They are coming...........

[cadaveca]

“Today, AMD demonstrates yet another performance lead within the industry as the only company with a broad portfolio of multi-core technology, from server and workstation to now client solutions with the addition of the new AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor,” said Bob Brewer, Corporate Vice President, Desktop Business, Microprocessor Solutions Sector (MSS), AMD.

-XBITLabs

end of June they should be everywhere....

[IceRaptor]

WOW... Already here...

Its impossible to keep up...

It was only a while ago that people were talkin about 64 bits in the same way....
and now their nothing...

[Pitch]

Hmmm... double the price for 200Mhz.. God I love overclocking.

[bobbyjo]

Some threads I have read on the performance of these dual core cpu's tell me that this is not the way to go for gaming.

Maybe someone will come up with a mobo and bios that will make these combo's work better at some time in the future.

[GrahamGarside]

I don't know what you've read but these are exactly the way to go for gaming, though an FX line chip is slightly ahead in single threaded stuff, the X2's are damned close, and seeing as no one really runs a single threaded machine, we all have downloads, antivirus, firewalls etc.. running in the background they probably would have the advantage in a typical machine instead of a benchmark optimised system used in a review.

[bobbyjo]

Pardon me for seeming ignorant.

I was reading a review a few weeks ago on the X2's and the co or person doing the review could not get better gaming performance than a single core A64 chip.

[cadaveca]

That's becasue windows had not been optimized for multithreaded cpu's, and does not knw to offload tasks to the second cpu properly for it to be beneficial to gamers. The priority that each thread gets is up to the programmer of the application, as to write a profilefor every application out there takes time...like the support for games in nvidia's sli...took time for them to write all the profiles...

[bobbyjo]

I am sure you are correct.
I would guess the guy doing the review was simply comparing what the average gamer will see if he wants to use the X2 in a mobo designed for that cpu.

How long will it take someone to make a version of Windows that will be a multithreaded OS. I don't know if this will ever happen.

Look at how long it is taking for the 64 bit version of Windows to get to the end user. I have the trial version if I want to use it.
I am not sure I can get 64bit drivers for the systems we have.

[cadaveca]

64bit version has been out for sale for at least a week, if not 2 or three. i am on it now.

[cloasters]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

64bit version has been out for sale for at least a week, if not 2 or three. i am on it now.

"i am on it now."
Images of Vader leading a squadron of Vaderettes comes to mind.

But seriously, I hope that cadaveca can find the time keep us up to date about the x2's.

[danrok]

At this point in time an X2 chip is of little use in a gaming rig. Also, given that a 4200 2.2Ghz will set you back about £400.00 in the UK, I think most gamers will be looking at spending that money on other hardware like a graphics card upgrade or a nice big shiny new monitor.

By the time there are benefits to having an X2 for gaming the price will have dropped, we hope.

Meanwhile, we may see some small price drops atleast on single core CPU's over the next couple of months. So, a more powerful single core is the way to go for gaming.

[Áedán]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

That's becasue windows had not been optimized for multithreaded cpu's, and does not knw to offload tasks to the second cpu properly for it to be beneficial to gamers. The priority that each thread gets is up to the programmer of the application, as to write a profilefor every application out there takes time...like the support for games in nvidia's sli...took time for them to write all the profiles...

Windows knows how to spread the load across multiple CPUs just fine, and has done since the first versions to support SMP (That'll be before Windows NT 4 then). If no priority is specified, then Windows will use it's standard scheduling, which works pretty well.

The real reason is that most games programmers do not write code that obtains any benefit from multiple processors. It doesn't need any profile writing at all, just programmers who understand how to write code that can cope with concept of multiple processors.

On the plus side, the PS2 has always required an understanding of multiple processors, and the PS3 and XBox 360 will also require a good understanding of multiple processors to be able to get the best from them.

[GrahamGarside]

In the mean time the benfits to be had are you can have folding churning out in the background at full performance

[cadaveca]

Look for price cuts on single cores soon...once the duals have been in retial for about 2 weeks.

[WonderBread]

YAY!! that means i can build me a new system!!

[keithwalton]

amd used to stand for value cpu's i think there is a lack of bloodflow getting to there brains, those prices are rediculous. I wonder if they're covering the costs incurred with there ferrari sponsorship

[GrahamGarside]

AMD still rule the value world, theres nothing close to the price/performance of a sempron 2800+ especially overclocked

[dsio]

More than anything I imagine it is showing off. Intel has tried to hold the speed crown and make itself out to be the prestige CPU maker, dismissing AMD as value rubbish. Intel lost the single core race badly, and it cost them dearly. Prescott went down in flames to the exact same CPU that killed the Northwood, only worse this time. They decide to drop the 4Ghz P4, and turn to dual core as their salvation. Now their hyperthreaded extreme edition has terrible troubles to deal with, their Pentium D is running relatively slow clock speeds, and AMD is labeling products 4800+. They won the single core race, and now more than anything it strikes me as AMD adding insult to injury, and trying to make it clear that they are not ONLY the value maker these days, they are the real McCoy.

[Gizmo]

There's also the fact that, when you look at it, the AMD dual cores right now are not REALLY that much more than an Intel dual core. AFAIK, and Intel dual core involves replacing your existing mobo, a more hefty PSU, and a LOT more cooling (350W max heat load I saw at one site; that's just for the CPU!).

AMD on the other hand can run dual core in existing 939 mobos with a BIOS upgrade and pulls about 130W full load or thereabouts, so the odds are that your existing rig can handle the new chip.

By the time you take everything into account, that makes the two chips cost about the same. However, when Intel gets going on the 65 nM process, that may cause things to change dramatically. 'Course, everybody was saying the same thing about getting the P4 on 90 nM, and that didn't pan out real well, so all we can do is wait and see.

[cadaveca]

The newest Intel cores look promising, but that's the ones not based on the netburst tech.

In regards to the X2's performance in gaming...no, your are not going to get more performance than a singlke core, and in some situations, you might get slghtly slower performance in the given game...HOWEVER...just so happens, while i like to game, i like to download, I have video that must be edited, models that need rendering, disks to be burnt...thesre are all additional tasks that i can perform AT THE SAME TIME as I game, barring problems on user input for the second app, but i can do them while gaming, at no performance loss. This means i could be compressing a file on a seperate drive, downloading a movie trailer or game demo, burning a DVD, backing up my secondary array...all tasks that would slow a single core to a halt if done simultaneously. Having a second CPU that can hadle all the scheduling between threads means that many things can happen at the same time that just plain wasn't possible before....i mean really...you can completely get rid of load times in a game...when your are playing one area with one cpu, the second can be preloading the next area...or you can have a totally seamless outdoor world....with no loads...

Having two cores means alot of things...but the one thing you have to keep in mind is that these cores are out, but you can't walk down to your local shop and pick one up...at least not yet. With that in mind, you have to remember that support for ANY device so new on the market is going to be limited. But once it comes... And it is coming...very quickly, i might add. Multithreaded apps are a major infection in the market, and a way to liven up almost every part of the industry, as not only do programming models change, but so does the bandwidth available...and with 2 64-bit cores the move to 128bit is very VERY real...