Phenom Tri-Core vs. Athlon XP

[jalu6]

So I was putting together a new build (for a friend) using the Athlon XP 6000+ Black Edition, but before I was able to order it, Newegg deactivated the item. The regular 125W 6000+ (3.1 Ghz) is still available, but for only a few dollars more, they are selling a 2.1Ghz Phenom.

Anyway, I know clock speed isnt all that important these days, but I just wanted to make sure I'll get better performance from a Phenom before I buy it.

Also, if anyone has any other suggestions for a good AMD processor (as close to $100 as possible) let me know!

[n25philly]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244

$110 with free shipping. And yes you will get much better performance from a phenom than an Athlon xp

[Nogib]

Not to nitpick too much, but I really hope you meant Athlon 64 X2 and not XP. Lol

[jalu6]

Ooops. Yeah. I meant Athlon X2. Thanks for the link n25philly, I think I'm going to go with that one.

[Kayden]

Why not just go with a Phenom 2? Four cores and a new socket that (should) be around a while. I think it also finally brings DDR3 support to AMD.

[RagingShadow07]

AMD just released some of its Phenom II triple-cores. The 45nm brought the price down to almost Phenom X3 prices, but more cache and higher clock speeds makes the new X3's outperform the old ones. You could get a 2.6GHZ three-core processor for 129 plus shipping on Newegg.

[epobirs]

Phenom had serious problems, most of which are fixed in Phenom II. Unless cheap is a monumentally higher priority than works right, hold out for Phenom II.

Of course, if you really want it to work right, build on Intel. It cost more but is worth it in the long term, especially if you're going to be called upon to support this system.

[joemoedee]

The TLB issue is fixed on the old Phenom, sorta, in BIOS on most motherboards. I would still avoid them.

Outside of that, AMD is massively reliable and typically quite good bang for the buck. I've used their CPUs since 1996.

For Phenom II in the price point, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648

I wouldn't completely count out the Athlon X2. I mean, for $67 bucks you got a lot of cpu. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300

[playing mantis]

The TLB issue is fixed on the old Phenom, sorta, in BIOS on most motherboards. I would still avoid them.

Outside of that, AMD is massively reliable and typically quite good bang for the buck. I've used their CPUs since 1996.

For Phenom II in the price point, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648

I wouldn't completely count out the Athlon X2. I mean, for $67 bucks you got a lot of cpu. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300

Just wanted to clarify the Phenom problems and when they were fixed.

The original Phenoms were labeled 9400, 9500, 9600, etc. These procs have the TLB bug. There is a workaround, but it degrades performance by about 13% in most areas, and about 70% in file compression (winzip, winrar, etc.).

Most home PCs would probably never get the BSOD from TLB bug. There is a way to disable the fix, if your motherboard BIOS comes with it built in (which it will).

AMD revised the design to fix the problem, and changed the naming convention. TLB free (supposedly) Phenoms will be marked 9450, 9550, 9650, etc.

Prices, as always are down yet again. AMD is a pretty good price to performance choice.

[epobirs]

The implementation of Cool & Quiet on the Phenom is seriously broken and is never going to be fixed. This is dealt with in the Phenom II design.

[Kayden]

C&C was really flaky on the X2 line as well. At least, on the ones I used.