Thoughts, where2buy, right2reply
What's evident is that the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+, clocked in at 3GHz, is not the fastest CPU around. That honour falls squarely on Intel's Core 2 family, headlined by Core 2 Extreme QX6700 and X6800 quad- and dual-core processors, respectively.AMD's understood that it cannot wrestle the performance crown from Intel with its present K8 architecture and has opted to launch its fastest-ever consumer-level processor at £300. Reading between the lines, the green team simply cannot charge the usual £600 for a range-topping CPU that it clearly knows cannot compete at the very highest level. Further, AMD's made no architectural changes when compared with other processors high in the X2 range, suggesting that the 3.0GHz part is simply a speed-binned stopgap until native quad-core Barcelona arrives in April.
Taking price into consideration we see that the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (125W TDP) still falls behind Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (65W TDP) in the majority of our benchmarks, and that, folks, is the main problem in recommending it - it's both slower than the competition's best and midrange CPUs.
Bottom line - the online pricing is realistic and the AM2 form factor makes a lot more sense than the Socket-F Quad-FX, yet K8-class technology just does not have the muscle to make it a compelling choice even at £300.
HEXUS.certification
The AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ receives HEXUS certification that confirms it works as advertised and completed all of our tests without failure. This is not a recommendation to buy, however.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
