Review: AMD Athlon XP2200+ (.13 Micron)

I like to champion buying intelligently when it comes to your processor and system rather than generalise too much. If Athlon XP suits the work you'll be doing for the majority of your time using the PC, you buy it. If games are your thing, XP2200+ wont disappoint. Heavy FPU work is where this CPU excels and it has a decent turn of speed in media work too if you like to dabble.

AMD had the opportunity to give the processor a welcome boost in performance with a jump in front side bus speed but they declined. As mentioned earlier, they are somewhat crippling the CPU at 133MHz FSB as the multiplier gets bigger and it seems that only overclockers and tweakers with the ability to drop the multiplier and up the FSB will get the real benefits from the increase in CPU clock speed over XP2100+.

The test processor was multiplier unlocked with all L1 bridges intact however it's not clear until they become generally available if that will be the case on all XP2200+'s.

The move to 0.13u shouldn't be forgotten either with the drop in operating voltage and therefore power consumption and running temperature all being highly welcome. The other big advantage to a process drop is the extra headroom in overclocking.

Many people are keen to see what kind of extra ceiling room these new CPU's have. It wouldn't be right to overlook the overclocking performance so while this wont be in depth, a quick WCPUID shot of what was obtainable with air cooling and 1.7V (up from 1.65V stock) should give you some idea of what they can do. It's best to err on the side of caution when predicting overclocking performance since often the manufacturer will send you a nicer sample than most.

So the cooling used was a Swiftech MCX762 and an 80mm Panaflo L1A low noise fan running at 7V. Underpowering the fan on a powerful heatsink (my only Socket A sink available during testing) lets you see what average air cooling will do with XP2200+.



That speed was stable running everything bar Prime95 for extended periods of time. While not 100% stable, it was 95% of the way there on mediocre air cooling. Top temperature recorded at 1970MHz was 52c at 100% load from the Gigabyte socket thermistor. The overclockers will have fun with these :)

Overall, it's a testbed for AMD at 0.13u and a highly capable processor to boot. Excellent performance in all areas and only the front side bus speed to really hold it back.

Cost is your final worry. These CPU's wont be cheap, expect to pay over £250 for one in the UK. Anything under that will be a big bonus. Our thanks to AMD for the sample and the opportunity to look at their first 0.13u product, one that signifies that AMD are on track for their other 0.13u offerings later in the year.

I wont generalise and say if it's 'better' than P4 2.4B or 2.53B, look at the benchmarks and decide for yourself!

Pro's

Massively fast FPU and overall performance
Drop in voltage, power consumption and temperature
Compatible with the latest motherboards, just swap it in

Con's

Price
Desperate for more memory bandwidth! If you get XP2200+ and you're a tweaker or clocker, be kind and feed it!