Twice two: AMD Phenom II X2 and Athlon II X2 processors. Packing and unpacking

Processor overview AMD Athlon II X2 245, Athlon II X4 620 and Phenom II X3 705e

Introduction

In this article it will be about three AMD processors that came to me for testing - Athlon II X2 245, Athlon II X4 620 and Phenom II X3 705e... These processors are designed to be built on top of them inexpensive computers... Through the use of universal controller memory supporting DDR2 and DDR3 memory, processors can be installed as in motherboards with a Socket AM3, and in older ones - with Socket AM2 +.

All three processors will be tested at the nominal frequency, which is different for each model, as well as overclocked to one fixed frequency, which will assess the impact of the number of cores and the amount of cache memory on performance. There will be an attempt to unlock the fourth core in the Phenom II X3 705e (unfortunately, the other two processors have nothing to unlock). I will also talk about how to achieve high overclocking in HTT frequency (this is the name of the "bus" in modern processors AMD).

Specifications

Processor specifications are summarized in the table:

NameCpu	Athlon II X2 245	Athlon II X4 620	Phenom II X3 705e
CPU socket
Stepping
Heat Dissipation (TDP)
Technical process
Rated frequency
HTT frequency
HT-Link / NB frequency	2000/2000 MHz
Nominal multiplier
Number of Cores
	64/64 KB per core
Memory Controller (IMC)
Memory support	DDR2-800 / 1066 and DDR3-1066 / 1333
Virtualization Technology Support (AMD-V)

* Heka - the same Deneb, with only one disabled core

Externally, the processors are no different, with the exception of the markings on the heat spreader cover:

• Athlon II X2 245: ADX245OCK23GQ CAEEC AE 0925EPJW
• Athlon II X4 620: ADX620WFK42GI AADAC AD 0919EPAW
• Phenom II X3 705e: HD705EOCK3DGI AACYC AC 0911EPMW

Test configuration and drivers

An open stand with the following configuration was used for testing:

• Processors:

• Athlon II X2 245 С2 (Regor)
• Athlon II X4 620 С2 (Propus)
• Phenom II X3 705e С2 (Heka)

• Motherboard: MSI 790FX-GD70, AMD RD790 + SB750, BIOS 1.7
• Memory: G.Skill Perfect Storm F3-16000CL7T-6GBPS 7-8-7-20 1.65V 3x2048Mb (only two memory modules were used)
• Video cards: Sapphire Radeon HD4830 512Mb DDR3 PCI-E
• HDD: Western digital WD1500HLFS (Velociraptor), 150 Gb
• Power supply: Topower PowerTrain TOP-1000P9 U14 1000W
• Thermal paste: KPT-8 (manufactured by GMinform)

The operating room was used for testing. Windows system 7 Ultimate build 7600 x86. It was found DirectX update from August 2009 and AMD drivers SATA (AHCI) Controller Driver v1.2.0.125, AMD PCI Express(3GIO) Filter Driver v1.3.0.49 and AMD Catalyst Driver v10.2.

Enabling the fourth core Phenom II X3 705e

Design and manufacture physically different processors not always profitable. Much faster you can get a processor with fewer cores simply by turning them off. In addition, an opportunity opens up to put on sale defective crystals, in which one or two cores do not work, or are unstable. This is how AMD's 3-core processors came to be. The Heka (Phenom II X3 7xx) and Rena (Athlon II X3 4xx) cores are nothing more than the 4-core Deneb and Propus, respectively, with only one core disabled. The Callisto core (Phenom II X2 5xx) also does not exist, which is actually the same Deneb core with two disabled cores. But the Regor core was already originally designed as a 2-core and without L3 cache, so nothing can be enabled for Athlon II X2 2xx processors.

All that is needed to enable (unlock) the cores, in addition to the processor from which they were disabled, is a motherboard with an SB750 south bridge and support Advanced features Clock Calibration (ACC) in BIOS. In the motherboard used for testing MSI 790FX-GD70 support for enabling cores did not appear immediately, but only starting with BIOS version v1.6, released last fall. To enable the fourth core in the Phenom II X3 705e, I only needed to set the Unlock CPU core and Advanced Clock Calibration options to the Enabled positions and reboot. In a programme CPU-Z processor defined as a 4-core Deneb "05e":

The fourth core turned out to be fully operational. There were no problems with stability both in the nominal and in overclocking.

Overclocking and temperature conditions

For overclocking, we used a boxed cooler from the processor AMD Phenom II 940. This time I did not look for the overclocking limit of all three processors on air cooled... Instead, I first defined the overclocking limit at boxed cooler the hottest of all three processors is Athlon II X4 620. Then I made sure that the two remaining processors Athlon II X2 245 and Phenom II X3 705e work at these frequencies. Then I found the lowest voltages Vcore and CPU_NB for them, at which they remain stable at the same frequencies, and measured the temperature at rest and under load in the LinX program.

Why exactly "frequencies"? Because I consider it wrong to overclock the processor only at the fundamental frequency, forgetting that the built-in memory controller operates at a separate frequency and that its frequency also has a strong effect on performance. The frequency at which all three processors could work on a boxed cooler became 3600 MHz. The NB frequency was 2700 MHz, that is, 700 MHz higher than the nominal. These frequencies can be considered a minimum. Any air-cooled Phenom II or Athlon II can easily be overclocked to them. The only differences will be in the voltages required for this and the temperatures obtained after overclocking.

The data on the obtained stresses and temperatures are summarized in the table:

	Athlon II X2 245		Athlon II X4 620		Phenom II X3 705e*

* in brackets temperature values ​​are given in the mode of four cores

Despite the highest rated voltages, the Athlon II X2 245 turns out to be the coolest processor of the three. The reason for this is in the presence of only two cores and the absence of an L3 cache. For overclocking to 3600 MHz, it did not require an increase in the Vcore voltage, but, on the contrary, allowed it to be reduced by 0.025V, which led to the same temperatures in nominal and overclocking. Has a good chance of overclocking up to 4 gigahertz in the case of using a good air cooler or SVO. Maximum validation frequency in CPU-Z on a boxed cooler - 4094 MHz with voltage 1.55V:

Athlon II X4 620 is the hottest processor of the three. For overclocking to 3600 MHz, it did not require raising the Vcore to 1.53V, which led to high temperatures in the load (up to 70 ° C). You shouldn't expect a good overclocking in the air from it. Maximum validation frequency in CPU-Z on a boxed cooler - 4015 MHz with a voltage of 1.53V:

Phenom II X3 705e distinguished itself the most low voltages both in par and with overclocking. It has good overclocking potential, but for its full disclosure it will require an efficient cooler. The inclusion of the fourth core in the Phenom II X3 705e resulted in a temperature rise of only 1-2 degrees. Maximum validation frequency in CPU-Z on a boxed cooler - exactly 4000 MHz with a voltage of only 1.40V (quad-core mode):

With the cooling of the processors with liquid nitrogen, the overclocking limit at the main frequency was completely determined by the overclocking limit at the HTT frequency. Athlon II X4 620 and Phenom II X3 705e (including in four-core mode) took 5 GHz without problems, and Athlon II X2 245 - 5423 MHz. I am sure that they would have conquered 6 gigahertz, if not for the locked multiplier.

Frequency overclockingHTT

HTT is the frequency that is used in systems based on AMD processors to obtain the remaining frequencies (main frequency of the processor, memory frequency, memory controller frequency, Hyper Transport bus frequency) by multiplying by the appropriate factors. In fact, this is an analogue base frequency(BCLK) y Core processors i7 / i5 / i3. The overclocking limit of AMD processors with a locked multiplier depends on the ability of the motherboard and processor to operate at high HTT frequency. If we take, for example, the Phenom II X3 705e with its maximum multiplier of 12.5, then to reach 4000 MHz (achievable in air), you need an HTT frequency of 320 MHz, which is already quite a lot. And for a frequency of 5000 MHz (easily achievable with liquid nitrogen), 400 MHz HTT will be needed.

The secret to achieving high HTT rates is simple. First, you need to reduce the memory frequency multiplier (divider) to the lowest possible 1: 1 for motherboards with AM2 + / DDR2 and 1: 2 for AM3 / DDR3. This necessary condition to achieve HTT frequencies in the range of 400-500MHz. And if 400 MHz is quite achievable with 1: 2 (AM3 / DDR3), then 450-500 MHz will definitely need a 1: 1 multiplier and a motherboard with DDR2 support. In addition, you also need to reduce the Hyper Transport bus multiplier and also to 1x (AM2 + / DDR2) or 2x (AM3 / DDR3). In this case, the Hyper Transport frequency will be 2-2.5 times lower than the nominal, but this practically does not affect the performance. Such high frequencies may be needed only for benchmarking, but for normal operation you can limit yourself to HTT frequency 300 ... 325 MHz, which is achievable with a memory multiplier of 3: 8 and a Hyper Transport multiplier x6. Separately, I want to note that the processor at the main frequency, as well as the frequency multiplier at which the memory controller works (CPU_NB), do not affect the HTT overclocking in any way and they can be set at your discretion.

Of course, the HTT limit cannot be reached by the multipliers alone; the same voltage must be increased. Optimal values voltages can be different for different motherboards, chipsets, processors and type of cooling. If you want high overclocking in HTT frequency (and not only) - do not be lazy to find them yourself, no one will do it for you. I will list the voltages that I used when testing Athlon II X4 620, Athlon II X2 245 and Phenom II X3 705e processors on MSI 790FX-GD70 (only those that affected HTT overclocking):

• Hyper Transport bus voltage (HT Voltage) = 1.30V;
• Northbridge Voltage (NB Voltage) = 1.25V;
• Memory voltage (DRAM Voltage) = 1.90V (higher was dangerous for Elpida Hyper);
• Voltage CPU_VDD = 1.175 ... 1.425V (maximum possible in BIOS, different for each processor).

It is also necessary to monitor the temperature. north bridge on the motherboard. Many manufacturers limit themselves to passive radiators for cooling the north bridge, and if the system is assembled on an open bench, and a cooler is used to cool the processor that does not create airflow around the socket, then in such conditions it is quite possible for the north bridge to heat up to temperatures of + 60 ° C and higher. These are quite normal operating temperatures, but if you want high and stable HTT overclocking, you will have to lower them. The simplest (and in most cases sufficient) solution is to install additional fans for airflow and replace the thermal interface of the motherboard with good thermal grease.

Another important point in overclocking at the HTT frequency - the ability to change it after starting the system in programs such as SetFSB or using the capabilities of the motherboard. MSI 790FX-GD70 has a special "wheel" for this - OC Dial. The peculiarity of this motherboard to work stably at HTT frequencies much higher than those at which it is capable of starting, I discovered even with the Phenom II X4 965 processor.With it, I could not force the system to start if I set the HTT frequency in BIOS above 354 MHz, but increasing it up to 400 MHz using the "wheel" was able to pass LinX and other tests. The same thing happened with other processors - the start frequency was about 50 ... 55 MHz lower than the maximum HTT frequency reached with the help of dynamic overclocking.

The results of overclocking at the HTT frequency with cooling the processor with a boxed cooler are as follows:

• Athlon II X2 245: 377 MHz (start at 325 MHz);
• Athlon II X4 620: 388 MHz (start at 334 MHz);
• Phenom II X3 705e: 415 MHz (start at 361 MHz).

With the cooling of the processors with liquid nitrogen, the HTT frequency limit became slightly lower (this is probably due to the higher frequency and voltages of Vcore and CPU_NB).

• Athlon II X2 245: 374 MHz (start at 325 MHz);
• Athlon II X4 620: 387 MHz (start at 334 MHz);
• Phenom II X3 705e: 404 MHz (start at 361 MHz).

Performance comparison

Performance was measured at eight different modes- each processor in par and overclocked, as well as Phenom II X3 705e in four-core mode. In overclocked modes, all processors had a fixed frequency of 3600 MHz (12x300), and the built-in memory controller was overclocked to 2700 MHz. The memory in all modes (both with and without overclocking) worked at 1600 MHz with timings of 6-6-6-18 1T. Secondary timings were left to the discretion of the motherboard, but I made sure they were set equal for all three processors compared.

To measure performance, we used following applications, benchmarks and games:

• SuperPi / mod1.5 XS - 1M and 32M modes
• Hexus PiFast v4.1 - Total computation time
• wPrime v1.55 - 32M and 1024M modes
• Fritz Chess Benchmark v4.2 - Kilo nodes per second
• Nuclearus Multicore v2.0.0 - Total Score
• CineBench R10 - CPU Benchmark (xCPU)
• 7-Zip v4.65 (32Mb) - Overall rating (MIPS)
• WinRar v3.92 - Speed ​​(KB / s)
• Flac Encoder v1.21 - play / CPU ratio. The result was calculated as the length of the test file in seconds divided by the time spent by the processor to encode this file. For testing, a file with a duration of 3609 seconds was used. The higher the play / CPU ratio, the better.
• Lame MP3 Encoder v3.98.2 - play / CPU ratio
• TechArp x264 Benchmark HD v2.0 (v0.59.819M) - fps when encoding to MP4
• Lavalys Everest Ultimate v5.02.1795 beta - Memory Read / Write / Copy / Latency

The results are summarized in the table:

Benchmark			705 X3 2500MHz	705 X4 2500 MHz	620 X4 2600 MHz	245 X2 2900 MHz	705 X3 3600 MHz	705 X4 3600 MHz	620 X4 3600 MHz	245 X2 3600 MHz
Hexus PiFast v4.1
Fritz Chess v4.2
Nuclearus v2.0.0
CineBench R10 - xCPU
7-Zip v4.65 - 32Mb
Flac Encoder v1.21
Lame MP3 Encoder v3.98.2
x264 Benchmark HD v2.0 - MP4
Everest v5.30.2034 Memory benchmark

* Nuclearus 2.0.0 does not support 3-core processors and outputs the result as 1-core.

** 7-Zip v4.65 does not support 3-core processors and with default settings produces the result as on 2-core. To use all cores, the number of threads (the "Number of CPU threads" option) was set to six (there is no possibility to specify exactly three threads in 7-Zip).

Some benchmarks (for example, SuperPi, wPrime, WinRar) show worse results on "Vista-like" systems, which include Windows 7. This should be taken into account when comparing with the results from other sources obtained on Windows XP.

Conclusion

The processors considered in the article are not new at all and have already been on the market for about a year, but during this time in the low-end sector the main competitor Intel not a single processor for a modern socket has appeared, which would be comparable in price to them. Dual core Intel Pentium The G6950 costs almost as much as a quad-core AMD Athlon II X4 620, and there are no quad-cores cheaper than the Core 2 Quad Q8200 (from $ 150 and more). Of course, there are also Celeron and Pentium Dual Core for Socket 775, but I don’t think it’s a promising purchase of a processor for an outdated platform. Besides low prices AMD offers a wide range of models - with 2-3-4 cores, with and without L3 cache, with the ability to enable cores, as well as with the ability to be used in motherboards supporting both DDR2 and DDR3 memory.

With overclocked processors AMD generation The K10.5 is much better than the K10 (the first Phenoms). Now overclocking to a frequency of 3600 MHz is not a problem even with a boxed cooler, but with more efficient cooling can reach or at least approach the 4 GHz mark. But the biggest improvement came from the complete victory over the Coldbag. Now we just fill in a full glass of liquid nitrogen and calmly overclock any processor with a free multiplier (Black Edition series) to 6 GHz and higher (and in the case of C3 stepping - possibly up to 7 GHz). And even if the multiplier is not free, in most cases 5 GHz can be achieved even on lower-end models with a low multiplier. The only disappointing thing is the low memory overclocking. The built-in memory controller is not capable of operating at 2000 MHz or higher. Even memory overclocking to frequencies of 1800 ... 1900 MHz is not always possible. Hopefully, memory overclocking will be improved in the future with the release of new core steppings.

Conclusions for each processor separately:

• AthlonIIX2 245 : Cheap and cool processor. For overclocking, it does not require a particularly efficient cooler and does not require a strong increase in voltage ( Rated voltage it is already high enough - 1.425V). It uses the Regor core, so you will have to forget about unlocking the cores. The lack of L3 cache is partially compensated by the doubled L2 cache (1024Kb per core). It will be a good choice if you need to collect modern computer as cheaply as possible and at the same time it is not planned to buy an expensive cooling system, but overclocking is planned.
• AthlonIIX4 620: This processor, in contrast to the previous one, is much hotter both in nominal value and in overclocking. For normal overclocking, it requires raising the voltage to the level of 1.50V-1.55V, which in turn requires effective system cooling. The Propus core does not contain disabled cores, and the L3 cache is physically absent, so there is nothing for freebie fans to hope for. The choice of those who just need an inexpensive 4-core without any problems with overclocking and unlocking. I bought it, I forgot it.
• PhenomIIX3 705 e: The most interesting processor of the trio. The letter "e" in the name of the model indicates that it belongs to the Energy Efficient series, which means the level of power consumption reduced to 65W (comparable to the power consumption of dual-core Athlon II X2). This is achieved by selecting crystals capable of operating at a Vcore voltage lowered to 1.175V. Secondary voltages (CPU_NB, CPU_VDD) are also reduced. As a result, the processor is quite cold compared to other 3 and 4-core models. The Heka core (3-core Deneb variant) allows the ability to unlock 4 cores, although this is not guaranteed - this core may well turn out to be not working or not working stable enough. But if you are lucky, you will receive a full-fledged 4-core Deneb, with the ability good overclocking and low level power consumption and heat dissipation.

Site administration site expresses gratitude to our partner, the company AMD for the processors provided for testing.

Discuss this material you can in our special branch.

Initially, AMD Athlon II X2 240 was positioned as a processor solution for mid-range desktop systems. But this was true for 2009, when this CPU could compete on an equal footing with Intel's Core 2 Duo.

Now this chip can boast of a modest level of performance, which is sufficient only for the office, outdated games and other undemanding applications.

What tasks is this processor focused on?

The 2009 review clearly and explicitly indicates this separation:

Basic computer systems were built on the basis of Septron chips. Their performance was sufficient for office applications, simple games and other undemanding software.

The middle niche was filled with Athlon brand CPUs. It was to this segment that the hero belonged of this review... These chips made it possible to solve most tasks, among which were the most demanding games of the time. The only thing to note: the most demanding 3D toys were running on this CPU not at maximum settings.

The premium segment of AMD's processor solutions was occupied by Fenom chips. They made it possible to solve any problem without any problems. And even the most demanding toys came with maximum parameters.

What does the processor come with?

Athlon II X2 240 shipped in a black and green box. The chip was not marked on. Also, a square hole was made in one of the sides, with which it was possible to check the correspondence of the inscriptions on the box and on front panel CPU. The processor itself was packed in a transparent protective box, which excluded possible damage to it. In addition to the semiconductor chip itself, the package also included the following components:

Box cooler.

Front panel sticker for computer case.

A short manual for the operation of the chip.

Warranty card.

Socket

AMD Athlon II X2 240 has been designed specifically for the "AM3" slot. That is, it could be installed in any motherboard with such a socket. But the chip of "AM3" was that it was compatible with the outdated "AM2 +" and the most recent and productive socket of the "AMD" company - "AM3 +". That is, this processor solution can be installed in any motherboard starting from the "AM2 +" platform. This approach allows owners of computers based on AMD chips to upgrade their PCs without any problems and significantly increase their performance.

Technological process

If we compare the AMD processors of 2009 with the most recent solutions, the difference will be quite significant. The hero of this review was manufactured using SOI technology (silicon on insulator) according to the 45 nm process technology. Moreover, it was one of the first semiconductor crystals that could boast of such a parameter. Now solutions for the AM3 + socket are manufactured using the same technology, but using a 32 nm process. This significantly reduces the CPU die area and improves performance. But if we compare solutions based on "AM3 +" and the most progressive platform of Intel Corporation - "Socket 1151", then the purchase looks preferable. latest platform: Its CPUs are already manufactured in a 14nm process. Accordingly, their energy efficiency and performance are much better.

Cache situation

AMD Athlon II X2 240 is equipped with a dual-level cache. This engineering solution provided a fairly good level of performance at the time of its release. The first level of fast energy-dependent memory was divided into two equal parts. One of them contained only CPU instructions and its size was 2 clusters of 64 kilobytes. The data memory has exactly the same size and identical organization: 2 clusters of 64 kilobytes. As a result, we get 128 kilobytes for instructions and 128 kilobytes for data. The second level of the cache was shared, and its size was equal to 2 clusters of 1 megabyte each, or in total - 2 megabytes. Of course, against the background of modern CPUs with a three-level cache of 8 megabytes or more, this value looks rather modest. But do not forget that the processor is 2009, and at that time it had excellent technical specifications.

Memory types

A rather interesting situation has developed with the type of supported RAM in AMD Athlon II X2 240. The characteristics indicate that this silicon crystal can work in motherboards with "AM2 +", "AM3" and, of course, "AM3 +" connectors. The first of them was equipped with slots for DDR2 modules. And the last two - under the "DDR3".

So this model from this position it is universal and can work with both "DDR2" and "DDR3". But the use of the latter of them is more preferable. In this case, memory frequencies are increased, thereby increasing the performance of the system as a whole.

Temperature and heat pack

It should be noted right away that this chip boasts a TDP of 65 watts. This is a really modest value in comparison with the current flagship solutions of the AMD company, the FX-9590 and FX-9370 processors, which already consume 220 watts. This power value allows this processor solution to be installed in any motherboard with suitable socket... The maximum allowable temperature for this semiconductor crystal is 74 degrees. In fact, this is an average value, which cannot stand out in anything remarkable against the background of analogs.

Clock frequency

Established this processor solution is 2.8 GHz. This is already a pretty good value. But if desired, this value can be significantly increased (according to the assurances of computer enthusiasts - up to 30%). In reality, this means that on a properly selected computer system, the frequency of this CPU can reach 4 GHz. In this case, everything will function normally. It is due to this that you can achieve a significant increase in performance, but this will be discussed in detail below.

A little about computing modules

It should be noted right away that there are only 2 computational modules in AMD Athlon II X2 240. In this case, it will not give any result. To increase productivity, you need to buy solutions "Athlon X3". In this case, it is possible, by making changes to the "BIOS", to turn it into "Athlon X4". Well, again, such a manipulation can not be done on every motherboard.

Overclocking

Like any chip of that time, this CPU can be overclocked, that is, its frequency can be increased and due to this, a significant increase in performance can be achieved. Before overclocking, the computer system must be specially selected and assembled. The complete cooling system must be replaced without fail. Its capabilities when overclocking the CPU are not enough. There should also be an advanced motherboard, "BIOS" of which would allow flexible configuration computer system... Also, the power of the power supply must be at least 500 watts. And before this operation, it is recommended to install additional software: CPU - Z (to check the achieved values ​​of the characteristics of the central processor), EVEREST / AIDA (to check the stability of the computer system) and SPEED FAN (with its help it is necessary to monitor the operation of the cooling system and check the temperature of the processor). Only then can you start increasing the performance of the AMD Athlon II X2 240.

We start overclocking by going into BIOS. To do this, when you turn on the PC, hold down the "DEL" key and release it after the appearance start window BIOS. Then go to the "CELL MODE" menu item. Find the Cool "n" Quiet parameter in it and set it to Disabled. Then we reduce the memory frequency to 400 MHz (HT LINK SPEED parameter). This is done in order not to exceed the maximum allowable frequency of the RAM. Due to this manipulation, a certain groundwork appears, due to which it is possible to increase the processor frequency. At the same time, the frequency of operation of the RAM will also increase. But, since it is lowered in advance, then special problems with the work of the PC should not occur. After that, we raise it by 1 point. That is, the CPU FSB Frequency parameter is changed from 200 to 201 MHz.

We save the changes and restart the PC. Then we check its stability. Also at this moment, a check is performed using the SPEED FAN utility, and the crash test is done using EVERESTa. If everything is in order, then go back to the "BIOS" and increase the frequency to 202 MHz and so on until the processor frequency reaches 3.2-3.3 GHz. Further overclocking is possible even if the CPU supply voltage is increased to 1.4 V. In practice, in this case, you can get 3.5-3.7 GHz. But at the same time, the load on the semiconductor crystal increases significantly, and its service life decreases. This method is the simplest and is applicable on any motherboard. In some cases, motherboard designers provide specialized software, which allows you to perform this operation without restarting the PC. In this case, it is better to use it for overclocking. But the technique remains the same.

Price

$ 70 - this is the price that AMD Athlon II X2 240 had at the start of sales. Its price has dropped significantly today and is $ 22.5. While this chip can still be purchased from warehouse stocks... But its cost is quite adequate, and it finds successful application in budget office systems. Its performance is sufficient for such tasks.

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Options, Consumables, and Accessories for the AMD Athlon II X2 240 Processor

Reviews

We tried to make the description as good as possible, so that your choice was error-free and deliberate. we may not have exploited this product, but only touched it from all sides, and after you buy it, try it in operation, your review can make this world a better place, if your review is really useful, then we will publish it and give it to you you the opportunity next purchase we do it on the 2nd column.

AMD Athlon II X2 240 - Great budget processor for home and office

5 Alexander 21-04-2018

AMD Athlon II X2 240
Advantages:
Inexpensive, compatible with motherboards, socket AM3 +, low heat dissipation (only 65 W maximum). Although the support for DDR3 1066 MHz is officially set, in reality it quietly starts up at 1333 MHz on Asus motherboards and Gigabyte.
Flaws:
It's hard to talk about shortcomings for such a price :-)

AMD Athlon II X2 240 - for the money is perfect!

5 Volkov Alexey Denisovich 15-04-2017

Device Owner Review: AMD Athlon II X2 240
Advantages:
that's not necessary! gta 4 .. he gta 5 calmly pulls and ddr3 pulls calmly only with the purity not the one that the bar itself set two bars ddr3 1600ghz everything pulls remarkably.
Flaws:
few cores, it would be 4 cores to change then would not see the point.

Performance comparison and test results

To help you make an informed choice, the processor was tested at NICS Computer Supermarket on 02-11-2017. The test results are clearly displayed in a diagram and two tables.

The diagram shows the test results for the selected article (highlighted in red) and 9 more products with similar prices. Percentage rates indicate approaching the highest recorded result. That is, if your choice fell on a product with an indicator of 50%, this means that there is an analogue 2 times faster (with an indicator of 100%), but, of course, at a completely different price.

The chart is followed by a table with similar indicators for the 10 champion products in their category, in the form of a TOP10 rating.

From this table it is easy to determine the place of the processor in the general "table of ranks", and also to estimate how expensive it will be to try to improve performance. The selected product is also highlighted with a red line.

The last table is just a list of test results. From these, the percentage rating is calculated, which was used in the first two reports. By clicking on the name of the test, you can go to pivot table with indicators of all products in the category, including those not in stock at the moment.

For comparisons, only products that are currently in stock are used.

If you decide to approach the choice of new equipment seriously and with full responsibility, invaluable help will be provided by full rating Comparison of processors, including test results for items currently out of stock.

Comparison of processors

percentage of the maximum recorded results for all tests

CPU AMD Athlon II X2 240 (ADX240O) 2.8 GHz / 2core / 2Mb / 65W / 4000MHz Socket AM3 from 1,489 rubles. 4.50% CPU AMD Athlon II X2 245 (ADX245O) 2.9 GHz / 2core / 2Mb / 65W / 4000MHz Socket AM3 from 1 559 rub. 4.60% CPU AMD A4-4000 (AD4000O) 3.0 GHz / 2core / SVGA RADEON HD 7480D / 1 Mb / 65W / 5 GT / s Socket FM2 from 1,780 rubles. 5.20% CPU AMD Athlon X4 830 (AD830XY) 3.0 GHz / 4core / 4 Mb / 65W / 5 GT / s Socket FM2 + from 1 848 rubles. 11.20% CPU AMD A6 9500 (AD9500AG) 3.5 GHz / 2core / SVGA RADEON R5 / 1 Mb / 65W Socket AM4 from 2,019 rubles. 7.30%

I need to make two statements, and although some readers will probably dispute them, citing tricky examples and some exceptions, these statements seem to me the most plausible.

Intel has a strong lead in delivering the highest performing CPUs for consumer PCs, and ...

AMD has a strong lead in providing "budget" CPUs with an excellent performance / price ratio.

2010 is already almost half past, and just a couple of months ago Intel introduced six-core "monster" Gulftown... If you've seen the tests, you probably know that in well-optimized multithreading applications, the Core i7-980X Extreme serious competitors no.

You also know that AMD did not provide a comparable $ 1000 CPU model, instead limiting itself to top six-core CPU Phenom II X6 1090T for about $ 310 (). In fact, there is no strong competition from Intel for this CPU either, since the i7-980X is Intel's only desktop six-core processor for consumer PCs. AMD, on the other hand, introduced the less expensive Phenom II X6 1055T six-core processor for $ 205 ().

If you go below the $ 200 mark, then AMD and Intel have very attractive options. Priced at $ 125 processors Intel Core i3-530 () and AMD Athlon II X4 635 () go head to head. The two processors match well, although the Core i3 is manufactured using a newer and more efficient 32nm process technology and contains two cores, supplemented by Hyper-Threading technology, while the Athlon II X4 provides four processing cores and a relatively high standard clock frequency.

But AMD is the strongest in the $ 125 market. The company offers several processors for less than $ 110, which simply have no competitors from Intel: Athlon II X4 630 for $ 100 () is another quad-core CPU that has a very attractive price for builders of "budget" workstations and PCs for working with multitasking environments. ... For under $ 90 () we have the Athlon II X3 440 combining three CPU cores and a high clock speed of 3 GHz - perfect option for "budget" gaming systems and a PC with extremely decent performance... And for less than $ 80 (), you can get an Athlon II X2 255 with two cores at 3.1 GHz (a very fast CPU for typical user tasks and web browsing).

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AMD also has a pretty decent upgrade strategy. Maternal Socket boards AM2 + has been available since early 2008, and even the brand new Phenom II X6 processors will run on many of these platforms if motherboard manufacturers provide BIOS support. At the time of the announcement of the AM2 / AM2 + / AM3 sockets, this idea seemed very controversial, but it still pleasantly pleased those users who do not want to buy a new motherboard with every PC upgrade. If Intel has consistently introduced LGA sockets 775, 1366 and 1156, then AM2 + users have the opportunity to use any processor, from the ancient Sempron to the competitor to the Core i7 - the new Phenom II X6 processor.

Of course, we don't mean that Intel has no reason to be proud of its "performance crown"; the company is truly a technology leader. And one cannot ignore the attractive possibility of upgrading from the cheap Pentium G6950 to the Core i5-750, and then to the Core i7 860 and 870 - these processors, without a doubt, compete well today with top AMD Phenom II X6's a large number applications.

The bottom line is that AMD is getting the best out of its current position and is competing pretty well with Intel line using more attractive prices. In addition, AMD continues to exert significant pressure on Intel by unveiling a complete new line of Athlon II processors today. And the best part of all of this is that the new faster models will sell for the same prices as their predecessors.

CONTENT

After the breakthrough of the beginning of the 2000s, AMD safely returned to its usual state of always catching up and, despite rather interesting and, undoubtedly, advanced technical solutions is not even trying to compete with Intel in terms of sales.

As of mid-2009, the company accounts for about 14.5% of the microprocessor market.
At the same time, the once proprietary "chips" of AMD chips - for example, 64-bit instruction extensions or a memory controller built into the processor - have long been used in the chips of the main competitor.

AMD products today occupy two very narrow niches: ultra-budget processors for building economy-class computers and productive models offered three to five times cheaper than comparable Intel chips.

This explains the fact that you can find AMD processors of various families and generations on store shelves - from the prehistoric Sempron and Athlon based on the well-deserved K8 architecture for Socket 939 to the ultra-modern six-core Phenom II X6.

Be that as it may, AMD is now relying on the K10 architecture, so we will focus on the processors based on it.
These include Phenom and Phenom II, as well as their a budget option, shyly named Athlon II.

Historically, the first K10-based chips were the quad-core Phenom X4 (codenamed Agena), released in November 2007.
A little later, in April 2008, the triple-core Phenom X3 appeared - the first in the world central processing units for desktop computers, in which three cores are located on one crystal.

In December 2008, with the transition to a 45-nanometer process technology, an updated Phenom II family was presented, and in February the chips received a new Socket AM3 socket.
The serial production of the four-core Phenom II X4 began in January 2009, the three-core Phenom II X3 - in February 2009, the dual-core Phenom II X2 - in June 2009, and the six-core Phenom II X2 - literally just now, in April 2010.

Athlon II - a modern replacement for Sempron - is a Phenom II that lacks one of its most important advantages - a large L3 cache common to all cores.
Available in two-, three- and four-core versions.
The Athlon II X2 has been in production since June 2009, the X4 since September 2009, and the X3 since November 2009.

AMD K10 architecture

What are fundamental differences architecture K10 from K8?
First of all, in the K10 processors, all cores are made on a single die and equipped with a dedicated L2 cache.
The Phenom / Phenom 2 chips and the server Opteron chips also have an L3 cache memory common to all cores, the volume of which ranges from 2 to 6 MB.

The second major advantage of the K10 is its new system bus HyperTransport 3.0 with peak bandwidth up to 41.6 GB / s in both directions in 32-bit mode or up to 10.4 GB / s in one direction in 16-bit mode and up to 2.6 GHz.
Recall that the maximum operating frequency previous version HyperTransport 2.0 is 1.4 GHz, and the peak throughput- up to 22.4 or 5.6 GB / s.

A wide tire is especially important for multi-core processors while HyperTransport 3.0 is configurable to provide each core with its own independent link.
In addition, the K10 processor is able to dynamically change the bus width and operating frequency in proportion to its natural frequency.

It should be noted that at present in AMD chips the HyperTransport 3.0 bus operates at a much lower speed than the maximum allowed.
Three modes are used depending on the model: 1.6 GHz and 6.4 GB / s, 1.8 GHz and 7.2 GB / s and 2 GHz and 8.0 GB / s.
The released chips do not yet use two more modes laid down in the standard - 2.4 GHz and 9.6 GB / s and 2.6 GHz and 10.4 GB / s.

The K10 processors integrate two independent RAM controllers, which accelerates access to modules in real conditions exploitation.
The controllers are capable of working with DDR2-1066 memory (models for AM2 + and AM3) or DDR3 (chips for AM3).

Since the controller integrated into the Phenom II and Athlon II for Socket AM3 supports both types of RAM, and the AM3 socket is backward compatible with AM2 +, new CPUs can be installed on old boards for AM2 + and work with DDR2 memory.

This means that when purchasing a Phenom II for an upgrade, you do not have to immediately change and system board as well as acquire RAM another type - as, for example, in the case of Intel i3 / i5 / i7 chips.

The microprocessors with the K10 architecture feature a range of upgraded energy-saving technologies - AMD Cool'n'Quiet, CoolCore, Independent Dynamic Core and Dual Dynamic Power Management.

This sophisticated system automatically reduces the power consumption of the entire chip when idle, provides independent power management to the memory controller and cores, and is capable of shutting down unused processor elements.

Finally, the kernels themselves have also been significantly improved.
The design of fetch blocks, prediction of branches and branches, and dispatching was redesigned, which made it possible to optimize the kernel load and, ultimately, increase performance.

The bit width of SSE blocks was increased from 64 to 128 bits, it became possible to execute 64-bit instructions as one, support for two additional SSE4a instructions was added (not to be confused with the SSE4.1 and 4.2 instruction sets in Intel processors Core).

Here it is necessary to mention a design defect found in the server Opterons (code name Barcelona) and in the Phenom X4 and X3 of the first releases - the so-called "TLB error", which at one time led to the complete cessation of deliveries of all Opterons with revision B2.
In very rare cases, when high load A design flaw in the L3 Cache TLD could cause the system to behave unstable and unpredictable.

The defect was recognized as critical for the server systems, which is why the shipment of all released Opterons was suspended.
For desktop Phenom, a special patch has been released that disables BIOS means defective block, but the processor performance dropped noticeably.
With the transition to revision B3, the problem was completely eliminated, and such chips have not been found on sale for a long time.