Athlon64 3000+, do we really need 1MB L2 cache??

[srg]

Hi

http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1937

According to these benchmarks at Anandtech, the A64 3000+ with it's 512KB L2 cache has basically the same performance as the 3200+ at HALF THE PRICE!!!!!

And it even gives the P4 3.2GHz a run for it's money again at half the price.

The value for money of this thing (hoping that the Anandtech scores are accurate) is bloody marvelouse!


I have viewed this site on my Am386DX-40, 20MB RAM, OPTi 392 chipset, Cirrus Logic ISA graphics on Windows 95 OSR2 with IE4 it works!!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by srg on 12/23/03 01:30 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TheRod]

I started a thread about the new Tom's article :
<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=163233#163233" target="_new">http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=163233#163233</A>

In this post, I reported this AnandTech review and I must say that I think Athlon 64 3000+ was overdue and it's the the CPU for HIGH performance right now. It's cheap and it's fast. The only concern some people have is the Socket 754 platform is not the best AMD64 platform right now!

But, I don't care, I would buy one today if I had the money and the need to upgrade. It's a cheap high performance platform that is ready for 64bit computing. I wish this new CPU will boost the MB availability, here in Canada there is not a lot of store that promote the AMD64 platform. They usually advertise a couple of Opteron with 1 or 2 MB... That's it!

--
Would you buy a GPS enabled soap bar?

 

[Mephistopheles]

Yes, you're right, the main concern is the socket 754 platform... AMD wants to phase it out...

I wanted to buy a new computer, but, since I have no urgent need for a faster machine (I barely have the money to do so anyway), I think I'll wait. A64 3000 is an excellent choice... But I'll just wait and be sure...

I think I'm still waiting for titles like Doom 3 to arrive, and I'll probably only upgrade by mid-2004 to whatever feels best by then. Scotty will be out, and AMD will have enhanced their product offerings as well...

<font color=red><b>M</b></font color=red>ephistopheles

 

[TheRod]

But even if they want to "kill" this platform I don't think it's a bad thing to recommend the Athlon 64 3000+. Because, usually people overestimate the platform upgradability.

MY LITTLE UPGRADE STORY

When I bought my first system an AMD K6 233MHz, I tought :
"Good! I will upgrade to 450MHz with this MB.".
Upgrade arrived, I bought a P3 700MHz and I said to myself :
"Good, I will be able to get a P3 933MHz or even 1000MHz on this MB.".
Upgrade arrivded, I bought my current Athlon XP 1800+ and I said to myself :
"Good, I will be able to get a 3000+/3200+".
And now, I know that when upgrade time will come, I will say :
"Well, to get my XP 3200+, I must get DDR400 too (I only have DDR333). Humm... Forget it! I will buy an Athlon64 3000+/3200+ the motherboard is only 100$."

You know the drill...

--
Would you buy a GPS enabled soap bar?

 

[Mephistopheles]

Ummm... actually, I agree with you!

But I actually did upgrade my video card from a Riva TNT 2 to GeForce Ti4200 some time ago... I've never done a major processor/mobo/memory upgrade! I think I also increased system memory from 128MB to 256 once... but that's about it.

Still, I think I'll keep my money for now and only buy a new computer when I really need it. My Ti4200-equipped P3 933Mhz is not too bad as of now... But I haven't played most recent games anyway. That's why I'm waiting for Doom 3 - I'm a huge doom fan.

<font color=red><b>M</b></font color=red>ephistopheles

 

[ytoledano]

Actually, I think you had a good upgrade option from the P3 700 to P3 1.4/1.3 with the Tualatin core and 512KB of cache with a 10$ adapter.

I know what everyone's been wondering - 2^33634943-1 IS NOT PRIME. Now, wasn't that worth running <A HREF="http://www.mersenne.org" target="_new">Prime95</A> for a month to know?

 

[Mephistopheles]

Well, anyway, PCs are more tailored to the user than to the company that sells them. It's somewhat revolting, for example, that apple sells G5s in 1.6, 1.8 and dual 2.0Ghz options, but they don't offer you dual 1.6s or single 2.0Ghz - which would, by the way, be more balanced options!...

<font color=red><b>M</b></font color=red>ephistopheles