Athlon II X3 435: AMD's Three-Core, 2.9 GHz, $87 Triple-Threat
Today AMD introduces what might turn out to be the ideal budget CPU, with three cores for multi-threading, a relatively high 2.9 GHz clock speed, and an impressive sub-$90 price tag. How does it stand up to the rest of the company's Athlon and Phenom IIs?
AMD Adds Low-Power CPUs To The Lineup
Not content with releasing the new Athlon II X3 models alone, AMD has augmented its stable with a host of new low-power CPU options based on the Athlon II lineup:
Athlon II Product Lineup - Low-Power Models | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CPU: | Athlon II X2 235e | Athlon II X2 240e | Athlon II X3 400e | Athlon II X3 405e | Athlon II X4 600e | Athlon II X4 605e |
Codename: | Regor | Regor | Rana | Rana | Propus | Propus |
Process: | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm | 45nm |
CPU Cores: | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
Multiplier: | 13.5 | 14 | 11 | 11.5 | 11 | 11.5 |
Clock Speed: | 2.7 GHz | 2.8 GHz | 2.2 GHz | 2.3 GHz | 2.2 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
Socket: | AM2+/AM3 | AM2+/AM3 | AM2+/AM3 | AM2+/AM3 | AM2+/AM3 | AM2+/AM3 |
L1 Cache: | 2 x 128KB | 2 x 128KB | 3 x 128KB | 3 x 128KB | 4 x 128KB | 4 x 128KB |
L2 Cache: | 2 x 1MB | 2 x 1MB | 3 x 512KB | 3 x 512KB | 4 x 512KB | 4 x 512KB |
L3 Cache: | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Hypertransport: | 4,000 MHz | 4,000 MHz | 4,000 MHz | 4,000 MHz | 4,000 MHz | 4,000 MHz |
Thermal Envelope: | 45W | 45W | 45W | 45W | 45W | 45W |
Price (MSRP): | $69 | $77 | $97 | $102 | $133 | $143 |
All of these new models boast the same maximum power draw, a low 45W TDP. Most notably, we can see that the Athlon II X4 605e employs the lowest power requirements from a consumer-grade quad-core CPU to date. Maximum power is very close to the 40W Opteron EE, and this is certainly an attractive feature for companies with large workstation deployments.
As we'll see in the power benchmarks later, when paired with a power-sipping integrated graphics processor like the 785G, these processors can contribute to a system with a very small energy footprint.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Current page: AMD Adds Low-Power CPUs To The Lineup
Prev Page The 'New' Athlon II X3 Next Page Overclocking The Athlon II X3 435-
ominous prime AMD is really thriving in the budget sector, I wonder how the i3's will affect the market. I hope AMD can get back to head to head with Intel on the high end though.Reply -
rdawise Smart move by AMD by attacking the budget crowd (especially around the holiday season). I am surprised how well this thing did against the X2 550! Seems like a good candidate for a budget gaming/multipurpose build. Any release dates available (for NewEgg)?Reply -
tacoslave this is awesome but (and its a big one) i kinda wanted to see something that pwns intels core i7 in everything. Kind of like what they are doing in the graphics department but total domination. How long will i wait!!!Reply -
lemonade4 http://media.bestofmicro.com/O/H/227681/original/Athlon%20II%20X3%20CPU-Z%20Stock.jpgReply
2 cores 2 threads? -
JonathanDeane 3 cores at almost 3Ghz for this cheap? Hmmm not a huge AMD fan but this is plenty of CPU for most people. I would snap one up if I was building a system right now.Reply -
DokkRokken That's one impressive little chip! Pair this with a 770 chipset and you'd have the basis for a cheap and cheerful gaming PC!Reply -
cleeve lemonade4http://media.bestofmicro.com/O/H/2 0Stock.jpg2 cores 2 threads?Reply
Aha! Thanks for catching that. After I had done the testing I was playing around with disabling CPU cores in the OS, and I forgot to turn them back on to take the screenshot. Fixed!