Introduction and Related Info
With the current price war going on between Intel and AMD at the lower-end of the market, consumers are left with more affordable options than ever before. One can argue that there has never been a better time to build a computer or upgrade an aging system, especially with the cost of relatively high-performing hardware reaching attainable levels. And with AMD's recent launch of their first $99 quad-core, enthusiasts have run out of excuses to postpone the jump to multi-core computing.
AMD continues to expand their product line up with mainstream processors at competitive prices with the launch of eight new Athlon II models today. These chips range from dual to quad-core varieties and feature lower power consumption as well. Today, we will be looking at two variants from this launch, the dual core Athlon II X2 240e and triple core X3 435 processors. Read on to find out what these new products have to offer.
AMD Athlon II Series Processor
|
| Athlon II X2 |
Athlon II X3 | |
| Model Core Frequency HyperTransport 3.0 Technology Link Clock Multiplier TDP (Thermal Design Power) Number of CPU Cores L1 Cache L2 Cache L3 Cache Core Voltage (VID) Manufacturing Process Total Die Size Packaging Socket Compatibility Memory Type AMD PowerNow! Technology MSRP |
240e 2.8 GHz 4000 GT/s 14x 45W 2 256KB (2 x 128K) 2MB (2 x 1MB) - 0.775 - 1.35V 45nm 117.5mm² AM3 938-pin AM2+, AM3 DDR2, DDR3 3.0 $77 |
435 2.9 GHz 4000 GT/s 14.5x 95W 3 384KB (3 x 128KB) 1.5MB (3 x 512MB) - 0.875 - 1.425V 45nm 169mm² AM3 938-pin AM2+, AM3 DDR2, DDR3 3.0 $87 |
The X2 240e and X3 435 processors are mainstream offerings that fall within AMD's Athlon II series. Various models within the platform have been readily available for a while and the new models are simply filling certain gaps within the line up. HotHardware has already covered earlier models extensively in previous articles, so we'll refrain from repeating the same information. However, we do recommend that you take a look at a few recent articles to get familiar with the technology and components that comprise AMD's product line up.
- AMD Athlon X4 Debut: Enter the $99 Quad-Core
- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU Review
- AMD 785G Chipset Launch: ASUS and Gigabyte
- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Processor
- Enter The Dragon: AMD Phenom II X4 940
- AMD Phenom II X4 810 and X3 720 BE Processors
- AMD 790GX Chipset Platform Launch
- AMD 780G Chipset and Athlon X2 4850e Preview
Let's take a closer look at what these new models bring to the table and how well they perform in our benchmarks.