The Cat is Finally Out of the Bag - X2 6000+

AMD's Athlon 64 X2 series has seen a proliferation of many new models in the last two months, bringing customers many more options to build their new system upon. Expanding both on the low and high-end scales of their successful dual-core processor series, AMD now has a vast (and confusing) lineup to fulfill almost every price point to configure a computer system. Focusing on the high-end, there have been some silent additions to the lineup such as the Athlon 64 X2 5200+ late last year, and just earlier this month, we saw speedier models such as the Athlon 64 X2 5400+ and X2 5600+. Today, AMD hits another milestone with the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ model - their first 3GHz dual-core processor (discounting the earlier launched FX-74 for the pseudo quad-core platform).

6000+ is an impressive sounding model number, but for all intents, the processor model numbers carry little meaning these days, but it still does a dandy job to bamboozle the less-informed. The Athlon 64 X2 6000+ is equipped with 2MB of full speed L2 cache and based on the Windsor core, this 3GHz processor is essentially the rumored Athlon 64 FX-64, which we 'previewed' to readers over half a year back . So yes, the FX-64 is alive and kicking finally, but with the start of the Quad FX platform, only processors for this platform bear the FX nomenclature and the stand-alone dual-core processors fall under the Athlon 64 X2 lineup - which is a good thing in our opinion to do away with the differentiated naming scheme for their fastest model.

AMD's High-end Dual-Core (Socket AM2) Processor Details
Processor Model / Processor Characteristics	Clock Speed	L2 Cache	Max TDP (W)	Price
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+	3.0GHz	1MB x 2	89	US$464
AMD Athlon 64 FX-62	2.8GHz	1MB x 2	125	US$713
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+	2.8GHz	1MB x 2	89	US$326
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+	2.8GHz	512KB x 2	89	US$267
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+	2.6GHz	1MB x 2	89	US$232
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+	2.6GHz	512KB x 2	65	US$222
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+	2.6GHz	512KB x 2	89	US$222

So what crazy wattage can we expect out of the new Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processor? Fear not as AMD has been fine-tuning the manufacturing process and of course tweaking the processors with various steppings along the way. The result? The Athlon 64 X2 6000+ shares the same 125W TDP as the Athlon 64 FX-62 processor. In fact, the FX-62 is now available in an 89W TDP variant which is known as the Athlon 64 X2 5600+. While we don't have the X2 5600+ at hand to try our hand to verify AMD's claims, we do have the X2 6000+, which is the highlight today and will be under close scrutiny with the FX-62 and Intel's stable of Core 2 Duo processors.

High-End Dual-Core Processors Compared
Processor Name	AMD Athlon 64 X2	AMD Athlon 64 FX	Core 2 Extreme (dual-core)	Core 2 Duo
Processor Model	6000+	FX-62	X6800	E6600, E6700
Processor Frequency	3.0GHz	2.8GHz	2.93GHz	2.40GHz, 2.67GHz
No. of Cores	2	2	2	2
Front Side Bus (MHz)	-	-	1066	1066
HyperTransport Bus	1GHz (2000MT/s)	1GHz (2000MT/s)	-	-
L1 Cache (data + instruction)	(64KB + 64KB) x 2	(64KB + 64KB) x 2	(32KB + 32KB) x 2	(32KB + 32KB) x 2
L2 Cache	1MB x 2	1MB x 2	4MB	4MB
Memory Controller	Integrated Dual Channel (up to DDR2-800)	Integrated Dual Channel (up to DDR2-800)	External Dual Channel (up to DDR2-800)	External Dual Channel (up to DDR2-800)
VID (V)	1.35 - 1.40	1.35 - 1.40	0.85 - 1.3625	0.85 - 1.3625
Icc (max) (A)	90.4	90.4	90	75
TDP (W)	125	125	75	65
Execute Disable Bit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Intel EM64T / AMD64	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) / AMD Cool 'n' Quiet	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Virtualization Technology	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Packaging	AM2	AM2	LGA775	LGA775
Process Technology	90nm SOI	90nm SOI	65nm	65nm
Processor Codename	Windsor	Windsor	Conroe	Conroe
Die Size	230mm²	230mm²	143mm²	143mm²
No. of Transistors	227.4 million	227.4 million	291 million	291 million

The FX-64 Lives! (AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+)

The Cat is Finally Out of the Bag - X2 6000+

The Cat is Finally Out of the Bag - X2 6000+