AMD and Intel Server CPUs
We'll close off our CPU Price Guide as usual with the server/enterprise parts. Prices are substantially higher on the majority of these chips, but price is rarely a major concern when you're looking at building 4-way and 8-way servers.
Not counting the Opteron 939 offerings, the best price/performance Opteron server product would be the Opteron 270 [RTPE: OSA270CBBOX] ($448 OEM/$471 retail). If what you need is maximum performance with four or more processors, however, look no further than the Opteron 885 [RTPE: OSA885FAA6CC] ($2089 OEM). With a clock speed of 2.6 GHz, dual cores, and support for up to 8-way configurations, the Opteron 880 is currently the fastest shipping server processor. The launch of Woodcrest may change things, of course, but that hasn't officially happened.
Most businesses tend to purchase servers with all of the CPU sockets already occupied, of course, but if you need another Xeon processor there's your list. The highest performing option we're currently tracking is likely the Xeon 3.6 GHz 800FSB 2MB [RTPE: BX80546KG3600F] ($708).
Conclusion
That takes care of this month's CPU Price Guide. Now may not be the best time to upgrade processors unless you're in a really big hurry, as we should see retail availability of Intel's new processors in the next month or so. What will availability be like, and how much will they cost? Those are both good questions, and the best way to find out is to wait. However, time is money, so if you find yourself in need of a new processor and can't wait, hopefully we've been able to provide you with some useful advice. We'll be taking a look at the motherboard sector in the near future, so if you need advice on a home for your processor as well, we'll be covering that next week.
We'll close off our CPU Price Guide as usual with the server/enterprise parts. Prices are substantially higher on the majority of these chips, but price is rarely a major concern when you're looking at building 4-way and 8-way servers.
Conclusion
That takes care of this month's CPU Price Guide. Now may not be the best time to upgrade processors unless you're in a really big hurry, as we should see retail availability of Intel's new processors in the next month or so. What will availability be like, and how much will they cost? Those are both good questions, and the best way to find out is to wait. However, time is money, so if you find yourself in need of a new processor and can't wait, hopefully we've been able to provide you with some useful advice. We'll be taking a look at the motherboard sector in the near future, so if you need advice on a home for your processor as well, we'll be covering that next week.
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Rebel44 - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
Hi I´d like to ask if frequence multiplier on athlon 3500 is locked or not.Thanks for answer.
JarredWalton - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
All AMD CPUs are upward locked, so the 3500+ can use an 11X or lower multiplier. The exception is the FX line, which are not locked up or down.Rebel44 - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
Thats a pity, but its still better than intel because their CPUs are just like radiator.P.S. sorry for offtopic