the main Windows Vista Amd athlon ii x4 640 which socket

Amd athlon ii x4 640 which socket

AMD is offering retail customers the Thuban-based Phenom II X6 six-core processors, and is also supplying its OEM partners with Zosma-based quad-core chips (Thuban with two cores disabled). Like their legendary predecessors AMD K10.5 architecture, Zosma processors are capable of unlocking hidden cores. With some luck, the Phenom II X4 960T can turn into a full-fledged six-core Phenom II X6 chip. However, the OEM segment still has something to surprise.

Employees of the Chinese resource Mydrivers.com published the results of their acquaintance with the Athlon II X4 640 processor, which is based on the E0 stepping. It should be said that the Athlon II X4 640 appeared last year and is equipped with four processing cores. Operating at 3.0GHz, the Propus crystal robs this chip of 6MB of cache. The marking of the old Athlon II X4 640 is ADX640WFK42GM, the updated based on the Thuban core is ADX640WFK42GR.

Biostar even released for the A880G + motherboard new firmware BIOS that provides support for the Athlon II X4 640 processor (ADX640WFK42GR).

IN Windows environment the Athlon II X4 640 is identified as the Phenom II X4 940T.

Thanks to the ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) technology, our colleagues managed to get the Phenom II X6 1405T processor from the Athlon II X4 640. With this, they added two computing cores and 6 MB of L3 cache.

The only disappointment in this whole story is the fact that the Athlon II X4 640 (ADX640WFK42GR) processor is intended only for the OEM segment.

Intel Core

graphic editors

disadvantages

Checked - this processor is not for professional video coding and archiving, where a large amount of cache memory is just the same. But this is not even a drawback with the mass of its advantages for such money.Comment

Athlon II X4 deserves special attention and respect for itself. For a low cost, you get a full-fledged quad core that will work flawlessly in multi-threaded applications and outperform any dual core, be it Intel Core 2 Duo, Athlon II X2 or Intel Core i3. On this processor, I assembled a graphics station for my friend to work in PhotoShop CS4 and CorelDraw (HELLO TO PHOTOGRAPHERS). In heavy games, it performs well at high FPS with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 (Crysis 3, Battlefield 3, Assassins Creed, etc.) in conjunction with video cards of the Radeon HD 7850 and GeForce GTX660 class, revealing their potential. The Internet quickly surfs with a bunch of open tabs. So think about whether it is worth overpaying for more expensive multi-core processors for games and graphics applications?)

Complain Did the review help? 22 3

Price-performance ratio. Exceptional all-round compatibility: from AM2 and AM2 + to AM3 +. DDR2 and DDR3 support.disadvantages

Comment

Although processors based on AM3 are gradually disappearing from sale due to the arrival of newer AM3 +, I believe that AMD could squeeze a little more money out of this line. In the economy segment, AMD can be very robust to Intel. Intel could be crushed with quad-cores for 2400 rubles. They are very versatile. And an old gaming computer can be freshened up, and give a second wind to a dull office computer. This means that this is the mass sector of the user computer park. The user, without investing in a completely new platform, gets performance close to the requirements of modernity for the mass market. There are not enough stars from the sky, of course, AM3 (in the form in which it is presented today), but not everyone needs these very stars. After all, software manufacturers are mainly guided by a kind of "average computer", which is a killer average mixture of old and new platforms, with a predominance of old ones.
I don’t know how it is in terms of tests and benchmarks, but for the comfort of work, installing this processor in an old mother (AM2 +, for example), which can support it, gives a result comparable to fresh Core i3 and sometimes Core i5, not to mention the line of fresh AMD ( for a lot of money you buy almost the same).
This is a subjective assessment. But if you want to save money, but save as little as possible on performance, then AM3 processors combined with AM3 + motherboards is your option. Quad-core percent for an office computer is still not weak. There is also a non-ridiculous way of playing games. Plus a promising upgrade option (all of a sudden, eight-cores will also soon cost 2,400 rubles).
Lovers of Intel-fapa mazday!

Complain Did the review help? 19 0

disadvantages

The 3rd level cache cannot be unlocked, it is simply absent, but for this money it is quite predictable.Comment

Excellent processor, easily overclocked to 3.5 GHz. After that, judging by the tests, it works at the level of processors, the price of which is 2 times higher. I use it in conjunction with the ZALMAN CNPS8900 Quiet cooler, bought here in Citylink, the temperature never reached 50 degrees, and this is after overclocking. Considering all of the above, I advise you to take.

The AMD Athlon II X4 640 is a processor that combines a high level of performance and a reasonable degree of energy efficiency. Even at the moment, the characteristics of this processor allow you to run any software... In addition, the device has a fairly modest cost. All these characteristics together make the hero of our review an excellent basis for creating mid-range computers.

AMD Athlon II X4 640: semiconductor niche, configuration options

At the time of the appearance of the AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor on sale in 2009, the system units of personal computers were subdivided as follows:

- office computers with a single core processor. This market segment was occupied by AMD's Septron and Intel's Celeron. These processor solutions had very modest parameters, minimal cache size and low clock frequencies. The performance of such solutions was rather low, but it was quite enough for solving office tasks. Plus, the cost of these solutions was quite low.

- computers of the middle class - without fail based on a dual-core processor. In this case, the clock speeds were also increased and the cache size increased. The technical parameters of the semiconductor solution have also been significantly improved. All this has led to a significant increase in the cost of computers. However, the list of tasks that could be solved on such computers increased significantly.

- the most productive systems - based on 4-core processor models. The AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor belonged to this particular market segment. The characteristics of this processor are fully consistent with the specified segment. This processor at that time could solve problems of any level of complexity. Even today, the presence of such a processor solution in a PC allows you to run most of the software.

Quite a long time has passed since the appearance of this processor solution on store shelves. Therefore, it moved from the premium segment to the mid-range processor niche. There are two possible options complete set of this semiconductor solution. One of the options was called TRAY. This package included itself CPU, warranty card, installation manual and a sticker with the name of the processor model for the front side of the system unit. The second equipment variant was designated BOX. In addition to all of the above, it also included a cooler and thermal paste.

AMD Athlon II X4 640: Supported Socket Types

AMD Athlon II X4 640 specifications indicate that it should be installed in socket AM3. For this chip, this is the main socket type. However, it can also be installed in sockets AM2 + and AM3 +. The last processor socket continues to be relevant today among the computer platforms from AMD. The best solution would be to assemble a system unit with this processor device. In this case, you can achieve the maximum level of performance and more relevant technical specifications. This will allow you to fully reveal the potential of this semiconductor crystal.

AMD Athlon II X4 640: production technology

In this case, the silicon crystal was produced by the silicon-on-dielectric process or LPC. According to the specification, the AMD Athlon II X4 640 was compliant with the 45nm manufacturing process. The characteristics of this processor solution indicated an operating frequency of 3 GHz. The frequency was not dynamically adjusted. The value of the thermal package of the solution in this case was 95 W. The maximum temperature value was declared at 71 degrees. In practice, this value rarely exceeded 45-57 degrees.

AMD Athlon II X4 640: cache and RAM

The AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor boasts a dual-level cache. Because of this, AMD Athlon II X4 640 loses a lot in performance, but it wins significantly in energy efficiency. The volume of nonvolatile memory at the first level is 512 KB, and at the second level - 2 MB. In this case, a two-channel controller is used. random access memory, which works with both DDR2 memory and the more common DDR3 variety. The recommended frequency value in the first case is 1066 MHz, and for the second case - 1333 MHz.

AMD Athlon II X4 640: architectural features

This processor solution is known under the code name Propus. This chip belongs to the family of 4-core processors. In the language of professionals, such solutions are also called QUADCORE. The AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor is based on the K10 architecture. It is capable of handling even 64-bit program code.

AMD Athlon II X4 640: overclocking

To increase the performance of the AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor, you can only use the system bus frequency. In this case, overclocking must be carried out on system unit, complete with an improved cooling system, a power supply with an increased power value and an advanced system board. The body of such personal computer should also have improved air circulation. Otherwise, the overclocking algorithm is standard for a device of this class. The frequencies of all components should be reduced as much as possible, and the frequency of the system bus should be discretely increased to the nearest value. After that, you need to check the stability of the computer. If everything is in order, you can further increase the bus frequency. It is also worth paying attention to the frequencies of the rest of the PC components, which should not go beyond the permissible limits. When they reach the limit at which the computer stops working stably, you need to start increasing the voltage on the processor. Then the frequency is increased. For this processor, the maximum possible values are 3.5-3.7 GHz.

AMD Athlon II X4 640: processor cost

The AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor was priced at $ 122 at the start of sales by the manufacturer. It was a great price for a chip with such technical specifications. Today, however, this new chip can be purchased for $ 42. You can buy a second-hand product for $ 35. An important characteristic of this processor solution is that four computing cores are implemented in it at the physical level. For this reason, computers based on this processor and powerful graphics subsystem will be able to run even the latest gaming applications. They will definitely start, even if not at the highest settings. It is on this point that the owners of such computers focus their attention. The disadvantage of the AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor solution is the lack of a L3 cache. This design feature of this chip significantly reduces its performance level. However, on the other hand, this allows you to reduce the value of the thermal package and thereby increase its energy efficiency.

Introduction.
... Unfortunately, this was due to objective reasons that we were this moment eliminated and proceeding to an objective assessment of processors, both from AMD and from Intel.
In today's review, your attention will be presented AMD processor Athlon II X4 640, which has a higher clock speed compared to the AMD Athlon II X4 620 tested earlier.

Equipment.

We purchased the OEM version of the processor, which was due to the reluctance to overload the original cooler, which always shows mediocre performance and noise levels.

At the same time, I would like to note that these processors in the BOX version are also on sale and are supplied in such a box in black and green.
With the purchase of a BOX processor package, the user receives a cooling system from AMD and an extended product warranty for three years. Only 1 year warranty is given for OEM products.

External examination of the processor.

The processor is labeled ADX640WFK42GM. Each letter and number in the marking always means something, so we will try to decipher it. So,
- the letters AD tell us that we have a processor from AMD of the K10.5 generation.
- letter X means the presence of a locked speed multiplier;
- numbers 640 - means the model number of the processor within the line of processors from AMD itself;
- letters WF - mean the level of heat dissipation of the processor up to 95 W and operation in the voltage range of 0.900 - 1.425 volts;
- letter K - means socket version of Socket AM3;
- number 4 - indicates the number of processor cores;
- remaining digits 2GM - indicate the revision of the processor core
Of particular interest to us is the second line, in which the first five letters indicate the processor core, in our case, it is Propus.

The reverse side of the processor does not stand out in any way. It has standard legs that can be easily bent and broken off when straightened. The processor is designed to work on socket AM3.

Processor specifications.
1. Model Number: Athlon II X4 640
2. Frequency: 3.0GHz
3. Maximum heat dissipation: 95 watts
4. Cache size: L1 Cache 64K + L2 Cache: 512KB per core (2MB total)
5. Technological process: 45nm SOI
6. Bus: One 16-bit / 16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
7.Memory controller: dual-channel controller supporting memory up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) and PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)
8. Technological process: 45nm
9.Socket: Socket AM3 with full AM2 + 940-pin compatibility

Key features of this processor series.
Special interest data processors are caused due to the fact that some of them have a locked L3 cache, which quite often can be turned on without hindrance.
This is due to the fact that very often the company AMD under the brands of junior models, it produces cut-down processors of the older series, which is associated with the demand in the market. Or a high-quality illiquid product that cannot work as a full-fledged processor is cut down to a junior model and is sold as a fully functional product.
To date, the presented line of processors Athlon II X4 is produced on the basis of two cores. The first core is the Propus core. The kernel was specially created for the release of these processors, so it does not have any additional cache of the third level, in a word, we have nothing to unlock. Unfortunately, the tester turned out to be based on this particular core.
The second core for these processors is a stripped-down version of the core Deneb, on the basis of the full-featured version of which the Phenom II X4 processors are released.
A key feature of the processor series Deneb is the physical presence of the third level cache in the amount of 6 MB, but Athlon II X4 processors have it disabled and the owners of these processors have full opportunity to enable it. Enabling this cache turns the user's processor into a fully functional Phenom II X4. Naturally, an unlocked processor must be tested to identify errors.
As stated above, processor core can be recognized by the second line of marking. Deneb processors have the following sets: AACTC, AACZC, AACAC, CACZC, CADAC, CACYC CACYC, CACVC, CACZC, CACAC, AACYC, AACSC. All other variations - this is most likely our core - Propus.

Questions arising from users when working with these processors.
1. What is needed to be able to unlock the processor core?
Answer: To do this, you need a motherboard that supports this function. In the BIOS menu, find the unlock item, most often it is L3 Cache Allocation and Advanced Clock Calibration.

2. What motherboards from which manufacturers definitely do not support L3 cache unlocking on these processors?
Answer: it is reliably known that all motherboards from ECS do not support this feature. Most likely, this also applies to products such as Jetway, Zotac.

3. What power supply do I need to use the unlocked Deneb processor?
Answer: our experience shows that a 400-450 watt ATX 2.xx power supply from a well-known brand is enough. Much depends on the graphics cards you are using.

Overclocking the processor.
As we have already mentioned, we were unable to unlock the L3 cache on this processor, since its core simply does not have this memory cache.

The processor was able to overclock to 3.8 GHz at a voltage of 1.45 volts.

Conclusion.
We would like to wish our users to try to purchase processors of this series based on the Deneb core. These processors are quite often found in computer stores, and looking at the second row of numbers on the lid when buying an OEM version of the processor is not a problem for anyone.
The cost of the processor we reviewed does not exceed $ 130, which makes it an interesting enough product to buy and upgrade an existing processor.

Test results: performance comparison

General Comparison of Processor Performance

Introduction

At one time, the entry into the market of Athlon II processors marked a new round of struggle for the lowest price segment between AMD and Intel. Having good ratio the price / performance and moderate power consumption of these CPUs are a very attractive purchase.

Today we are reviewing the Athlon II X4 640, which offers an unprecedentedly low price point for a quad-core CPU. Its rivals will be the Core 2 Quad Q9500, Core 2 Quad Q8300, Core 2 Duo E8400, Core 2 Duo E7600 and Athlon II X2 250.

Test configuration

The tests were carried out on the following stands:

Stand # 1:

Motherboard: GigaByte GA-EX38-DS4, BIOS F3

Stand # 2:

Motherboard: GigaByte MA770-UD3, BIOS F2

Processors:

Core 2 Quad Q9500 - 2830 @ 3800 MHz
Core 2 Quad Q8300 - 2500 @ 3400 MHz
Core 2 Duo E8400 - 3000 @ 4200 MHz
Core 2 Duo E7600 - 3060 @ 4000 MHz
Athlon II X4 640 - 3000 @ 3600 MHz
Athlon II X2 250 - 3000 @ 3800 MHz

Other components:

Video card: Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB - 850/850/4800 MHz (Sapphire)
CPU cooling system: Cooler Master V8 (~ 1100 RPM)
RAM: 2 x 2048 MB DDR2 Hynix (Spec: 800 MHz / 5-5-5-15-2t / 1.9 V)
Disk subsystem: SATA-II 500 GB, WD 5000KS, 7200 rpm, 16 MB
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200 watts (standard fan: 140 mm blowing)
Housing: open test bench
Monitor: 30 "DELL 3008WFP (Wide LCD, 2560x1600 / 60Hz)

Software:

Operating system: Windows 7 build 7600 RTM x86
Video card drivers: ATI Catalyst 10.9 + Application Profiles

Testing tools and methodology

For a more visual comparison of processors, all games used as test applications were run at 1280x1024 and 1920x1080 resolutions.

The following games used performance measurement tools (benchmarks):

Colin McRae DIRT 2 (Battle of Battersea - London)
Crysis Warhead (Ambush)
Far Cry 2 (Small Ranch)
Grand Theft Auto 4 EFLC (Lost and Damned)
Just Cause 2 (Concrete Jungle)
Lost Planet Colonies (Zone 1)
Resident Evil 5 (Scene 1)
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault (Benchmark)

A game in which performance was measured by loading demo scenes:

Left 4 Dead 2 (Demo a1)

In these games, performance was measured using the FRAPS v3.2.1 build 11425 utility:

Battlefield Bad Company 2 (Very expensive target)
Borderlands
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (Action III - An Unfortunate Accident)
Dragon Age Origins (Ostagar)
Mass Effect 2 (Tali's Court)
Metro 2033 (Chase)
Napoleon Total War (Plain Meadows)
Need for Speed SHIFT (Rustle Creek Time Trial)
Risen (Coast)
Splinter Cell - Conviction (Lincoln Memorial)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R .: Call of Pripyat (Zaton)

In all games were measured minimum and average FPS values.

In tests that did not have the ability to measure minimum FPS, this value was measured by the FRAPS utility.

VSync was disabled during tests.

To avoid errors and minimize measurement errors, all tests were performed three times. When calculating the average FPS, the arithmetic mean of the results of all runs was taken as the final result. The minimum value of the indicator based on the results of three runs was chosen as the minimum FPS.

Intel Processor Specifications

AMD Processor Specifications

Overclocking processors

Core 2 Quad Q9500

Regular mode. The clock frequency is 2830 MHz, the system bus frequency is 333 MHz (333x8.5), the DDR2 frequency is 1066 MHz (333x3.2), the core voltage is 1.29 V, the DDR2 voltage is 2.1 V.

3200 MHz - system bus frequency 377 MHz (377х8.5), DDR2 frequency - 1131 MHz (377х3), core supply voltage 1.29 V, DDR2 supply voltage - 2.1 V.

The processor was overclocked to 3800 MHz. For this, the system bus frequency was raised to 447 MHz (447x8.5), the core supply voltage was up to 1.45 V, the DDR2 supply voltage was 2.1 V, the system bus supply voltage was increased by 0.2 V, and the north bridge voltage was 0.1 V. The DDR2 frequency was 1073 MHz (447x2.4).

Core 2 Quad Q8300

Regular mode. The clock frequency is 2500 MHz, the system bus frequency is 333 MHz (333x7.5), the DDR2 frequency is 1066 MHz (333x3.2), the core voltage is 1.29 V, the DDR2 voltage is 2.1 V.

This processor turned out to be the worst overclocked quad core. To overclock it to 3200 MHz, we had to increase the core voltage - up to 1.4 V, the DDR2 supply voltage - 2.1 V, the system bus voltage - by 0.2 V, the north bridge voltage - 0.1 V. The system bus frequency was increased to 427 MHz (427x7 .5), the DDR2 frequency was 1068 MHz (427x2.5).

The processor was overclocked to a modest 3400 MHz. For this, the system bus frequency was raised to 453 MHz (453x7.5), the core supply voltage was up to 1.45 V, the DDR2 supply voltage was 2.1 V, the system bus supply voltage was increased by 0.2 V, and the north bridge voltage was 0.1 V. The DDR2 frequency was 1087 MHz (453x2.4).

Core 2 Duo E8400

Regular mode. The clock frequency is 3000 MHz, the system bus frequency is 333 MHz (333x9), the DDR2 frequency is 1066 MHz (333x3.2), the core voltage is 1.275 V, the DDR2 voltage is 2.1 V.

3200 MHz - system bus frequency 356 MHz (356x9), DDR2 frequency - 1068 MHz (356x3), core supply voltage 1.275 V, DDR2 supply voltage - 2.1 V.

The processor was overclocked to 4200 MHz. To do this, the system bus frequency was raised to 467 MHz (467x9), the core supply voltage was up to 1.45 V, the DDR2 supply voltage was 2.1 V, the system bus supply voltage was increased by 0.2 V, and the north bridge voltage was 0.1 V. The DDR2 frequency was 1121 MHz. (467x2.4).

Core 2 Duo E7600

Regular mode. The clock frequency is 3060 MHz, the system bus frequency is 266 MHz (266x11.5), the DDR2 frequency is 1066 MHz (266x4), the core voltage is 1.275 V, the DDR2 voltage is 2.1 V.

3200 MHz - system bus frequency 279 MHz (279x11.5), DDR2 frequency - 1116 MHz (279x4), core supply voltage 1.275 V, DDR2 supply voltage - 2.1 V.

The processor was overclocked to 4000 MHz. For this, the system bus frequency was raised to 348 MHz (348x11.5), the core supply voltage was up to 1.45 V, the DDR2 supply voltage was 2.1 V, the system bus supply voltage was increased by 0.2 V, and the north bridge voltage was 0.1 V. The DDR2 frequency was 1044 MHz (348x3).

Athlon II X4 640

Regular mode. Clock frequency 3000 MHz, system bus frequency 200 MHz (200x15), memory controller frequency 2000 MHz (200x10), DDR2 frequency - 800 MHz (200x4), core voltage 1.3 V, DDR2 supply voltage 1.9 V.

3200 MHz - bus frequency 213 MHz (213x15), memory controller frequency 2130 MHz (213x10), DDR2 frequency - 852 MHz (213x4), core voltage 1.3 V, DDR2 supply voltage - 1.9 V.

The processor was overclocked to a frequency of 3600 MHz. For this, the bus frequency was raised to 240 MHz (240x15), the memory controller was raised to 2400 MHz (240x10), the core voltage was raised to 1.475 V, the DDR2 supply voltage was 2.1 V, and the northbridge voltage was + 0.1 V. The DDR2 frequency was 960 MHz ( 240x4).

Athlon II X2 250

Regular mode. Clock frequency 3000 MHz, system bus frequency 200 MHz (200x15), memory controller frequency 2000 MHz (200x10), frequency DDR2 - 800 MHz (200x4), core voltage 1.35 V, supply voltage DDR2 - 1.9 V.

3200 MHz - bus frequency 213 MHz (213х15), memory controller frequency 2130 MHz (213х10), DDR2 frequency - 852 MHz (213х4), core voltage 1.35 V, DDR2 supply voltage - 1.9 V.

The processor was overclocked to 3800 MHz. To do this, the bus frequency was raised to 253 MHz (253x15), the memory controller was raised to 2530 MHz (253x10), the core supply voltage was raised to 1.475 V, the DDR2 supply voltage was 2.1 V, and the northbridge voltage was + 0.1 V. The DDR2 frequency was 1012 MHz ( 253x4).

Let's go directly to the tests.