Athlon II X4 620 - AM3 CPU Review Print E-mail

Athlon II X4Earlier on this week September 16, AMD launched the new Athlon II X4 620 CPU.  PCWizKid has the opportunity to test ride the CPU compared to its earlier Athlon II X2 editions earlier released and reviewed by PCWizkid.  Previously when we reviewed the X2 model it proved to be very energy efficient and produced low temperature readings as well as having a lower price than Phenom's and many comparable Intel CPU's.  This quad core model should deliver similar results hopefully.  One thing to keep in mind is that this CPU is not a black Edition so its multiplier is capped at x13, however the CPU bus speed can be raised if desired to overclock it.

Lets take a closer look at the CPU in PCWizKid's Video Review

Test System

- MSI 785GM-E65 AM3 Motherboard
- GlacialTech Igloo CPU Cooler and Fan
- Tuniq TX-3 Thermal Grease (Recommended over the default stock included material)
- 4GB DDR3 Patriot G-Series
- Lian Li PC-A05N Mini Tower Case
- OCZ Mod Extreme 700W PSU
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit Edition
(Room Temperature 20C Celsius)

Video Review


Specifications

Model Number, Core Frequency & Price: X4 620 / 2.6GHz / aprox $99 (USD)
Model Number, Core Frequency & Price: X4 630 / 2.8GHz / aprox $122 (USD)
Tray OPNs:                                          TRAY OPN#  ADX620WFK42GI / ADX630WFK42GI
Processor in a Box OPNs:                      PIB OPN#  ADX620WFGIBOX / ADX630WFGIBOX
L1 Cache Sizes:                                   64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (512KB total L1 per processor)
L2 Cache Sizes:                                   512KB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
Memory Controller Type:                     Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller
Memory Controller Speed:                    Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
Types of Memory Supported:                Unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)
HyperTransport 3.0 Specification:         One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth:  Up to 37.3GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 21.3 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR3-1333) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
Up to 33.1GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 17.1 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR2-1066) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
Packaging:                                          Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)
Fab location:                                       GLOBALFOUNDARIES Fab 1 module 1 in Dresden, Germany (formerly AMD Fab 36)
Process Technology:                            45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
Approximate Die Size:                         169 mm2
Approximate Transistor count:              ~300 million
Max Temp:                                          71o Celsius
Nominal Voltage:                                  0.925-1.425V
Max TDP:                                                95 Watts

Conclusion

At launched this week the Athlon II X4 620 is selling for only $99 which makes this one of the best deals for a quad core CPU on the Recommendedmarket.  The results in performance and temperature gave an expected result by outperforming previous Athlon's x2's and the new Phenom II X2 550 as well.  Since we are comparing what you can get for the price point, this Athlon II X4 has an edge over the cheapest Intel quad core which currently costs $50 more aprox.  For a mainstream CPU this one delivered solid performance under the new Windows 7 operating system we tested.  Throw in the Cool and Quiet option and that will give you one of the most energy efficient mainstream quad core CPU's on the planet today.  For those looking to do gaming and perhaps overclock, the results were simple and effortless without having to increase any voltages, only the CPU bus frequency was raised to 240 and the HT Link was lowered from x10 to x9 and the installed memory with higher timings worked great making the system stable.
AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Click here for the latest pricing on the AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor
 

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