Is the 1MB cache X2 otherwise identical to the replacements w/ 512kb cache?

[yacoub]

Thanks.

 

[n7]

I don't quite understand your question, but the 1 MB cache X2s are pretty much the same as the 512 KB ones, yes.

 

[yacoub]

I was just wondering if there were any changes made with the release of the lesser-cache models of the X2, compared to the discontinuation of the 1MB cache models. Really - why would AMD discontinue the models with larger cache unless the 512k cache models had some sort of improvement to make up the difference?

 

[anandtechrocks]

Only one reason the 1MB L2 cache chips were dropped and it is the much higher cost. You will get better performance (you'll just pay extra).

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: yacoub
I was just wondering if there were any changes made with the release of the lesser-cache models of the X2, compared to the discontinuation of the 1MB cache models. Really - why would AMD discontinue the models with larger cache unless the 512k cache models had some sort of improvement to make up the difference?

Because the 1mb cache chips take up more valuable space on the wafer, they can fit more 512kb chips per wafer, so it's more economical for them. There is no other differance between the 1mb and 512k chips other than the cache size.