Athlon 64 and Windows

[panoramicendtime]

" AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512k L2 Cache, The Only 64-bit Windows Compatible Processor - Retail"

That's the title of the A64 3200 on Newegg. Doesn't seem like it makes sense to me...I can run windows on an A64 28 or 3000 right?

I know that's probably a stupid question but I'm definitely a hardware noob.

 

[3chordcharlie]

A64 - not a particular model of A64 is the only blah..blah.. (not true anymore as prescott with 64bit is in the process of coming out now).

Yes it will work fine.

 

[Sonic587]

Yes, you can run your current Windows OS( I assume you have windows 98/2000/XP ) on a A64. What the title means, is that once Windows XP64 comes out, the A64 will be able to take advantage of it since it is compatible.

 

[panoramicendtime]

OK thanks, that's what I thought but wanted to make sure.

I wonder if it is worth waiting for Prescott, to see if it drives down Athlon 64 prices...

 

[MDE]

Prescott is already out, and the A64 only loses to it in media encoding and runs heaps cooler.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: MDE
Prescott is already out, and the A64 only loses to it in media encoding and runs heaps cooler.

I think he means retail availability of 64bit Prescott; they aren't really available yet.

 

[panoramicendtime]

Thanks guys - any idea when it is available for retail? That's when it will affect A64 prices, no?

I know I should be able to answer that myself (and I'm still working on it) but five minutes of searching has not turned up an answer.

 

[imported_Hellbender]

Originally posted by: panoramicendtime
Thanks guys - any idea when it is available for retail? That's when it will affect A64 prices, no?

I know I should be able to answer that myself (and I'm still working on it) but five minutes of searching has not turned up an answer.

This is just IMO, but I don't see AMD really dropping the prices of the Athlon 64's when the 64-bit enabled Prescotts become available. They are more than likely going to retain a performance lead over the Prescotts, so there isn't a huge incentive to drop the price for that reason alone. I imagine that if the prices do drop, it will be due to the fact that AMD is moving away from the Socket 754 platform and going to the Socket 939 for Athlon 64's.

-H

 

[panoramicendtime]

Well, in that case I'll probably go with the A64. Any price drops not happening in the next few days do not concern me...I want to have this thing when I leave for college. Thanks.

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Tech insiders I have seen online also state that the Prescott's 64bit extensions are pretty lousy and may even use emulations. I don't know until they are turned on and 64bit testing is done. I wonder if the desktop Prescott's will ever have their 64bit turned on when 64bit Windows comes out? Why is Intel QUIETLY releasing their 64bit capable server chips? You would think it would be splashed all over the place. Maybe they don't want to take away from Itanium but I wonder. Could it be that their 64bit performance blows? Let the flame wars begin anew, lol. I just want the fastest cheapest best processor for the least money. I am not picky at all. I don't care if it is AMD or Intel