64bit Sempron processor?

LuckyTaxi

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
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I cant afford the 64 bit Athlon at the moment so I'll settle for the Sempron chips. Which one should I avoid? I've read about a specific core that is being phased out.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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Just get the ones with 64 bit. All 64 bit semprons are good. You should get either the 2800+,3100+, or 3400+. They all have Palmero cores.
 

LuckyTaxi

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
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Difference between the Sempron and the Athlon is what? The cache size?
I noticed the Athlon is at 512k while the Sempron is at 256k.
When does this really matter?
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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In 754, its only the cache size. Cache size doesn't matter THAT much to A64s, since they have shorter pipe stages, and HTT.
 

Aenslead

Golden Member
Sep 9, 2001
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It matters on benchmarks and in some games. Averegae use of computer will not know the difference whatsoever.

Sempron 64 is a safe buy.
 

hurtstotalktoyou

Platinum Member
Mar 24, 2005
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It's really tough to guage the effect of cache on performance. If you look at the original Sempron 3100+ "Paris," it was a pretty big step down from the Athlon 64 2800+, although the only differences were a 256 KB L2 (instead of 512 KB) and no 64-bit extensions. On the other hand, the Sempron 2800+ and 3100+ Palermos, with 256 KB L2 caches, are very similar in performance to the 2600+ and 3000+, respectively, which have 128 KB L2 caches.

I just bought the 64-bit Sempron 2800+ with an Epox EP-8KDA3J motherboard, and I couldn't be happier. With a simple retail box cooler, I've been running at 2.28 GHz (as opposed to the stock 1.6 GHz) for over 14 hours straight, now, without a hitch. It's possible I may need to back off, later, but I'm sure you'll be able to reach 2.0 GHz without a problem.

Also, the 64-bit Semprons all have the latest instruction sets, namely SSE3. The 32-bit Semprons do not... except maybe the 3100+ and 3300+ Palermos...do they have SSE3? I don't think so, but I could be wrong.