Fast and the Furious!
Written: Aug 17 '05 (Updated Dec 21 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, overclockable, reliable, and AMD!
Cons: None...
The Bottom Line: that this processor does not know any boundaries...
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| vchand's Full Review: AMD (ADA4000BNBOX) Athlon 64 4000+, 2.4 GHz AMD Pr... |
The AMD Athlon 64 4000+ is the smoothest and fastest processor that I can afford at this point in time. Even though I paid about a hundred dollars more to get it just two weeks before it went on sale, I am very happy with it. When I think about it, I curse myself for not being able to wait to get this process; I had been looking to buy this process for over six months and I just could not hold on any longer. I could have waited another two weeks and saved a hundred bucks, but it is all good. I will try my best to get all of the most helpful information on this review, but since it is my first about processors I may miss some information.
QUESTIONS I ASKED BEFORE MAKING THE PURCHASE :
These are the five most important questions I ask myself before I purchase processors or other parts for my computer:
1. How fast it is? (speed/frequency)
2. How much is it?
3. What else do I need with it? (motherboard/memory/etc)
4. What do the benchmarks say? (similar brands and models)
5. Where to purchase it from? (online/offline)
1. The speed is important because that is the 90 percent of the reason I would even consider purchasing it. I want to know how it will increase the performance of my computer and what kind of applications or games will take full advantage of it. I want to know what this processor is specially designed for; games or applications?
2. The price is the second thing I look for when deciding on purchasing a processor because I want to know that I can afford it before I invest any more time in researching about it. I want to look at the MSRP and the retail price for online and offline stores that I can trust.
3. Now if it is in my price range I will research and see if I need to replace my existing motherboard and memory sticks. I also want to know if it will be compatible with my operating system. I want to know if it will support my current hardware setup.
4. After research online and some google searches, I find some reliable benchmark results to see how the processor compares with other brands of the same class or even other models of the same brand. Just to see if I can get a lower model and still get what I want. It will never hurt to just find out.
5. The last of all is deciding where to purchase the processor from. I looked at tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, Circuitcity, CompUSA, and Frys Electronics and found that newegg.com was the cheapest and the most reliable store I would purchase from.
INSTALLATION :
The installation was as easy as always when it comes to AMD processors. I purchased the Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard to go with this processor since I was upgrading from my old AMD Athlon 2500+ on an Asus A7N8X motherboard. The easy installation guide that is in the box comes in handy if you are doing this for the first time. The guide clearly guides you step-by-step on what to do to properly install you processor.
After installing the processor, you can either choose to install the stock heat sink (which is also perfectly good if you do not plan to overclock) or one of you favorites that will keep you processor cool and performing at its best. One tip I would like to give you if you are planning to install it yourself; use Arctic Silver thermal grease when installing the heatsink.
Now when you boot-up for the first time with this processor, you would probably have to clear your CMOS to make sure you start out with a clean system. Then just install your operating system or if you already have an operating system install, just boot up. One thing to keep in mind when booting for the first time is to keep an eye on the processor temperature (specially if you used a different heatsink and overclocked).
I had some trouble booting the first time because the memory cards I had were not compatible with the mother board. I figured that out after about an hour of tweaking the CMOS settings. All the motherboard told me was that “System Failed Due To CPU Overclocking.” I did call Asus customer support and they said it would be the memory modules. After I installed some new memory sticks it worked fine.
THE FEATURES I LIKE :
Two of the features I like the most are AMD's Cool N' Quiet and Enhanced Virus Protection technologies.
The Cool N’ Quiet technology that helps to reduce noise and power consumption by the processor. It automatically throttles the processor speed along with a thermally controlled heatsink fan(s). When the processor is not being used that much, it reduces the processor and the heatsink fan(s) speed to reduce the amount of heat and noise this is produced by the processor and the fan(s).
Enhanced Virus Protection technology is only on AMD’s Athlon 64 processors. It is designed to prevent many viruses from infecting your computer. Enhanced Virus Protection works together with Microsoft's Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. When enabled the operating system watches for a lot of activities that often imply a virus has infected the computer.
Other than these two newer technologies the processor supports the standard Athlon 64 features including SSE2, a 1000MHz (up and down stream) Hypertransport link to motherboard, integrated dual channel memory controller, 8 extra 64-bit registers and other very useful features.
MY EXPERIENCE : (updated - benchmark scores)
I have had this processor for just over a month now and it has not yet given me any problems. It does not overheat (I did not overclock yet) ever. I did notice a great difference in speed from the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ that I upgraded from. This processor blows all others far far away.
I performed some benchmarks with 3DMark 03 and 3DMark 05. I got a score of 5885 and with 3DMark 05 and 12657 with 3DMark 03 (actual data). My old AMD Athlon XP 2500+ used to get around 6573 for 3DMark 03 and 1678 on 3DMark 05 (actual data). These benchmarks are accurate as of September 10th, 2005. These benchmarks were performed on my new system (see specs below).
My computer runs way faster than my 2500+ and provides me with the capability of 64-bit computing for the future. I have installed Windows XP Pro SP2, Windows XP 64-Bit Beta, and Fedora Linux on my computer and even with two Windows installations on one hard drive, this processor does not even blink. Fedora Linux runs smooth and without any problems.
MY SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS :
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 4000+
Processor Speed: 2.4GHz (normal) / 2.64GHz (Oc'd)
HeatSink: ThermalTake Silent Tower
Video Card: PNY Verto GeForce 6800GT
Memory: 3 x Kingstone PC3200 CL2.5 512MB (1.5GB)
Hard Drive: 1 x 40GB / 1 x 160 GB / 1 x 200GB
CD/DVD Drives: 2 x Sony CD/DVD-RW
Power Supply: 500W ULTRA X-Connect Modular Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Pro
PROCESSOR SPECIFICATIONS :
Front Side Bus Speed: 1000 MHz x 2
Processor Type: Athlon 64
Socket Type: Socket 939
Architecture: 90 nanometers
Clock Speed: 2.4 GHz
Performance Index: 4000+
L2 Cache Size: 1024 KB
L1 Cache Size: 128 KB
Platform: PC
MY FINAL THOUGHTS :
I used to have an Intel Pentium based computer (my first computer) that my data bought back in 1998. It was fast (133MHz); at that time it was a state of the art computer. In 2003, I finally got tired of that old guy and decided it was time for me to upgrade to a much faster computer, so I built my very first system (2.2GHz); which was the fastest in its time. Then just about a month ago, I upgraded again to 2.4GHz (do not be fooled by the technical difference). It is only a 200 MHz upgrade technically, but when you use it, you will feel like there is a 1 GHz difference. I have notice major speed enhancements since I upgraded. My computer boots up faster, programs startup faster, and games run smoother. And on top of that, I am ready for the future with 64-Bit capability. Are you ready for the future? My AMD Athlon XP 2500+ was fast but this AMD Athlon 64 4000+ is just furious!
SOME OF MY RELATED REVIEWS :
HP OfficeJet 7310xi All-In-One
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Samsung SyncMaster 763 MB 17" CRT Monitor
Kingwin Inc. Mutant X ATX Mid-Tower Case
SanDisk ImageMate 6 in 1 Card Reader
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How to keep your PC HEALTHY...
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Copyright vchand 2005, All rights reserved.
Recommended:
Yes
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vchand
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Member: Vic
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 170
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