Which AMD 64 Processor

Faulkner05

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May 7, 2005
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I'm not sure which AMD 64 processor I should get for my new build. I am on a budget, so I've narrowed it down to what I can afford:

3200+ Venice core - $200
3400+ Clawhammer core - $209
3500+ Venice core - $280

The 3200 and 3500 both have 90nm process and SSE3, but the 3400 has 1MB L2 Cache. I've read that the Venice cores are great for OC'ing and in the future, I probably will OC, but I don't really want that to influence my decision right now. I just want to know which of these 3 processors is the fastest, and which is the best bang for the buck.
 

Ronin

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Mar 3, 2001
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For scalability, I think I'd probably go with one of the 2 Venice cores. I don't recall the 3400+ CH being an impressive OCer for the most part (Had one, and the best I could do with it was 2.45GHz on air).
 

Faulkner05

Member
May 7, 2005
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Ok, but if none of them are overclocked, which is going to perform the best? How much of a difference is the 1mb L2 Cache going to make over 512?
 

Duvie

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Feb 5, 2001
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I would bet the 2.2ghz of the 3400+ would beat the 2.0ghz of the 3200+ venice but the 3500+ would be better even without the cache in most things....

I would look at it this way...Everything I see says the 3400+ is a 754 pin means sngle channel memory (1-3% worse on average to dual channel of sckt 939's)...that neagets the L2 in most instancesplus the venice has some core refinements two generatiosn ahead of the 3400+...The 3500+ would be the winner but for 71 more dollars??? No but if you look at the possibilities of not now but later getting a sckt 939 will leave the door open to plug in a faster single core or even a dual core X2 in the future....Sckt 754 is a dead format.....

I say get the 3200+ (be a hair and I mean hair less as fast as the 3400+) but with a sckt 939 you will get options in the future...

Heck we will show you how to very easily and not much danger at all (almost foolproof) get 2.2-2.4ghz out of it if not more....Then wait for dual cores to hit200-300 levels and upgrade again on same board....

 

theMan

Diamond Member
Mar 17, 2005
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also, the venices are cooler, because of the 90nm process. get the 3200+ i love my winnie 3200
 

uOpt

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Oct 19, 2004
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Without overclocking, the 3400+ socket 754 Newcastle is fastest for most applications. 2.4 GHz beats the larger cache or dual-channel RAM for most applications.
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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The 3400+ is 2.4ghz?? Or is it a 2.2ghz with 1mb of L2 cache??? The clawhamer the one he stated is 2.2ghz ( I checked it)...The newcastle 3400+ 512kb is 2.4ghz and it doesn't gain the increase from the added cache, loses speed cause it is single channel, platforms run on are a bit slower, 2 core revisions to date behind, hotter, dead end upgrade path, etc...I still stick by my original claim to stick with sckt 939 venices or perhaps even a winchester 3200+-3500+ and leave yourself an upgrade path...

The amount the newcastle 2.4ghz 3400+ would be faster is neglible range....
 

JBird7986

Senior member
May 17, 2005
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There is also a Skt. 939 Newcastle 3400+ that runs in the same manner as the 3500+ (Rev. CG, which I'm running.).
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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How much for that one...I only saw sckt 754s in the price range listed by the author above.....

I only thought sckt 939 newcastles came in the higher 3800+ to 4000+ range.....

 

JBird7986

Senior member
May 17, 2005
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Duvie,

They only made them in EXTREMELY limited quantities. I can't find it online anymore, but I promise you that that is what I'm running. It's certainly Skt. 939 (I'm running it on an ASUS A8V Deluxe motherboard w/dual channel RAM) @ 2.2GHz, 512KB L2 cache, and has 1000MHz HyperTransport link (some argue it is supposed to be limited to 800MHz, but I've seen no evidence of that with my system). I got it in a deal at Tigerdirect with the motherboard.
Here's a screenie of somebody else who was running it, as mentioned in a different thread.

http://img206.echo.cx/img206/9048/untitled1an.jpg
 

CheesePoofs

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2004
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And here's the specs of the s939 3400+ as listed by newegg during the short time they had them:


AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 512KB L2 Cache 939-Pin 64-bit Processor - OEM

Model# ADA3400DEP4AZ
Item # N82E16819103503
Specifications:
Model: AMD Athlon 64 3400+
Core: Newcastle
Operating Frequency: 2.2GHz
FSB: Integrated into Chip
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/ 512KB
Voltage: 1.5V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket 939
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: OEM(Processor Only)
 

fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,382
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Originally posted by: theman
also, the venices are cooler, because of the 90nm process. get the 3200+ i love my winnie 3200


I doubt it makes a differance, the 130mm cores run cool as it is. Unless your ocing, the 90mm makes a differance there.