Athlon 64 Comparison: 12 CPUs - Single vs Dual Channel - 512K vs 1MB Cache

[Omega65]

Is a 2.2ghz S939 3500+ really faster than a 2.4ghz S754 3400+? How about the 2.0ghz S939 3200+ vs the 2.2ghz S754 3200+? What matters more, Clock speed, Cache size or Single/Dual channel Memory?

BeHardware (http://www.behardware.com/articles/531/page1.html) gathers 12 different S754 & S939 Athlon 64 CPUs (& 2 Athlon XPs) and pits them against each other to discover the truth about AMD performance ratings.

Socket 754 ? 939 ? 130nm and 90nm fabrication process? This test is for those who are lost in AMD’s line of products. Here is a comparative test of 16 processors including 12 Athlon 64s. The P-Rating is sometimes just the tip of the iceberg.
Source: BeHardware (http://www.behardware.com/articles/531/page1.html)

AMD currently offers no less than 12 processors with different combinations of these three characteristics:

2800+ S754 : 1800 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 1 channel DDR, 130nm
3000+ S754 : 2000 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 1 channel DDR, 130nm
3200+ S754 : 2200 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 1 channel DDR, 130nm
3400+ S754 : 2400 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 1 channel DDR, 130nm
3700+ S754 : 2400 MHz, 1024 KB of L2, 1 channel DDR, 130nm
3000+ S939 : 1800 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 2 channels DDR, 90nm
3200+ S939 : 2000 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 2 channels DDR, 90nm
3500+ S939 : 2200 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 2 channels DDR, 90nm
3500+ S939 : 2200 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 2 channels DDR, 130nm
3800+ S939 : 2400 MHz, 512 KB of L2, 2 channels DDR, 130nm
4000+ S939 : 2400 MHz, 1024 KB of L2, 2 channels DDR, 130nm
FX-55 S939 : 2600 MHz, 1024 KB of L2, 2 channels DDR, 130nm

[Omega65]

3D Studio Max

[Omega65]

UT 2004
Far Cry

[Omega65]

Overall Performance - Athlon XP 3200+ = 100%

[Omega65]

Its always been my opinion that with Athlon 64s Clockspeed > Socket > Cache size.

Also Check out how the Sempron S754 3100+ 1.8ghz 256K CPU compares to the AXP 3200+ 2.2ghz 512K & (the A64 S939 3000+ 1.8ghz 512K). Xbitlabs (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/sempron-3100-oc.html) was able to OC a Sempron 3100+ to 2.5ghz with ease.

[GHoosdum]

Great post, Omega!

[Omega65]

Thanks Ghoos!

I've been waiting for someone to do this type of comparison! :thumbsup:

[GHoosdum]

I've got two obersvations:

1. My upgrade from an AXP 3200+ to an A64 3000+ (socket 754) seems to be justified, based on the summary chart :D

2. I love this quote:
This P-Rating, however, doesn’t overshadow the quality of the Athlon 64. These processors are still an excellent choice as we already stated several times. The Pentium 4 is only faster in specific applications particularly adapted to its architecture, like video and 3D processing, while heat dissipation and electrical consumption are more significant.