X-bit labs

AMD Sempron 2600+ for Socket 754: K8 Architecture Made More Affordable (page 12)

Category: CPU

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 03/04/2005 | 12:03 PM ]

Conclusion

The transition of the Sempron CPU family to the Socket 754 platform is a sensible move from AMD. Trying to unify its platforms, AMD also acts for the users’ good. The advantages of the new Sempron models are obvious. We have made sure in our tests that the new Semprons for Socket 754 deliver more performance across a majority of applications than their Socket A predecessors, while their price is no higher than that of their Socket A counterparts. Moreover, low-end Socket 754 platforms can be easily upgraded by installing midrange processors from the Athlon 64 family.

AMD’s new solution also looks preferable to the Celeron D family, the competing inexpensive processors from Intel. The Semprons are generally faster in a majority of applications than Celeron D models of the same price.

Another appealing aspect of junior Sempron for Socket 754 models is their excellent overclockability. Our tests show that Semprons on the new 90nm Palermo core can add up about half their frequency at overclocking, to clock rates about 2.5GHz. For example, we managed to give our Sempron 2600+ a 56% frequency boost and the performance of the system subsequently grew by 35% in average and became comparable to that of systems with Pentium 4 3.4E and Athlon 64 3500+ processors. In other words, overclocking helps to increase the speed of the platform with an inexpensive Sempron for Socket 754 processor to the level of midrange computer systems.

The last and probably the most important thing you can deduce from this review is that the lifecycle of the Socket A platform is approaching its end. This platform has lost almost all of its appealing features, and the new Semprons make it possible to build inexpensive systems on the Socket 754 platform. The manufacture of Socket A processors will soon be halted, too. So, if you’re intending to buy an inexpensive computer, you can strike out Socket A from your options list.