Athlon 64 4000+

Athlon 64 4000+

Although AMD will insist that the Athlon 64’s nomenclature has nothing to do with drawing comparisons between Intel’s obsession with clock frequency, it’s somewhat ironic that AMD is unveiling an Athlon 64 4000+ amidst rumors that Intel has canceled the 4 GHz Pentium 4.

But the anti-climactic truth of the matter is that AMD’s Athlon 64 4000+ isn’t anything new, really. Rather, it’s the Athlon 64 FX-53 we’ve grown to know, dressed up with an impressive mainstream model name. The 4000+ runs at 2.4 GHz and, like the Athlon 64 FX-55, is manufactured on Dresden’s 130nm lithography process. It sports the familiar 89W power specification and should work well with any existing heatsink approved for the Athlon 64 FX.

With an intimate knowledge of the Athlon 64 FX-53, there isn’t much that will surprise you about the Athlon 64 4000+. It has a 1MB L2 cache along with the 128KB combined L1 storage. There’s an integrated, 128-bit DDR memory controller with support for up to DDR400. Memory modules are installed as pairs, and AMD insists that the onboard memory controller works best at low latencies. Corsair’s CAS 2-2-2 XL modules currently yield the best performance, complete with 1T command rates.

The Athlon 64 4000+ features the same Socket 939 interface and 1 GHz HyperTransport link with 8 GBps of theoretical throughput to external core logic. It supports Enhanced Virus Protection through Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Cool’n’Quiet with Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

Although it doesn’t allow higher multiplier settings like the Athlon 64 FX, AMD’s Athlon 64 4000+ does enable lower options, allowing you to drop the multiplier in favor of a higher bus setting.

Athlon 64 4000+

The Athlon 64 4000+ sells for $729 – not exactly what you’d call a mainstream price. In fact, that’s the price AMD formerly affixed to its FX-family before increasing the price by $100. You could technically view that as a value, since it’s essentially an Athlon 64 FX-53 with a mainstream name. Or, you might see it as a marketing ploy. After all, with the FX-55 in full force, prices on the actual FX-53 will undoubtedly drop. And indeed, the FX-53, in retail form, already sells for as low as $650 online.