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1 2 3 4 5 NextAthlon II X4 630 & 620: A Quad Core in Every Pot
September 24, 2009 by Lawrence Lee
| Product |
AMD Athlon II X4 630
AM3 Processor |
AMD Athlon II X4 620
AM3 Processor |
| Manufacturer |
AMD |
AMD |
| MSRP |
US$120 |
US$100 |
The first quad core processors from AMD, the original Phenom line, failed to
top the performance of Intel's offerings due in part to low clock speeds and
high power consumption. Even though they were modestly priced, they still did
not offer enough value to sway most high-end PC builders to AMD's side. As a
result, Intel never felt the need to compete with AMD on price, and continued
to attach a price premium to their quad core CPUs. Phenom
II helped AMD get back into the game, but they continued too kept their
quad cores at a distance with $200+ price-tags. The poor, unwashed masses with
only $100 to spare could not dream of having any more than a simple dual core
CPU.
|
Athlon II X4 die image. 4 individual cores with their own L2 caches, and
no L3 cache at all.
|
|
Our Athlon II X4 630 and 620 samples.
|
The newly released Athlon II X4 630 and 620 finally brings quad core computing
to the $100 level. With respective prices of $120 and $100, the 2.8 GHz X4 630
and 2.6 GHz X4 620 takes a serious stab at undercutting the $140 Q8200, currently
Intel's cheapest quad core. Like the Athlon II X2, the X4 models lack the ample
L3 cache of the Phenom II's. While this will undoubtedly have an impact on performance,
it also makes manufacturing these CPUs much cheaper. With prices like these,
even the most frugal PC builders will be compelled to take a look.
|
Comparison Table: $100~$150 Desktop Processors
|
|
Model
|
Clock Speed
|
Total L2 Cache
|
Total L3 Cache
|
TDP
|
Street Price*
|
|
Phenom II X4 810
|
2.60 GHz
|
2MB
|
4MB
|
95W
|
$145
|
|
Core 2 Quad Q8200
|
2.33 GHz
|
4MB
|
N/A
|
95W
|
$140
|
|
Athlon II X4 630
|
2.80 GHz
|
2MB
|
N/A
|
95W
|
$123
|
|
Phenom II X3 720 BE
|
2.80 GHz
|
1.5MB
|
6MB
|
95W
|
$119
|
|
Core 2 Duo E7500
|
2.80 GHz
|
3MB
|
N/A
|
65W
|
$120
|
|
Phenom II X2 550 BE
|
3.10 GHz
|
1MB
|
6MB
|
80W
|
$102
|
|
Athlon II X4 620
|
2.60 GHz
|
2MB
|
N/A
|
95W
|
$99
|
|
Pentium E6500
|
2.93 GHz
|
2MB
|
N/A
|
65W
|
$95
|
|
* best prices from Newegg/PriceGrabber as of September
21st, 2009
|
Besides the Q8200, the X4 630's main competition comes from its own triple
core cousin, the X3 720 Black Edition. The lower clocked X4 620 really has no
equal as its price puts it squarely in dual core country. Its performance against
its closest rivals, the Pentium E6500 and X2 550 Black Edition will depend mainly
on the application, and whether it supports multiple threads.
|
CPU-Z screenshot: X4 630 at load.
|
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CPU-Z screenshot: X4 620 at load.
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