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The
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ processor is the smoothest and fastest processor
that I can afford at this point in time. Even though I paid about a hundred
dollars more to get it just two weeks before it went on sale, I am very happy
with it. When I think about it, I curse myself for not being able to wait to get
this process; I had been looking to buy this process for over six months and I
just could not hold on any longer. I could have waited another two weeks and
saved a hundred bucks, but it is all good. I will try my best to get all of the
most helpful information on this review, but since it is my first about
processors I may miss some information.
Please refer to the
How to purchase a processor guide for
full details on what questions to ask yourself before purchasing a processor.
INSTALLATION :
The installation was as easy as always when it comes to AMD processors. I
purchased the Asus A8V
Deluxe motherboard to go with this processor since I was upgrading
from my old AMD Athlon
2500+ on an Asus
A7N8X motherboard. The easy installation guide that is in the box
comes in handy if you are doing this for the first time. The guide clearly
guides you step-by-step on what to do to properly install you processor.
After installing the processor, you can either choose to install the stock heat
sink (which is also perfectly good if you do not plan to overclock) or one of
you favorites that will keep you processor cool and performing at its best. One
tip I would like to give you if you are planning to install it yourself; use
Arctic Silver thermal grease when installing the heatsink.
Now when you boot-up for the first time with this processor, you would probably
have to clear your CMOS to make sure you start out with a clean system. Then
just install your operating system or if you already have an operating system
install, just boot up. One thing to keep in mind when booting for the first time
is to keep an eye on the processor temperature (specially if you used a
different heatsink and overclocked).
I had some trouble booting the first time because the memory cards I had were
not compatible with the mother board. I figured that out after about an hour of
tweaking the CMOS settings. All the motherboard told me was that “System Failed
Due To CPU Overclocking.” I did call Asus customer support and they said it
would be the memory modules. After I installed some new memory sticks it worked
fine.
THE FEATURES I LIKE :
Two of the features I like the most are AMD's Cool N' Quiet and Enhanced Virus
Protection technologies.
The Cool N’ Quiet technology that helps to reduce noise and power consumption by
the processor. It automatically throttles the processor speed along with a
thermally controlled heatsink fan(s). When the processor is not being used that
much, it reduces the processor and the heatsink fan(s) speed to reduce the
amount of heat and noise this is produced by the processor and the fan(s).
Enhanced Virus Protection technology is only on AMD’s Athlon 64 processors. It
is designed to prevent many viruses from infecting your computer. Enhanced Virus
Protection works together with Microsoft's Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. When
enabled the operating system watches for a lot of activities that often imply a
virus has infected the computer.
Other than these two newer technologies the processor supports the standard
Athlon 64 features including SSE2, a 1000MHz (up and down stream) Hypertransport
link to motherboard, integrated dual channel memory controller, 8 extra 64-bit
registers and other very useful features.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE :
I have had this processor for just over a month now and it has not yet given me
any problems. It does not overheat (I did not overclock yet) ever. I did notice
a great difference in speed from the
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ that I upgraded from. This
processor blows all others far far away.
I performed some benchmarks with 3DMark 03 and 3DMark 05. I got a score of 5885
and with 3DMark 05 and 12657 with 3DMark 03 (actual data). My old
AMD Athlon XP 2500+
used to get around 6573 for 3DMark 03 and 1678 on 3DMark 05 (actual data). These
benchmarks are accurate as of September 10th, 2005. These benchmarks were
performed on my new system (see specs below).
My computer runs way faster than my
2500+ and provides me with the capability of
64-bit computing for the future. I have installed Windows XP Pro SP2, Windows XP
64-Bit Beta, and Fedora Linux on my computer and even with two Windows
installations on one hard drive, this processor does not even blink. Fedora
Linux runs smooth and without any problems.
SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS :
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 4000+
Processor Speed: 2.4GHz (normal) / 2.64GHz (Oc'd)
HeatSink: ThermalTake Silent Tower
Video Card:
PNY Verto GeForce 6800GT
Memory: 3 x
Kingstone PC3200 CL2.5 512MB (1.5GB)
Hard Drive: 1 x 40GB / 1 x 160 GB / 1 x 200GB
CD/DVD Drives: 2 x
Sony CD/DVD-RW
Power Supply: 500W ULTRA X-Connect Modular Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Pro
FINAL THOUGHTS :
I used to have an Intel Pentium based computer (my first computer) that my data
bought back in 1998. It was fast (133MHz); at that time it was a state of the
art computer. In 2003, I finally got tired of that old guy and decided it was
time for me to upgrade to a much faster computer, so I built my very first
system (2.2GHz); which was the fastest in its time. Then just about a month ago,
I upgraded again to 2.4GHz (do not be fooled by the technical difference). It is
only a 200 MHz upgrade technically, but when you use it, you will feel like
there is a 1 GHz difference. I have notice major speed enhancements since I
upgraded. My computer boots up faster, programs startup faster, and games run
smoother. And on top of that, I am ready for the future with 64-Bit capability.
Are you ready for the future? My
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ was fast but this AMD
Athlon 64 4000+ is just furious! |
