Page 2
Today's processor tested is on fact the new Athlon 64 4000+ (K8 ClawHammer) 90nm processor, it was released roughly three months ago and still is a rather difficult to find/buy product. Not only availability is an issue, also it's price as at this very moment you still need to chip in 500-600 euros for this CPU. Undoubtedly you are already aware that the new 4000+ has been released for Socket 939 platforms only. Funnily enough when you look at the Athlon 64 3800+ and compare it with the 4000+ you'll immediately notice that both processors run at the same frequency... 2400 MHz. Weird but true, why is the 4000+ faster then you might ask. Simple, internal CPU changes, namely the Level 2 cache was increased from 512 to a big 1MB L2 cache giving it an edge.
Technical Specifications
- Clock: 2.4GHz
- L1: 124KB
- L2: 1MB
- Multipiler: 12x
- Package: 939-pin
- organic mPGA
- Core: 90 nm SOI
- Transistors: 105.9M
- Die Size: 193mm2
- Vcore: 1.5V
- Thermal Power: 89W
The best thing about the processor is of course that it's already compatible with 64-bit platforms. We're not quite ready yet as we are all awaiting the final release of Windows XP 64-bit but that OS is coming sooner then you think. Until that time, the CPU will run in its legacy 32-bit x86 mode. Optimal compatibility without performance loss, that's key factor here.
As stated above the Athlon 64 4000+ at a default clock of 2.4 GHz and has 1 MB level 2 cache memory. It uses an integrated, dual-channel 128 wide memory controller for fast DDR memory up to PC3200 (DDR400). Next to that it has a lovely Hypertransoprt link to the mainboard Northbridge at an up and down 1 GHz frequency. For the tweakers among you, the Min/Max Core Voltage is 1.500V / 1.550V.
| Specification | Athlon 64 FX-55 | Athlon 64 FX-53 | Athlon 64 4000+ | Athlon 64 3800+ | Athlon 64 3500+ |
| L1 Cache Size | 64KB data & 64KB instruction =128KB total | ||||
| L2 Cache Size | 1MB | 512KB | |||
| CPU Core Frequency | 2600MHz | 2400MHz | 2400MHz | 2400MHz | 2200MHz |
| HyperTransport Specification | 2000MHz (2x 1000MHz DDR) | ||||
| Fabrication Process | 130nm/90nm SOI (Silicon On Insulator) | ||||
| Transistor Count | ~105.9 million | ~68.5 million | |||
| Die Size | 193mm² | 144mm² | |||
| Core Voltage | 1.50V | ||||
| Max. Thermal Power | 104 W | 89 W | |||
The moment the Athlon 64 4000+ was released AMD also released the latest ultra high-end Athlon FX silicon. There are many deja-vu's here. Basically we are looking at the same processor, the FX-55 runs at 2600 MHz. Funnily enough both CPU's have 106 million transistors, that one is 100 bucks more expensive though.
