Athlon 64 FX-53 and Athlon 64 3800+

Athlon 64 FX-53

There are a couple of additions introduced with the Socket 939 platform. The first is a faster HyperTransport link, which runs at 1GHz opposed to 800MHz. And rather than using ceramic microPGA packaging, the new Athlon 64 FX-53 employs the same organic microPGA package as the rest of the Athlon 64 lineup.

The most notable change is of course the 939-pin interface, which eliminates the registered memory requirement inherent to S940. As a result, performance should rise noticeably, as the latencies associated with registered memory (designed with reliability in mind) are eliminated.

Athlon 64 3800+

In addition to the Athlon 64 FX-53, AMD is also unveiling an Athlon 64 3800+, an Athlon 64 3700+, and an Athlon 64 3500+. The 3800+ and 3500+ are both 939-pin chips, while the 3700+ centers on the Socket 754 interface.

New FX-53 and new 3800+, side by side

Again, from the bottom

We’ve already seen a variant of the “Newcastle” core used in the Athlon 64 3000+ and 2800+. Those were 754-pin processors, though, measuring a portly 193 square millimeters. The 3800+ is the first incarnation of Newcastle in a 939-pin package, complete with 512KB of L2 and 128KB of L1 cache running at 2.4GHz. It’s manufactured on 130nm process, consists of 68.5 million transistors, and measure 144 square millimeters. Like the FX-53, AMD’s new Athlon 64 3800+ sports a dual-channel memory controller with up to PC3200 memory support and the same 1GHz HyperTransport link.

The Athlon 64 3500+ boasts the same specification sheet, but runs at 2.2GHz.

Athlon 64 3700+

AMD claims that it will continue releasing processors for the Socket 940 and Socket 754 interfaces even as it focuses attention on S939. More than likely, upcoming Socket 940 chips will be Opteron models, while the 754-pin chips will fill in AMD’s mainstream lineup. The 3700+ lands at the top of that family, resembling previous Athlon 64 processors with 1MB of L2 cache and a 64-bit DDR memory controller. Also clocked at 2.4GHz, the 3700+ employs an 800MHz HyperTransport link and is, essentially, a speed bump of the existing Athlon 64 3400+.