5AR] is available for about $209 shipped after a $50 mail-in rebate, found over at TigerDirect. This mail-in rebate is valid until January 31st, 2006 and must be postmarked within 30 days of purchase.
To see how the current price of the A64 3700+ fairs, check out the graph below:
AMD Athlon 64 (754) 3700+ 1MB Hammer
For a very low budget-based system, the Sempron 64 can be a great choice for your needs. The AMD Sempron 64 (754) 2800+ 256KB Palermo [RTPE: SDA2800BXBOX] seems reasonably priced at an even $75 shipped. If you start getting into the $100 price range in the Sempron 64 line-up, we suggest going with a low-end Athlon 64 (socket 754) which contains twice (or even four times) the amount of cache of the Sempron 64's. For instance, the Sempron 3400+ vs. the Athlon 64 3000+ (Venice) saves you $6 for half the cache - not at all worth it, in our opinion.
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DigitalFreak - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
You have the FX-60 cache listed as 2x2MB. Should be 2x1MB, right?KeithDust2000 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I don´t see you warning against the fact that power management is currently not working in the Pentium D parts. Since this is a CPU guide, it would be wise to include that.Questar - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Your AMD fanbotism is really showing through today.KeithDust2000 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Just because you aren´t aware of the issue doesn´t mean it doesn´t exist.But I see that the area of your expertise is rather "personal attacks out of nowhere, with no content or argument to the contrary of any sort".
KeithDust2000 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
By that I am of course referring to the Presler parts that you are recommending in your guide.KeithDust2000 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
This week, we're noticing that all of the AMD X2 processors have seen some sort of price adjustment; most have decreased in price, although a couple of which have gone up.Actually, the price drops were across the X2 line-up.
http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=3147">link
KeithDust2000 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Intel's new additions to the dual-core line-up, the Presler 9xx, are fairly impressive. They are currently competing very nicely with AMD's variants, and this is an exceptional stand to see Intel take.Let me see. Their performance is lower, they consume more power and also cost quite a bit more, as your price engine shows. I don´t know where you guys have spent the last few years, but this is not exceptional, but has rather been the rule for many years.
One43637 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
ouch $513 for a 175? glad i ordered a retail for under $500.while getting a nice OC is good to hope for, i'd be happy if it could clock like my current P4.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I put together a Pentium 4 506 based system for a family member. He didn't need much, I had a P4 board available, etc. The PSU died last week during a power failure, likely because he was using an old power strip as opposed to a real surge protector. I replaced the PSU for him, and in the process I was checking out the system.Imagine my surprise when I found out that it was running at 4.0 GHz instead of 2.66 GHz. Yikes! I asked him if it had been crashing or anything, and he said he hadn't noticed anything. Still, I poked around a bit and it didn't seem fully stable.
Now, this was with the stock HSF running stock voltages. Considering this is only a http://labs.anandtech.com/search.php?q=pentium+506">$120 Intel CPU - albeit without HyperThreading - you might be able to get some nice results with a better HSF and motherboard.
tjpark1111 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
are the opterons still a go or are the steppings crappy and it's a no-go? I would just get a venice instead, no reason to get an opteron if it ain't gonna OC better than venices. Can anyone confirm?