AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+

AMD has been fairly quiet as of late. A few months ago, we took a look at their initial Quad-FX platform and FX-70 series offerings.  However, on the mainstream socket AM2 front, AMD hasn't made any real noise since the release of the Athlon 64 FX-62 way back in May of 2006. That's not to say AMD hasn't released any products since then. In fact, the company has launched a plethora of lower-clocked "Energy Efficient" processors for the platform and replaced the 125W Athlon 64 FX-62 with an 89W X2 5600+ at the same 2.8GHz and cache size. Frankly, enthusiasts waiting for a new flagship socket AM2 processor haven't had much to read about.  Thankfully, there is news from the AMD home-front today.

Today AMD is officially unveiling a new top-of-the-line socket AM2 processor, the Athlon 64 X2 6000+. The X2 6000+ sports a full 1MB of L2 cache per core and is clocked at a healthy 3.0GHz, just like the FX-74. Its cache configuration and clock speed should make the X2 6000+ the fastest desktop CPU to come out of AMD. So, what do you say we fire it up and see how it performs in comparison to the rest of today's high-end processor offerings?

   
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Specifications and Features

Dual Athlon 64 Cores Clocked at 3.0GHz Frequency / Cache Sizes: 3.0GHz w/ 1MB L2 cache-per-core (2MB total L2 per processor L1 Cache Sizes: 64K - L1 instruction + 64K - L1 data cache per core (256KB total L1) Memory Controller: Shared integrated 128-bit wide memory controller AMD64 Instruction Set Architecture Integrated DDR2 memory controller: Athlon 64 FX and X2: DDR2 memory up to and including PC2 6400 (DDR2-800) unbuffered Athlon 64 and Semperon: DDR 2 memory up to and including PC2 5300 (DDR2-667) unbuffered An advanced HyperTransport link: HyperTransport Links: 1 HyperTransport Spec: 2GHz (2x 1000MHz / DDR) Effective data bandwidth: 20.8GB/s (8GB/s HyperTransport link + 12.8GB/s memory) Large level one (L1) and level 2 (L2) on-die cache: With 128 Kbytes of L1 cache and 1MB of L2 cache per core, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processors are able to excel at performing matrix calculations on arrays. Programs that use intensive large matrix calculations will benefit from fitting the entire matrix in the L2 cache. Fab location: AMD's Fab 30 and 36 wafer fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany

Process Technology: .09 micron DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) Packaging: Socket AM2 organic micro-PGA Packaging:  Socket AM2 940-pin organic micro-PGA Redesigned 4-bolt heatsink tray for better stability Die Size: Windsor Core - 218mm2 Transistor count: Windsor Core - Approximately 227.4million Nominal Voltage: 1.35V - 1.40v Max Thermal Power: 125 W Max Ambient Case Temp:  55-63 degrees Celsius Max Icc (processor current):  90.4A Min P-State (with C'n'Q):  1.0 GHz Nominal Voltage @ min P-state: 1.1V Max Thermal Power @ min P-state: 36.4W Max Icc @ min P-state: 30.48A

We have posted a wealth of information regarding AMD's Athlon 64 processors and related core-logic chipsets over the last few months here at HotHardware.com. For some more background on the technologies employed by AMD's Athlon 64 processors and the AMD AM2 and Quad-FX platforms as a whole, we suggest taking a look at few of the related articles listed below. They contain detailed explanations of some of the features common to AMD's legacy products, compatible chipsets, and the enhancements make to various dual-core processors:

• AMD Quad-FX Platform and FX-70 Series Processors
• AMD Socket AM2 Athlon 64 FX-62 and 5000+ Evaluation
• NVIDIA nForce 600 Series Evaluation (nForce 680i SLI)
• AMD Quad-Father 4x4 Technology Update
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 Energy Efficient Processor Evaluation

We cover some specifics regarding AMD's current dual-core socket AM2 processor offerings in our FX-62 and 5000+ evaluation, and cover many of the details regarding the nForce 600 family of chipsets in our evaluation of the nForce 680i SLI. And our Quad-FX platform and Quad-Father technology update articles have all of the details regarding Quad-FX and its related FX-70 series processors. We suggest perusing these articles if you're unfamiliar with AMD's technology. They'll lay the groundwork for the technology covered on the forthcoming pages.