The AMD Athlon-64 FX-53 2.4GHz
Using the ZIF Socket 940 interface, which is the same as their Opteron platform and using a CPU cooler designed much along the same lines as their P4 rivals. AMD has made a good move in changing the way they manufacture and develop their CPU's, as previously many a good AMD chip was wrecked or damaged by the unwitting Joe who clamped down too hard on his/her cooling unit. Memory support now has jumped from 333MHz to 400MHz a change from the FX-51 launch and is surely going to be a factor in the overall performance. A move from 2.2GHZ to 2.4GHz is not a great leap but it does show AMD breaking their 2.2GHz barrier again and this small 200GHz speed increase may make more difference than you might think.
The FX-53 CPU is still based upon the 0.13um design, although later this year they are supposed to change over to the 0.09um process like the Prescott CPU from Intel only with hopefully better results. The number of transistors on the die for the FX 53 is 105.9 million. This compares to Intel's latest Extreme Edition CPU having 173 million. The L1 cache is 128k, split into 64k Code Cache+64k Data cache. This compares most favorably to Intel's P4E L1 cache of 16 Kilobytes. The L2 cache is 1MB, which is the same amount as Intel's Prescott's at the moment. The memory controller on the FX53 is the same as that on the Opteron and FX 51 CPUs. This means the system can only use registered DDR or registered ECC DDR memory. The other important factor on the memory controller of the FX 53 is that it supports dual channel memory. What this means is that the chipset will allow up to 6.4 GB/second of memory bandwidth (2x64 bit/8x400 MHz) =6.4 GB. The Athlon 64 chip has a single 64-bit channel of memory allowing up to 3.2 GB/second memory bandwidth.
- L1 Cache Size: 64KB data + 64KB instruction = 128KB Total
- L2 Cache Size: 1MB (exclusive)
- CPU Core Frequency: 2.40GHz
- CPU to Memory Controller: 2.40GHz
- Memory: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller
- Types of Memory: PC1600, PC2100, PC2700 and PC3200 Registered DDR memory
- HyperTransport Links: 1
- Packaging: 940-pin ceramic micro PGA
- Fab location: AMD's Fab 30 wafer fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany
- Process Technology: 130nm (.13-micron) Silicon on Insulator (SOI)
- Approximate Transistor count: 105.9 million
- Approximate Die Size: 193mm squared
- Nominal Voltage: 1.50 V
- Max Ambient Case Temp: 70 degrees Celsius
- Max Thermal Power: 89 W
- Max Icc (processor current): 57.4A
Current Motherboard Support
- Asus SK8N
- Asus SK8V
- MSI K8T Master1
- Leadtek K8NW
- Gigabyte K8NNXP-940
The Intel 3.4GHz XE
Based around the ZIF Socket 754 interface and about the most supported socket on the planet, Intel has not changed their technology in the Northwood Core in quite some time. The 3.4GHZ XE is the flagship CPU of the Intel desktop lineup, sort of the Enterprise of the desktop CPU world. The P4EE or 3.4GHz Extreme Edition CPU is essentially the same CPU as its other Northwood brothers with an added L3 cache. The L2 cache of 512MB found in the standard Northwood design is the same here with the 2MB of L3 found in the Extreme Edition series being the primary difference and attraction.
Intel has already moved to the 0.09um process, but the chip was a hit and miss affair as it ran hot and did not perform on today's tests any faster than its cousin the Northwood Core chip. The Extreme Edition runs very cool and needs no special cooling to keep it within reasonable temperatures. The CPU features HT or Hyper-Threading technology along with Streaming SIMD Extensions - SSE2 as well as 4GB of addressable memory space. Intel MMX technology is present and Intel uses an 800MHz Quad-pumped FSB including dual channel memory support. Supported by the i865 and i875 chipsets this CPU is supported by more boards than we can list and the i865 is currently the highest volume mover in the desktop environment.
- .13 micron manufacturing process
- Hyperthreading Technology
- 512kB on chip, Full Speed L2 Cache
- 2MB on chip, Full Speed L3 Cache
- 8KB L1 Data Cache
- Streaming SIMD Extensions - SSE2 Only
- 20 stage "Hyper Pipelined" Technology
- 800MHz "Quad Pumped" Front Side Bus
- Rapid Execution Engine - ALU clocked at 2X frequency of core
- 128bit Floating Point/Multimedia unit
- Intel "NetBurst" micro-architecture
- Supported by the Intel® i875P and i865G chipsets, with Hyperthreading support
- Intel® MMX™ media enhancement technology
- Memory cacheability up to 4 GB of addressable memory space and system memory scalability up to 64 GB of physical memory
- 1.525 - 1.6V operating voltage range
- 102.9 Watts max power dissipation
- Transistor count: 178 million
- Die size: 237 mm2
