AMD Athlon 64 4800+ X2 Energy Efficient Review :: Setup And General Usage

Setup of the system went without incident. Whenever setting up a new system I install the CPU, a stick of memory and the video card to do what is called a First Boot. This allows the user to diagnose early computer problems. Once first POST was done, I installed the Hard disks, the other memory stick, the DVD-ROM and proceeded to install Windows XP off the CD.

Windows XP installed without a hitch. XP requires a SATA F6 floppy to be made off the driver CD for the ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard. The Driver CD has an automated MakeDisk function that means the disk creation can be made outside of using another computer to get the process started.

Once XP was installed, I proceeded to install the drivers and the applications and benchmarks we use for CPU reviews. One thing to note in the Performance section is that the 4800+ EE required new BIOS on the ASUS board as the BIOS on that board was a bit out of date since I last tested a CPU.

Installing Windows Vista is even easier, as the drivers for the ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard SATA controller are already in Vista, so the need for a F6 Floppy disk is completely gone. Just install Windows Vista and go. ASUS has updated drivers on their website if you want the latest drivers and software this is where to go to pick it up.

Dual Core CPUs are designed to work well with multiple applications running at the same time. The release of Windows Vista brings improved performance with Dual Core CPUs, when running multiple applications. Windows Vista Premium has fairly high requirements for the Operating System and a Dual Core CPU is recommended.

The 4800+ operated like a champ with every application that I threw at it. Games that recognized the dual cores include Rainbow Six: Laas Vegas, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, FEAR, and many others. When paired with a 7900GT the games ran flawlessly in Vista.

Much has been said about NVIDIA's Vista drivers but the latest Forceware when combined with the 4800+ allowed me to play the latest games including Stalker and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Las Vegas without issue except for performance of the video card, where an 8800 GTX would be a better fit.

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