Hmmm.... quite tasty. I'm not sure if it's the chip for me, but it's something to consider. I currently have their X2 3800 2.01 GHz when they first came out. These would probably make a nice upgrade (assuming they use the same CPU socket configuration as the original X2's).
But even then. I'm happy with my current X2. Faster speeds would be nice, but I can't justify the costs when I'm wanting to do a total system upgrade sometime.
Thanks for the excellent review! I agree with your corporate appeal assessment. As you have said in the last paragraph, X4 makes a lot more sense to me for less than $30 more. As an enthusiast, I am not interested in dual-cores anymore.
@Bandrik - The X2 3800 EE (65W) and EE SFF (35W) were Windsor-core chips but were socket AM2. However, the new chips are Socket AM3.
The compatibility matrix is this:
AM2 chip works in AM2, AM2+ socket
AM2+ chip works in AM2, AM2+ socket
AM3 chip works in AM2+, AM3 socket
AM2 or AM2+ chips WILL NOT work on AM3 socket
AM3 chip WILL NOT work on AM2 socket
So unless your motherboard you've paired with that chip is an AM2+ board, any upgrade would necessitate a new motherboard purchase in addition to the chip.
If you are in the market for a new board (board dies, need some specific feature, etc.) but don't want to buy a new chip yet, a wise investment would be an AM2+ board, because you can use your current chip in it and then buy an AM3 chip when you're ready. But any AM3 chip won't operate at its full potential on the AM2+ platform, as we may see in a future article.
RyanMM
Ferndale, MI Icrontian
Comments
But even then. I'm happy with my current X2. Faster speeds would be nice, but I can't justify the costs when I'm wanting to do a total system upgrade sometime.
The compatibility matrix is this:
AM2 chip works in AM2, AM2+ socket
AM2+ chip works in AM2, AM2+ socket
AM3 chip works in AM2+, AM3 socket
AM2 or AM2+ chips WILL NOT work on AM3 socket
AM3 chip WILL NOT work on AM2 socket
So unless your motherboard you've paired with that chip is an AM2+ board, any upgrade would necessitate a new motherboard purchase in addition to the chip.
If you are in the market for a new board (board dies, need some specific feature, etc.) but don't want to buy a new chip yet, a wise investment would be an AM2+ board, because you can use your current chip in it and then buy an AM3 chip when you're ready. But any AM3 chip won't operate at its full potential on the AM2+ platform, as we may see in a future article.