Amd socket 939 athlon 64 fx: A Dual-Core farewell to Socket-939

The Brand New Socket 939 AthlonTM64 & AthlonTM64 FX Processor
The AMD Socket 939 AthlonTM64 and AthlonTM64 FX processors are the latest evolution of the AMD Athlon 64 family. This latest Socket 939 processor has built its strength on the well-known AMD64 framework which consisted of 64-bit computing platform, HyperTransport Technology, and integrated memory controller. With improved 1 GHz HyperTransport interface and dual channel DDR400, the revolutionary processor design nsures superior performance on mission critical business applications. «The new generation socket 939 Athlon64/64FX push system performance to utmost level thus greatly enhancing office productivity and providing astonishing, true-to-life digital entertainment experience» said Mr. David Chiang, General Manager of Channel Business of Gigabyte. Collaborate with Athlon64/ 64FX, GA-K8NSNXP-939 delivers unprecedented performance to the desktop platform.

«6 Dual Deluxe»- The Extreme Edition
The «6 Dual Technology», including Dual CPU bandwidth, Dual Channel DDR400, Dual Power System (DPS), Dual Cooling, DualBIOS™, and Dual LAN, has been heavily promoted and gained a great deal of media coverage and consumer approval due to its ability to improve performance and stability of the motherboard. The «6 Dual Deluxe» enriches the «6 Dual Technology» by adding «RAID Deluxe» feature, an innovative RAID function which spans from Serial ATA and Parallel ATA133. Empowered by the nForce3 Ultra, the «RAIDDeluxe» supports up to 6 hard drives (2 serial ATA and 4 ATA133 devices) for RAID 0, 1, 0+1 function. The «RAID Deluxe» delivers truly flexibility and high performance to the platform at the same time.

Diverse Features for Enthusiasts
In addition to «6 Dual Deluxe», this platform had equipped with diverse features for full range of application.

IEEE1394b FireWire interface
For those who enjoy the use of audio/video electronic devices, the GA-K8NSNXP-939 comes complete with the IEEE1394b, otherwise known as «FireWire». The brand new IEEE1394b, powered by remarkable solution of Texas Instruments (TI), enables much higher performance with a data transfer rate of 800 Mbps. This built-in component allows for quick and easy transfer of music, picture and video files from your electronic device to your computer.

8-Channel Audio with Universal Audio Jack (UAJ) design
For music lovers, the GA-K8NSNXP-939 comes with 8-channel audio for stereo surround sound, as well as the Universal Audio Jack (UAJ) for hassle-free audio input installation. Compliant with AC’97, the UAJ function can auto detect the device type and connection status and auto switch signal to the right jack, users won’t need to re-plug out if they plug in the wrong audio jack. The UAJ design provides smart audio experience and truly user-friendly interface to the desktop platform environment.

Abstract: The Athlon 64 4000+ is not clocked faster than its nearest predecessor, but that doesn’t preclude it from obtaining a healthy boost in the benchmarks thanks to 1MB L2 Cache.  85% Rating:    Table of Contents Filed under: CPU / Processors Published:  Author:  External Mfg. Website: AMD Oct 17 2004   M. Dowler   Home > Reviews > CPU / Processors > AMD Athlon64 4000+

AMD Athlon 64 4000+ socket 939 Processor Review

On October the 19th, AMD
officially launched the latest version of its successful Athlon 64 processor
line, the 2.4GHz Athlon 64 4000+. PCstats spent a few weeks with this CPU prior
to its release, and after running the silicon through its paces, we’ve come to a
couple conclusions which we’ll share with you in this review.

As you’re
undoubtedly already aware, the AMD Athlon 64 4000+ is the third Athlon 64 processor to be released
for AMD’s new socket 939 platform, following up on the successes of the Athlon64
3500+ and 3800+. These Athlon 64 processors share the socket 939 form factor with
the high end Athlon 64 FX class, though as you will see later in this review,
the line between the two is beginning to blur.

Interestingly, the Athlon 64 4000+ is
not clocked faster than its nearest predecessor (the Athlon64
3800+, also 2.4GHz) as you might expect, but that doesn’t preclude it from
obtaining a healthy boost
in the benchmarks. Rather than a little bump up to 2.6GHz, the Athlon64 4000+
has had the benefit of some internal core changes to boost its performance. To
be specific, the Athlon 64 4000+ contains twice as much Level 2 Cache memory of
the Athlon64 3800+. In other words, this chip is packing a full 1MB of exclusive
L2.

AMD Athlon64 4000+ Processor Tech Specs Clock: 2.4GHz L1: 124KB L2: 1MB Multipiler: 12x Package: 939-pin organic mPGA Core: 130nm SOI Transistors: 105.9M Die Size: 193mm2 Vcore: 1.5V Thermal Power: 89W Cost: $729USD Further Technical Details: CPU-to-Memory Controller: 2. 40GHz Memory: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller Types of Memory: PC1600, PC2100, PC2700 and PC3200 DDR HyperTransport Links: 1 HyperTransport Spec: 2GHz (2x 1000MHz / DDR) Effective data bandwidth: Up to 14.4 GB/sec (8GB/sec HyperTransport bandwidth plus 6.4GB/sec memory bandwidth) Fab location: AMD’s Fab 30 wafer in Dresden, Germany Ambient Case Temp: 70 degrees Celsius Max Icc (processor current): 57.4A

A 64-bit & 32-bit CPU

When originally introduced in
the summer of 2003, the AMD Athlon 64 processor line signaled the emergence of a
new breed of
desktop 64-bit/32-bit capable
processors. The Athlon 64’s architecture allowed it to operate as a 32-bit processor, or
as a 64-bit processor when future versions of Windows XP-64-bit were to become
available.

The modes as they were called,
included ‘Legacy mode’ which was for 32-bit x86 software, and ‘Long Mode’ which
is made up of two sub modes; ‘Compatibility Mode’ and ’64-bit Mode. ‘

The Compatibility mode is
designed for a 64-bit operating system such as Microsoft’s impending ‘x64
edition’ of Windows XP and Microsoft Server 2003 running 32-bit software. 64-bit
mode is intended for a pure 64-bit environment, both operating system and
software.

These modes of operation allow
the AMD Athlon 64 processor to remain compatible with conventional 32-bit
operating systems and applications, while at the same time allowing software
manufacturers a solid 64-bit platform on which to design the applications and
operating systems of the future. PCstats has recently conducted a few head on
comparisons between these 32-bit and
64-bit modes, which illustrate the performance potential of the Athlon64 quite
nicely.

In its short history, the AMD
Athlon 64 processor has already gone through a few design changes. Starting with
the 754-pin package, AMD has migrated the latest versions of this
processor to a 939-pin package. The Athlon64 4000+ continues to share this
socket 939 form factor with its newest 64-bit cousin, the 2. 6GHz Athlon FX-55.

Though in the past you could
differentiate the Athlon 64 from FX processors by the way their memory
controller operated (single channel for the Athlon 64, dual-channel for the
high-end Athlon FX line), the current socket 939 models of both processors use
dual channel memory controllers. The two processor types also differed in the
past by the amount of Level 2 Cache memory they came equipped with. Older Athlon
FX models had double the Level 2 Cache memory of their more affordable Athlon 64
siblings. This trend has also apparently come to an end, as now both the Athlon
64 4000+ and the Athlon FX-55 sport a full 1MB of Level 2 Cache memory.
Presumably this is to help AMD streamline their manufacturing process.