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Great chip for not a lot of $$$$

» Pros

-one of the fastest gaming procs for the money
-good overclocker
-runs cool and quiet
-price
-stability
-good for multitasking
-socket 939

» Cons

-slower than Intel in application tests
-1mb cashe would be nice, but only a minor annoyance.

» Review

I've had this proc for quite some time now and let me tell you that I am extremely happy that I did not purchase the FX-53 or the 3800+ over this like I was planning to. Not only did this proc cost me half the price of the FX and was $300 cheaper than the 3800+, but I get nearly the exact same performance from the 3500+ overclocked to 2.4Ghz as the FX proc(I am however using an X800XT PE card with it). Once you pair it with a slower last generation card, you will most likely notice the difference between this one and the other two. Pairing this cpu with a top of the line card however, and the performance differences will be minor.

This processor runs very quiet and doesn't cause my system to fill up with excessive heat, even with the stock fan/heatsink combo. Overclockers might want to uprade the heatsink/fan just in case. I overclocked mine to 2.4Ghz and I didn't even notice any temperature changes in my case. Buying a bigger heatsink/fan combo might be a good idea. I currently keep the cpu at the stock 2.2Ghz until I get a better heatsink/fan, I overclocked it just for the sake of this review.

This cpu runs games like no other and does well in application tests as well - although not as fast as P4 in apps. 1 meg of cashe would have improved things a bit, but it doesn't bug me much at all. The bottom line is that this proc is meant for gaming heads that demand great performance in the latest games like Doom 3 and the upcoming HL2.

Here's the bottom line: If you're a gaming nut who can never get enough performance and acquires games faster than he can play them but doesn't want to blow their cash on the ridicuously priced FX-53, then the Athlon 64 3500+ is definitely for you. However if you are strictly work and no play, then a P4 might be a wiser decision.