All of AMD’s Athlon series just got an update, the X4 series gets the 640 and 610e, the X3 adds the 445 and the 415e and the X2 now has a 260 and 245e. The ‘e’ you see in those names denotes a 45W processor, great for low voltage and low heat. Josh got his hands on the 3.0 GHz X4 620 and the 3.2 GHz X2 260, which will cost $122 and $76 respectively. Neither processor is going to overtake the Core i7 series for the performance crown but AMD is gaining a lead in the performance per dollar category. You also get a chance to see the new MSI 890GXM-G65in action.
“AMD is milking the Athlon II processors for all they are worth, and it is helping AMD to keep afloat in the face of a very aggressive and competent Intel. While the Phenom II processors are faster, they are more expensive to produce. The Athlon II takes all the experience learned from manufacturing the larger, more complex Phenom IIs and puts it into a compact package that sells for a low price, yet performs nearly as good as anything else out there.”Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
- AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ TechwareLabs
- AMD Athlon II X4 640 Socket AM3 Processor Review @ EXTREME Overclocking
- AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ PureOverclock
- AMD Phenom II X6 1090T OC Scaling With Voltage/Cooling @ Madshrimps
- AMD Athlon II X3 440 Tri-Core Processor Video Review @ eTeknix
- AMD Athlon II X2 260 Dual Core Processor Performance Review @ Legit Review
- CPU Performance Comparison Guide Rev. 1.6 @ TechARP
- Intel Core i7-975 EE and Core i5-750 in Contemporary Games @ X-bit Labs
